In the Dock

Chapter 4: Identifying trafficking on the frontlineCorrect and timely identification of trafficked persons is essential for a successful criminal justiceresponse to trafficking. When trafficked persons are not recognised, the crime goes unidentified andtraffickers enjoy impunity while trafficked persons’ access to justice is denied. Opportunities topreserve evidence or detain perpetrators in the “golden hour” 152 may also be lost if trafficked personsare not quickly identified at the scene. This chapter will outline primarily the role of the police intrafficked person’s identification and the need to understand the complexities of trafficking and theimpact it has on its victims.Specifically, the chapter will focus on:• The UK’s obligations with respect to identification and an analysis of the practical implementationof these provisions;• Perceptions and misconceptions about trafficking that may hinder identification;• Frontline police training.Convention and Directive obligationsArticle 10 of the Convention states “Each Party shall provide its competent authorities with personswho are trained and qualified in preventing and combating trafficking in human beings, in identifyingand helping victims, including children, and shall ensure that the different authorities collaborate witheach other as well as with relevant support organisations, so that victims can be identified in aprocedure duly taking into account the special situation of women and child victims”. The ExplanatoryReport to the Convention deems public authorities most likely to come into contact with traffickedvictims, such as the police, as the “competent authorities”. 153 While law enforcement are most likely toencounter trafficked persons, the evidence gathered in the research raised concerns about thepolice’s ability to detect and identify trafficking, as one service provider stated:“[The police] don’t know what human trafficking is, don’t understand what it is and don’t recognise it at all ...we can quote countless examples of [trafficked persons] … when they [attend a police station] on theirown, in the first instance attended a police station, being told to go away and seek redress through aCitizens’ Advice Bureau, or a civil solicitor.”Identification at police stationsFront desk staff are often the first to meet potential trafficked persons if they present at a local policestation. In essence they are the gatekeepers to both the referral of the trafficked person to assistanceand of the potential investigation. The ATMG heard of cases across the UK where trafficked personswere misidentified as civil claimants by police reception staff or refused assistance altogether. Alsoservice providers reported a tendency to view the person as an illegal migrant first and that theseallegations are made as an attempt to stay in the UK. Some of these cases resulted in detention whilstattempting to report trafficking. These were not isolated incidents, indicating a nationwide problemrequiring urgent attention.In a recent case, a service provider supporting four Hungarian men who had been trafficked for labourattempted to obtain out-of-hours police assistance with them at four different London police stations.In all of the stations they were met with indifference and reluctance to take statements. Officers stated152The Golden Hour principle describes effective early action can result in securing significant material that would otherwise be lost tothe investigation. Where the police are informed of an incident shortly after it has occurred, offenders may still be in the area. Locatingthem can provide forensic opportunities that could otherwise be lost, the testimony of witnesses can also be obtained while theoffence is still fresh in their mind, CCTV images and other data can be collected before it is deleted and action can be taken to securescenes before they become contaminated.153Explanatory Report to the European Convention, supra note 15, para. 129.43