In the Dock

This provides an example of the complications and confusions involved around the sentencing oftraffickers. Whilst it is accepted that sentencing is a matter for the judiciary some have called forchanges to be made. 419Conversely, the PPS stated that there have been a few cases involving crimes committed by traffickedpersons, where decisions were taken not to prosecute despite sufficient evidence being available. Inall of these the PPS considered that it was not in the public interest to proceed as their criminal activitywas as a direct result of their situation and the fact that they were considered victims of trafficking.The PPS admit that it is sometimes difficult to draw the line in cases of serious crime.Victim care and support during and after the trialThe availability of ongoing specialist support services or interpreters trained in dealing with cases oftrafficking is patchy. Many victims do not receive the counselling and assistance they need and areentitled to. The charity Women's Aid assigns a support worker to provide information or assistance toa trafficked person and signpost to other support or legal services where necessary. Many participantsinvolved in anti-trafficking work or supporting trafficked persons have not considered the issues in thischapter nor do they understand the criminal process involved.The PSNI now also works in partnership with Migrant Help, the Red Cross and Barnardo's in someplanned operations to ensure that accommodation and support is in place for any trafficked personsrescued as a result. A new engagement group was set up by the DOJ in response to its consultationaims, to address concerns raised about the lack of partnership working with the NGO sector. 420 A newproject, in partnership with the PPS and Victim Support, is due to be rolled out to provide additionalspecialist support for victims in the NI CJS although the detail is still unknown. Initially, this will beavailable in Magistrates’ Court cases with the intention of extending the scheme to the Crown Court inthe future. In addition, some participants suggested an advocate for the trafficked person who couldliaise with all of the relevant professionals involved in the case, which is a concept similar to theguardianship scheme proposed for trafficked children.Doubts have also arisen about when and who should take responsibility for providing informationabout victim's access to the statutory NI Compensation Scheme. Only one trafficked person to datehas been successful in the NI statutory scheme. Currently Migrant Help assist some victims with theseclaims and have indicated that they intend to work with Victim Support in the future to make sure thattrafficked persons are given access to and help with applications for compensation through thestatutory scheme.Child traffickingThere have been no prosecutions or convictions for child trafficking in NI despite several childrenbeing referred to the NRM. 421 It is clear that the numbers of trafficked children identified are lower thanthe rest of the UK but conflicting reports exist about the actual numbers of children identified in NI. 422 Itis unclear why social services, despite being First Responders, have not referred any traffickedchildren to the NRM, but relied on the police or UKBA to do so. Only one participant interviewed for419Obokata, T., NICEM Briefing Paper: Analysis of Current Responses to Human Trafficking in Northern Ireland [online]. Available at:www.nicem.org.uk/userFiles/File/NICEM%20Trafficking%20Report.pdf.420Northern Ireland Executive, Justice Minister David Ford has hosted the first meeting of a new Engagement Group to tackle humantrafficking. Available: www.northernireland.gov.uk/news-doj-131212-justice-minister-hosts.421NRM statistics.422The PSNI confirmed that the OCB has only been involved in two cases to date while Barnardo's "Safe Choices" service claims thatseven children were referred to the NRM by the police some 18 months ago after indicators of internal trafficking presented .All casesinvolved sexual exploitation and in its view some forty children are currently at risk. The seven children referred to the NRM allreceived positive conclusive decisions but no information has been provided to Barnardo's to date in relation to any proposed criminalproceedings. The PSNI consider that these cases are not "normal" trafficking and therefore do not fall to Organised Crime. Thesecases have yet to be referred to the PPS for prosecutorial decisions. The Gateway team social workers-) who are called out whenunaccompanied children are found at the international airport advise that their numbers are greatly reduced from 18 referrals in 2008(the majority of whom then went missing) to just 2 in 2012. The Northern Ireland Guardian ad Litem Agency (NIGALA) also report thatthey have been involved in 7 or 8 cases but that none of these proceeded to the prosecution stage. It is not known if all these caseswere referred to the NRM.126