The Perpetrators of Modern Slavery Offences: Motivations, Networks and Backgrounds
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Manchester
Department Name: Law
Abstract
Since the turn of the century, increasing international attention has focused on the problem of modern slavery. Policy development has nevertheless raced ahead of academic research on the subject, of which there is a genuine dearth. While international bodies and governments have tried - not always successfully - to produce estimates of the scale of the problem, and there are now a handful of studies documenting the plight of those trafficked, there are hardly any studies that have been undertaken with those regarded as the perpetrators of the trade. The aim of this project is to produce a better understanding of the problem of modern slavery informed by first hand interviews with those convicted for these offences. It will use arrest and conviction data to profile perpetrators together with in-depth interviews with those convicted under the 2015 Modern Slavery Act to explore how and why some people traffick others, what circumstances and social networks have contributed to their offending, as well as what has impeded it.
The project will:
1. Map out the contours of modern slavery as recorded by the police over the three years since the inception of the Modern Slavery Act.
2. Solicit offenders' own accounts of their role in the crimes for which they were convicted - whether 'enablers', 'recruiters', or 'exploiters' - how they justified this to themselves, what specifically was said to those they trafficked, to what extent they understood the laws they were breaking and any attempts they have made to leave the businesses of modern slavery behind. These accounts will be anonymised and archived for use by other researchers.
3. Develop an understanding of how offenders become involved in modern slavery, including their first engagements with the trade, previous involvements in other types of crime, or migration and its facilitation, prostitution or pornography, drugs and drug trafficking and/or capacity for violence. Using highly responsive in-depth interviews techniques and social network methods the project will further extrapolate the relations perpetrators have with those who worked alongside, beneath and above them in such activities, including how kinship, romance and intimacy, and/or financial indebtedness have impacted on their engagements with trafficking and/or migration journeys, as well as how they knew their victims. The roles played by people in positions of authority - whether teachers, family members, those involved in criminal enterprises or officials - will be closely examined.
4. Contribute new models of modern slavery from which practice and policy interventions can be derived. The research will help contribute to the development of a new framework for dealing with offenders convicted of modern slavery offences. It will also enable those working with victims to develop approaches to safeguarding that are informed by empirical research on how offenders operate, alone, collectively and through the exploitation of vulnerable people who are highly dependent on each other and/or illicit activity for their subsistence.
The research team - which consists of two criminologists and two methodologists - will seek to demonstrate how trafficking is variously facilitated across family ties, criminal networks, legitimate business, and diaspora communities. The research will be conducted with the support of the National Probation Service with a focus on reducing reoffending by developing knowledge and understanding about the people who commit these offences, as well as Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire Police. The project will report routinely to a steering group comprising policymakers, police, immigration, offender management and organisations working with victims. The application is supported also by Greater Manchester NGO Modern Slavery Forum. A PhD studentship focused on victims is being undertaken in conjunction with Hope for Justice in parallel to this project.
The project will:
1. Map out the contours of modern slavery as recorded by the police over the three years since the inception of the Modern Slavery Act.
2. Solicit offenders' own accounts of their role in the crimes for which they were convicted - whether 'enablers', 'recruiters', or 'exploiters' - how they justified this to themselves, what specifically was said to those they trafficked, to what extent they understood the laws they were breaking and any attempts they have made to leave the businesses of modern slavery behind. These accounts will be anonymised and archived for use by other researchers.
3. Develop an understanding of how offenders become involved in modern slavery, including their first engagements with the trade, previous involvements in other types of crime, or migration and its facilitation, prostitution or pornography, drugs and drug trafficking and/or capacity for violence. Using highly responsive in-depth interviews techniques and social network methods the project will further extrapolate the relations perpetrators have with those who worked alongside, beneath and above them in such activities, including how kinship, romance and intimacy, and/or financial indebtedness have impacted on their engagements with trafficking and/or migration journeys, as well as how they knew their victims. The roles played by people in positions of authority - whether teachers, family members, those involved in criminal enterprises or officials - will be closely examined.
