The Financial Investigation of Human Trafficking in the UK: Legal and Practical Perspectives

Abstract

A significant body of law and policy has been directed to organised crime generally, with Human Trafficking remaining high on the political agenda. This article conducts a contextualised study of Human Trafficking in the UK, examining the underpinning legal framework before drawing on the expertise of key professionals in the sector, who have been interviewed for this purpose. It is suggested that it is not so much the legal framework that is the problem, but rather there are a number of practical and policy-related considerations that the government should consider as part of their efforts to combat Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking.

Still an ‘invisible crime’? Exploring developments in the awareness and control of human trafficking in Scotland

“… 4. In their recent exploration of the financial investigation of human trafficking in the UK, Middleton, Antonopoulos and Papanicolaou (2019) at least recognized that their analysis ‘chiefly’ focused on England and Wales, with only one passing reference made to the Scottish context. …”

Identifying sex trafficking in Adult Services Websites: an exploratory study with a British police force

“…The UK now has a vast array of tools available to investigators to support disruption, criminalisation, and confiscation of assets. Within this context, there have been successful cases involving the investigation of human trafficking through even rudimentary financial evidence online (Middleton et al, 2019) Although in some cases financial investigation has been instrumental in the conviction of human traffickers in the UK, it does not often produce results commensurate to the effort and resources invested by law enforcement. The theoretical and politically-imposed advantages of integrating criminal and financial investigations of human trafficking are diluted by the practical considerations that -among otherare linked to the nature and organisation of human trafficking that law enforcement practitioners are aware of (e.g.…”

“…The theoretical and politically-imposed advantages of integrating criminal and financial investigations of human trafficking are diluted by the practical considerations that -among otherare linked to the nature and organisation of human trafficking that law enforcement practitioners are aware of (e.g. : small human trafficking schemes, illegal schemes often embeddedness in legal businesses, small or in some cases no profits, quick spending of profits and modest investments) (Middleton et al 2019).…”

Untitled

“…Finansijske istrage trgovine ljudima često ne daju rezultate srazmjerne naporu i resursima uloženim od strane agencija za provedbu zakona (Middleton et al, 2019). Na primjer, operacija "Pentameter 2", pokrenuta u oktobru 2007, bila je zajednički nacionalni poduhvat koji je uključivao sve policijske snage u UK, SOCA-u, UK imigracijsku službu, Kraljevsko tužilaštvo i nekoliko NVO.…”

“…Uz to, potrebno je dodatno istražiti razloge opravdanosti trgovaca ljudima za ulazak u ovaj ilegalni posao. Olako držeći da je sticanje materijalne koristi jednostavno obrazloženje za ulazak i ostanak u ovom ilegalnom biznisu, predstavlja samo djelomičan i nepotpun pogled na ovaj fenomen, koji u konačnici može imati značajne implikacije na istragu (vidjeti takođe Middleton et al, 2019.). Na kraju, očigledno postoji potreba za kontinuiranim razvojem baze znanja o načinima na koje IKT utiču na društvenu organizaciju i finansije trgovine ljudima.…”