Crime Reduction Toolkits

Trafficking of People

Trafficking in the UK

There has only been one official published study on trafficking in the UK (Kelly and Regan, 2000). This focussed exclusively on what was known about adult women trafficked into sexual exploitation, and gathered information from police forces about the numbers of women they encountered. Many professionals doubt that the information gained provides an accurate reflection of the true nature and scale of the problem in the UK.

It is hoped that, as a result of this toolkit, local multi-agency groups will be encouraged to collect more information about the problem of trafficking across the UK, which can then inform future policy, law enforcement activity and service delivery. It is particularly important to develop a better understanding of the extent, form and location of:

§         trafficking for sexual exploitation of women;

§         trafficking for labour exploitation; and

§         trafficking involving children and young people.

At the same time it is important to maintain an awareness of where the victims are coming from, and how this supply may be changing over time.