4. Contribute new models of modern slavery from which practice and policy interventions can be derived. The research will help contribute to the development of a new framework for dealing with offenders convicted of modern slavery offences. It will also enable those working with victims to develop approaches to safeguarding that are informed by empirical research on how offenders operate, alone, collectively and through the exploitation of vulnerable people who are highly dependent on each other and/or illicit activity for their subsistence.
The research team - which consists of two criminologists and two methodologists - will seek to demonstrate how trafficking is variously facilitated across family ties, criminal networks, legitimate business, and diaspora communities. The research will be conducted with the support of the National Probation Service with a focus on reducing reoffending by developing knowledge and understanding about the people who commit these offences, as well as Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire Police. The project will report routinely to a steering group comprising policymakers, police, immigration, offender management and organisations working with victims. The application is supported also by Greater Manchester NGO Modern Slavery Forum. A PhD studentship focused on victims is being undertaken in conjunction with Hope for Justice in parallel to this project.
Planned Impact
At an international level, this project speaks directly to concerns currently being articulated by Maria Grazia Giammarinaro, the UN's Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, who has highlighted the need to widen the focus of international efforts beyond law enforcement to incorporate a grasp of the rights (or their absence) of migrants, the plight of the global poor and global inequalities in life chances and healthcare. At a national level, the project has been devised in consultation with the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner's Office and speaks directly to core objectives within the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner's Strategic Plan 2015-2017. These includes 'Developing partnerships with academic and research institutions and promoting external high quality quantitative and qualitative research into modern slavery issues in order to fill key evidence gaps and develop a stronger evidence base'. The project responds squarely to the UK Home Office's Strategy which requests closer dialogue with academic researchers in order to establish a research base from which future policy might draw insight; an ambition informed by calls from victim-focused organisations to generate a more holistic understanding of why modern slavery happens. Broad and Gadd have been directly engaged with the Home Office Modern Slavery Research Unit throughout the drafting of the proposal and have been invited to share the findings from this project with their team and colleagues in Cabinet Office.
The following organisations have expressed a willingness to take part in the project steering group and work with the research team to ensure the project's outputs speak clearly to pressing practice and policy concerns: The Home Office Modern Slavery Unit; Greater Manchester Police, specifically Operation Challenger (which comprises immigration officials, the Probation Service, HMP Risley and Styal Prisons, Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire police, Programme Challenger and its multiagency modern slavery team (which includes Social Services, Border Force and Immigration); the Anti-Slavery Commissioner's Office (Dr Claire Brickell), the North West National Probation Service; Stop the Traffick, Hope for Justice and The English Collective of Prostitutes.
With the steering group's assistance, the project will (1) inform national reducing reoffending strategy by identifying salient characteristics and pathways of those prosecuted for modern slavery (2) contribute towards the development of effective multi-agency working practices with victims (3) respond to the national and internal political demand for better knowledge of how offenders operate. The research team will consult regularly with public and third sector organisations (via our steering group and beyond); establish a website supported by a twitter feed and blogs; and build up a following for the project's findings and briefing notes. Our strategy of media engagement will be developed in collaboration with our steering group partners and the University Press Office and will be both proactive and reactive. A core aim will be to shift debate away from unhelpful dichotomies that idealize victims and demonize offenders in ways that are counterproductive to reducing the incidence of human trafficking. Victims will benefit from this shift in public debate if it manages to show how modern slavery is a product of the confluence of offenders' motives and wider legal, economic and social factors that render the extreme exploitation of people - especially migrants - as desirable or profitable alternative to the legitimate options at their disposal. An industrial fellowship application will be pursued towards the project's close to enable members of the project's steering group to assist the research team in shaping their findings in ways most relevant to those involved in combating modern slavery.
The following organisations have expressed a willingness to take part in the project steering group and work with the research team to ensure the project's outputs speak clearly to pressing practice and policy concerns: The Home Office Modern Slavery Unit; Greater Manchester Police, specifically Operation Challenger (which comprises immigration officials, the Probation Service, HMP Risley and Styal Prisons, Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire police, Programme Challenger and its multiagency modern slavery team (which includes Social Services, Border Force and Immigration); the Anti-Slavery Commissioner's Office (Dr Claire Brickell), the North West National Probation Service; Stop the Traffick, Hope for Justice and The English Collective of Prostitutes.
