According to the Home Office and devolved government’s annual report on modern slavery, in 2019 the number of prosecutions increased from 294 to 349, and the conviction rate rose from 65% to 72%.
There has been an increase in cases referred for early investigative advice, where prosecutors step in to help investigators strengthen the case and bring evidence-led prosecutions. This was successful in county lines cases where children and young people used as drug mules have not provided testimony, which meant Slavery and Trafficking Prevention Orders were obtained.
The Home Office is currently planning to pilot a scheme where local authorities are given powers to take decisions regarding whether children are victims of modern slavery. The pilots ‘will test different models within local authorities of multi-agency decision making, which draw on existing safeguarding structures, and appropriate multi-agency partners’.
