In his first annual report the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner has highlighted that there remain many areas in need of improvement in how modern day slavery and human trafficking is dealt with in the UK.

Introducing his report the Commissioner Kevin Hyland wrote “Although significant progress has been made in the fight against modern slavery, with more victims identified and more criminals convicted, there is still much to be done to ensure best practice across all agencies.”

The report highlights all the work the Commissioner has been doing in the past year with the police and other branches of the justice system, with partners in countries from where many victims in the UK come, and with NGOs and the private sector. Much of that work has been aimed at increasing knowledge and improving systems so that we can identify and investigate exploitation when it happens and prevent people being exploited in the first place.

The Commissioner has made victim identification and care one of his top priorities and in his report he highlights concerns that “there are too many gaps in the system for victims to fall through”, especially in relation to what happens to victims when they leave the initial specialist government funded support. He has called for a parliamentary inquiry into what support is available to victims at that very vulnerable time. Mr Hyland has also emphasised the importance of getting systems of specialist advocates or guardians in place across the UK as soon as possible.

A second area where the Commissioner sees a great need for further improvement is in the approach of the justice system saying that until the police response to the crime of modern slavery dramatically improves, “victims both present and future are being failed”. In particular Mr Hyland wants to see better gathering, recording, analysis and sharing of strategic intelligence to equip police to investigate trafficking crimes.

CARE is greatly encouraged by the proactive approach the Commissioner has taken in his role as shown through the report and we welcome his clear focus on victims in all aspects of addressing modern day slavery. It is vital that stronger efforts are made to see more investigations and successful prosecutions for trafficking crimes, and that victims receive the help they need to recover and rebuild their lives.