With the steering group's assistance, the project will (1) inform national reducing reoffending strategy by identifying salient characteristics and pathways of those prosecuted for modern slavery (2) contribute towards the development of effective multi-agency working practices with victims (3) respond to the national and internal political demand for better knowledge of how offenders operate. The research team will consult regularly with public and third sector organisations (via our steering group and beyond); establish a website supported by a twitter feed and blogs; and build up a following for the project's findings and briefing notes. Our strategy of media engagement will be developed in collaboration with our steering group partners and the University Press Office and will be both proactive and reactive. A core aim will be to shift debate away from unhelpful dichotomies that idealize victims and demonize offenders in ways that are counterproductive to reducing the incidence of human trafficking. Victims will benefit from this shift in public debate if it manages to show how modern slavery is a product of the confluence of offenders' motives and wider legal, economic and social factors that render the extreme exploitation of people - especially migrants - as desirable or profitable alternative to the legitimate options at their disposal. An industrial fellowship application will be pursued towards the project's close to enable members of the project's steering group to assist the research team in shaping their findings in ways most relevant to those involved in combating modern slavery.
Publications
Broad R
(2022)
Demystifying Modern Slavery
Gadd D
(2018)
Troubling recognitions in British responses to modern slavery
in The British Journal of Criminology
Gadd D
(2022)
Facing the folk devils of modern slavery policy
in Critical Social Policy
Gadd D
(2023)
Facing the folk devils of modern slavery policy
in CrimRxiv
Lightowlers C
(2020)
Victims and suspects of modern slavery: Identifying subgroups using latent class analysis
in CrimRxiv
Lightowlers C
(2021)
Victims and suspects of modern slavery: Identifying subgroups using latent class analysis
in Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice
Lightowlers C
(2022)
Temporal measures of modern slavery victimisation
in Criminology & Criminal Justice
Lightowlers, C.
(2022)
Temporal measures of modern slavery victimisation
in Criminology and Criminal Justice
S. Albanese J
(2022)
Consent, Coercion, and Fraud in Human Trafficking Relationships
in Journal of Human Trafficking
Description | A key finding for the project is the way in which the problem of modern slavery is presented by Government. In this way, the Government is misleading the public by claiming that modern slavery can be eradicated by toughening up border controls and extending sentence lengths for offenders. Modern slavery refers broadly to crimes of exploitation - usually committed for commercial gain - and includes sexual exploitation, domestic servitude, labour exploitation and 'county lines' drug trafficking. For much of the last decade, the Government has claimed that modern slavery is hiding in plain sight - everywhere, yet imperceptible - and requires the most urgent of action. Ministers committed to ramp up the so-called 'hostile environment' to tackle something they implied was perpetrated by foreign criminals who were orchestrating international organised crime networks and making vast sums of money. However, that same hostile environment has made undocumented migrant workers' lives much more precarious, as they are the people who are most prone to exploitation by criminals - they have little choice but to work 'cash-in-hand' in the grey economy. We wanted to find out who these modern slavery offenders are, how their situations led to them becoming tangled up in criminality, and what might be done to reduce the prevalence of such exploitation. They were able to conduct interviews with 30 offenders who had been convicted of modern slavery offences in the UK, 16 of whom were British citizens. They found that many of the people they spoke to had long histories of trauma, migration and victimisation which had led them into exploitative relationships, debts and dependencies - these situations had ultimately caused them to become involved in the exploitation of others. Others had worked in legitimate businesses and had never been involved in crime before. Many had escaped dire situations themselves and were trying to raise money to send to their families in countries with few work opportunities where poverty and instability are rife. All but one of the women had dependent children or elderly relatives who they supported financially. Some participants had helped smuggle people into the UK - for some this was unintentional, and others had done it as a favour to friends. A couple did it to make 'easy money', but those participants - both of whom were white British nationals - had lengthier criminal histories and were the exception amongst the interviewees. Many of the causes of modern slavery could be alleviated by providing a more hospitable environment for new arrivals. They say that if people are able to work for at least a legal minimum wage and aren't so afraid of deportation that they can't speak to law enforcement, if they know their rights and if they can access decent housing and healthcare, they would not become reliant on favours from people operating outside the law. Our research has shown that we are deceiving ourselves by thinking that modern slavery can be eradicated by toughening up border controls and extending sentence lengths for convicted offenders. Instead, we need to face up to the complexities that lead to some people being convicted of people trafficking and smuggling offences. We need to ask why these kinds of exploitation are persisting, despite a decade of efforts to out-police modern slavery. Recognising the rights of children, migrants and sex workers would protect many from the horrors of modern slavery. The perpetrators often come from these vulnerable groups as well, but they are not a homogenous group. Their motives for exploiting others are varied, and can even be morally comprehensible if one pays attention to the complexity of the difficulties they have faced throughout their lives. Their stories can reveal unpalatable truths about the world we live in. |
