This weekend the Church of England’s Clewer initiative against modern slavery launched the ‘Safe Car Wash’ smartphone app to help ordinary people tack action to stop exploitation.

Hand car washes have become common over the past few years and it is thought that around 20,000 hand car washes operate across the UK in supermarket car parks, petrol stations and the like. Whilst many of these car washes are legitimate businesses, some are hives of exploitation and organised crime.

Police in the UK have become increasingly aware of this problem in recent years. The Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, Kevin Hyland, has said hand car washes are a “major area of concern for anyone trying to tackle modern slavery in the UK.”

Police raids have found many victims, often men from Eastern Europe, living and working in appalling and unsafe conditions, often without the correct protective clothing and equipment, and for little to no pay.

The Church of England, in partnership with the National Crime Agency (NCA), the Gangmasters & Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA) and the Modern Slavery Helpline has launched the Safe Car Wash app to help members of the public to take action. The app takes the car wash user through a series of questions designed to highlight things that might indicate exploitation. If enough warning signs are found then the app will ask the user to contact the Modern Slavery Helpline. Anonymised data from the app will also be shared with the NCA and GLAA, two of the key law enforcement bodies working to tackle trafficking and modern day slavery.

The app will encourage the public to look more closely at the conditions in these car washes, with guidance to help them identify if there really is something to be concerned about or not. It also offers a safe way for people to take action without directly challenging anyone at the carwash, which could put themselves and any potential victims in danger.

You can find out more about the Safe Car Wash app on the Clewer Initiative website

Or use these links to download the app to your smartphone from Google play for Android phones or from the Apple App store