Crown Prosecution Service ‘failing’ on modern slavery as one in five suspects walk free from court, charity warns

Prosecutors have been accused of failing to use modern slavery legislation to pursue and convict criminals who traffic and exploit vulnerable people both into and within the UK.
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Analysis of Ministry of Justice figures as part of a JPIMedia Investigation into modern slavery has revealed just one in five cases that make it to courts in England and Wales – already a fraction of the crimes recorded by police – result in conviction.

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More than 1,000 slavery and trafficking crimes in West Yorkshire unsolved since ...

When approached for comment, a Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) spokesman said it should be taken into account that "in many circumstances perpetrators can be best prosecuted under different offences which can skew the figures".

Tamara Barnett, director of the Human Trafficking Foundation.Tamara Barnett, director of the Human Trafficking Foundation.
Tamara Barnett, director of the Human Trafficking Foundation.
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But Tamara Barnett, director of the Human Trafficking Foundation, said the admission shows a "failure and demonstrates how hard they are finding it to use the Modern Slavery Act to get those higher jail sentences".

The office for the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner also said modern slavery charges were "preferable", not least because of a range of protections slavery legislation opens up for victims.

The 2015 Modern Slavery Act consolidated and simplified existing exploitation and trafficking offences under one umbrella offence, increasing the maximum penalty to life imprisonment.

Ministry of Justice (MoJ) figures reveal 344 modern slavery cases were heard in court between 2015 and 2019, of which just 74 resulted in a conviction.

The JPIMedia Investigations team is running a week-long series of reports on the issue of modern slavery.The JPIMedia Investigations team is running a week-long series of reports on the issue of modern slavery.
The JPIMedia Investigations team is running a week-long series of reports on the issue of modern slavery.
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Only 62 of those people convicted received an immediate prison sentence, with the average term being just over five years.

In West Yorkshire, two of the eight cases brought before the courts have resulted in a conviction to date. The average sentence was 6.5 years.

Mark Burns-Williamson, West Yorkshire's Police and Crime Commissioner, pointed to the need for more barristers who specialise in modern slavery prosecutions.

He also highlighted Section 45 of the Act, which is intended to provide a defence to people accused of modern slavery who may be victims of the crime themselves.

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"It's used by the defence to take it down a very different avenue which clearly can frustrate a lot of these cases going through the criminal justice system," he said.

The Sentencing Council for England and Wales is currently consulting on the first guidelines for modern slavery offences, saying current sentences may be low as judges are relying on guidelines for predecessor offences.

The draft guidelines, published in October, suggest a prison sentence of 26 weeks as the starting point for sentencing the lowest level offenders.

MoJ figures record court cases by principal offence. This means if a person is convicted of more than one offence, the case is recorded under the offence with the harshest punishment or maximum penalty in law.

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The CPS says its own figures show a conviction rate of 74 per cent. These figures include any case ‘flagged’ as modern slavery – if a person is charged with modern slavery but only convicted of another offence, it will still be recorded as a modern slavery conviction.

Lynette Woodrow, modern slavery lead for the CPS, said prosecutors were receiving enhanced training to help them build stronger cases.

She added: “I am encouraged to see the number of modern slavery-flagged prosecutions increasing over the last year and an increase in the conviction rate.

"However, we know there is still more to be done and I encourage police to refer cases to us at an earlier stage in their investigations so we can provide our help.

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"The CPS will continue to work tirelessly with the police and other partners to increase successful prosecutions and achieve justice for victims."

The Modern Slavery Helpline can be called on 08000 121 700.

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