In the Dock

Chapter 5: Investigating traffickingThe investigative stage of a trafficking case is of significance for the CPS’s charging decisions.Certain variables, such as the strength and diversity of the evidential package, will impact on whetheran investigation will lead to a prosecution. To obtain such evidence, it is important that trafficking andits complexities are well understood and that adequate resources are available for the investigation.Because of the psychological impact that trafficking may have on a trafficked person (see Chapter 1),it is essential that their needs are also integrated into the investigation, to ensure that the person is fitand able to participate in criminal proceedings against their trafficker.This chapter will outline:• Development of anti-trafficking law enforcement over the past decade in England and Wales;• Capacity to investigate trafficking offences;• NRM decision interplay with investigations;• Understanding the victim’s needs, including support, during the investigation;• Benefits of developing specialism and specialist policing;• Policing priorities.Convention and Directive obligationsOne of the main purposes of the Convention is to ensure effective trafficking investigations. Article27.1 of the Convention and Article 9.1 of the Directive stipulate that investigations into traffickingoffences need not be initiated by a victim or be sustained by their involvement within criminalproceedings, and may continue even if the trafficked person withdraws their statement. Thisacknowledges the fact that trafficked persons seldom report trafficking to the authorities for amultitude of reasons which include: fear of reprisals against their families or themselves; traumasuffered may make it unsafe for them to participate; or they may simply wish to forget their ordeal,return home and secure decent employment.The requirements to investigate trafficking are underpinned by the positive obligation on the UK underthe European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) namely, Articles 3 165 and 4, 166 which areembedded into UK domestic law through the Human Rights Act 1998.A decade of anti-trafficking law enforcement in England and WalesThere are 43 police forces 167 in England and Wales and each of these forces operate autonomously.Therefore there is variation in organisational structure, planning and force priorities which impact uponanti-trafficking responses within each region. 168 Current police practice would suggest that there is stilla need for a nationwide anti-trafficking policing strategy, as whilst the number of potential traffickedpersons identified has steadily risen, this has not been followed by a rise in prosecutions. In addition,of those cases that make it to trial there has been a decrease in the number resulting in a conviction(see Chapter 3).Anti-trafficking operations began more than a decade ago with Operation Reflex, which was launchedto respond to illegal immigration, following the suffocation of 58 Chinese migrants who were found in alorry entering the port of Dover in 2000. 169 Reflex was a multi-agency taskforce. 170 The added value of165Prohibition of torture: No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.166Prohibition of slavery and forced labour: 1. No one shall be held in slavery or servitude. 2. No one shall be required to performforced or compulsory labour.167As of March 2010, see: Association of Police Officers, APA Police Service Strength Map Update. Available at:http://www.apa.police.uk/publications?publicationid=2590.168Newburn, T., Handbook of Policing (Taylor & Francis, 2011).169Casciani, D., ‘The man who smuggled 300 people’ BBC News, 11 February, 2005 [online]. Available at:www.news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4257397.stm [last accessed March 2013].48