Exploitation Route | As in the section on impact, this research is being taken forward by HMPPS to look at ways of working with perpetrators of modern slavery in the criminal justice system. |
Sectors | Government Democracy and Justice Security and Diplomacy |
URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arynJ_ZzCMo&t=1s |
Description | I will update this section next year as the impact develops. Currently, in brief, the project is beginning to have impact through the following - 1. via submissions made to official enquiries (e.g. Parliamentary enquiries, Sentencing Council enquiry and consultation by the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner). The project has been cited in such enquiries and related reports. 2. His Majesty's Prison and Probation Service are using case studies from the project in their modern slavery staff training and to inform the develop of their new modern slavery policy and framework. 3. The findings from the project have provided an invaluable foundation for the successful application of further grants, including the ESRC Policing Futures and Vulnerabilities Research Centre, in which the PI and CoI of this project are co-leading the modern slavery strand. |
First Year Of Impact | 2022 |
Sector | Government, Democracy and Justice |
Impact Types | Policy & public services |
Description | Contribution to APPG on Prostitution and the Global Sex Trade inquiry |
Geographic Reach | National |
Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
URL | http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/women-and-equalitie... |
Description | Sentencing Council Modern Slavery Offences Consultation |
Geographic Reach | National |
Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
URL | https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Modern-Slavery-Consultation-Response-Web.pdf |
Description | Written evidence to the UK Government's Modern Slavery Inquiry. |
Geographic Reach | National |
Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
URL | http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/home-affairs-commit... |
Description | University of Manchester Research Institute - Tough Choices - Romanian sex workers' in Manchester |
Amount | £14,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | University of Manchester |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2019 |
End | 04/2020 |
Description | Vulnerability and Policing Futures Research Centre |
Amount | £7,976,109 (GBP) |
Funding ID | ES/W002248/1 |
Organisation | Economic and Social Research Council |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 04/2022 |
End | 12/2027 |
Description | ESRC Vulnerability and Policing Futures Centre (co-Investigator) |
Organisation | University of York |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | As part of the Centre (start date May 2022), Prof David Gadd and I are co-leading the modern slavery work strand. |
Collaborator Contribution | We will be carrying out research focused on 'Improving the Police and Policy Response to Modern Slavery'. |
Impact | The modern slavery work strand will begin the fieldwork phase in May 2024. |
Start Year | 2022 |
Description | Blog |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | The blog was posted on policy@manchester and was tweeted and retweeted several times as well as being accessed through the policy@manchester site. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | http://blog.policy.manchester.ac.uk/growth_inclusion/2018/11/stop-describing-modern-slavery-as-evil/ |
Description | Blog |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | We developed a blog post entitled 'Point Scoring and Modern Slavery' which related to the policy announcement of the New Plan for Immigration, which was released on policy@manchester website and retweeted. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | http://blog.policy.manchester.ac.uk/posts/2020/07/point-scoring-and-modern-slavery/ |
Description | Blog for Open Democracy |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | We wrote a blog for Open Democracy, following on from the talk we delivered as part of the 24 conference on organised crime. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
URL | https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/beyond-trafficking-and-slavery/the-truth-about-modern-slavery-offen... |
Description | Conference presentation at 24 hour conference on organised crime |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | We delivered a talk as part of a panel for the 24 hour conference on organised crime. The talk was attended by approximately 60 people during the live talk and then hosted on the website. The panel was voted in the people's choice awards as one of the best three talks of the whole conference. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://oc24.heysummit.com/talks/1c/. |