London Considers Axing Human Trafficking Police Unit

categories: Government & Legal Efforts on Human Trafficking, Human Trafficking in Europe and the Middle East, International Human Trafficking and Migration, Money and Economy

Published October 08, 2009 @ 01:00PM PT

Here's something to file under Really Bad Ideas Someone's Gonna Lose a Job Over: London, the most populous city in the European Union (with over 250,000 immigrants each year), is considering shutting down the Human Trafficking Unit of the Metropolitan Police due to budget issues. London is a huge destination and transit city for human trafficking victims from all over the world, and shutting down the police force trained to identify and remove victims would be nothing short of catastrophic for the many slaves being held there today.

British and international advocacy groups have expressed everything from concern to outrage at this suggestion. Human trafficking has now been identified as the second or third largest form of organized crime in the world, and diverting resources to any crime less significant is a tough argument to make. And trafficking may even be on this rise when the 2012 Olympics come to London. Even if trafficking doesn't increase in conjunction with the games (as many people fear it will) and remains stagnant, law enforcement will be severely understaffed and unable to properly address it. Furthermore, many advocates fear that without a dedicated unit, the only form of trafficking law enforcement will pay attention to is trafficking into commercial sex industries, leaving no help for slaves in domestic servitude, factories, agriculture, and other industries.

The Met's answer to these concerns is that human trafficking cases will be spread out to other officers. I've got news for you, London. I've trained a lot of cops in my time, and none of them were born understanding human trafficking. I can't tell you how many good, hardworking police officers have missed human trafficking victims standing right in front of them because they didn't know what to look for. This is a hidden crime and the victims are chameleons -- they often look like victims of other crimes or even criminals. How can you expect someone to tease out the intricacies of human trafficking and tell the victims from the perpetrators without any training or support from colleagues who are also experts on the issue?

To me, this move says that London is not nearly as concerned with ending slavery in their city as they are with balancing their budget. The Met Human Trafficking Unit has been lauded as an international example of a highly efficient and effective law enforcement effort. They have brought hundreds of cases against traffickers and freed even more victims. Why would you shut them down? I know money is tight right now, London, but of all the cities in the world to consider this move, you are one of the most dangerous. I hope we never find out how serious this mistake could have been.

Photo credit: JD Mack

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Comments (9)

Is there a petition we could sign, or an action we could take to let the London offices we are concerned about this move?

Thanks.

Posted by Damaris Constantino on 10/08/2009 @ 05:05PM PT
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to let them "know", word missing, sorry.

Posted by Damaris Constantino on 10/08/2009 @ 05:06PM PT
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Hi Damaris,

yes there is now.... you can sign the one I created here on ch.o - http://humantrafficking.change.org/actions/view/help_stop_the_closure_of_londons_specialist_human_trafficking_unit

or visit my blog, where there is also a link - http://johnstacksanders.wordpress.com/2009/11/03/do-you-want-to-help-stop-the-closure-of-londons-specialist-human-trafficking-unit/

Posted by john stack on 11/03/2009 @ 01:24AM PT
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This is so frustrating, it seems like every time there are budget issues anywhere, human trafficking services are the first to go.

Posted by JoAnn Bouikidis on 10/09/2009 @ 05:39AM PT
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I think that authorities are not fulling understanding the severity of these crimes. This is not the area to make budget cuts when there are still so many out there being kept in slavery. Instead of making cuts, they should be expanding on this task force to help make a difference. I hope London rethinks this decision, I'm a fan of the city, but not if they support human trafficking.

Posted by Melissa Hale on 10/09/2009 @ 01:15PM PT
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Amen. You are absolutely right. Start a petition to let the London authorities know that we are not going to stand for it. Don't just cry out about this injustice. Let's do something about it.

Posted by Casey Williams on 10/10/2009 @ 08:36PM PT
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It is interesting that today as reported in The London Evening Standard - http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-14491017-police-smash-human-trafficking-gang.do#

Detectives from the Operation Maxim task force, which targets "slave-master" gangs, swooped on business and residential addresses in south London and Surrey, smashing a multi-million-pound illegal immigration and human trafficking racket.

Wonder how that will work in the future if the team is disbanded..........

john stack
www.svetna.com

Posted by john stack on 10/23/2009 @ 03:07AM PT
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Amanda, please would you advise what your source is for this shattering news......

Posted by john stack on 10/23/2009 @ 03:14AM PT
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I have searched all of the Met police related websites and while I can find generic references for cost cutting for services, I cannot find any specific references to the human trafficking team. Amanda, please would you advise your source for this...........

Posted by john stack on 10/27/2009 @ 01:25AM PT
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Author

Amanda has been a full-time abolitionist for six years. During that time, she has created reports, documentaries and training materials on human trafficking in the United States and around the world.