The GLA and Forced Labour

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The GLA and Forced Labour

• Mark Heath
• Head of Operations (West)

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GLA Strategic Aim
Working in partnership to protect vulnerable and
exploited workers
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Working in Partnership

• Role of the GLA
• Legislation available to tackle Forced Labour,
  Trafficking and wider criminality
• What the GLA will do
• Partnership Working
• Prevention
• Next Steps

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Gangmasters Licensing Authority

• Set up by Gangmasters (Licensing) Act 2004
• An Act to make provision for the licensing of
  activities involving supply or use of workers in
  the regulated sector
• Created four offences under s12 (x2), s13 and s18
• Licensing commenced on 1 April 2006
• Approximately 1150 licences in issue at any one
  time

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Red Tape Challenge

• Written Ministerial Statement of 24 May 2012
• Ensure GLA targets suspected serious and
  organised crime by working more closely with the
  Serious Organised Crime Agency and other
  specialist law enforcement agencies
• Ensure evidence of worker exploitation by
  unlicensed gangmasters or licence holders will
  contribute effectively to continued successful
  investigation and prosecution of organised crime
  groups and assist in the earlier identification
  of the victims of human trafficking

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GLA Priorities

• Preventing Worker Exploitation
• Protecting Vulnerable People
• Tackling (prosecuting) unlicensed criminal
  activity

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Tackling unlicensed/criminal activity ensuring
those licensed operate within the law
Protecting vulnerable workers
Preventing worker exploitation
Work in partnership to protect vulnerable and
exploited workers
PROUD Values Principles
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The Gangmasters (Licensing) Act

• A person commits an offence under s12 of the
  Gangmasters (Licensing) Act 2004 if he acts as a
  gangmaster in contravention of s6
• Which states that a person shall not act as a
  gangmaster except under the authority of a
  licence

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GLA Licensing Standards

• Licence holders need to comply with a number of
  standards to retain their licence to supply
  workers.
• Reflect the legislation fromother government
  depts to ensure workers are not subject to
  exploitation
• Licensing Standard 3 mirrors the indicators of
  forced labour and covers
• Physical and Mental Mistreatment
• Restricting Workers movement, debt bondage,
  retained ID
• Withholding Wages

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Intelligence

• Central Intelligence section Intelligence
  Manager plus 6 personnel
• Regional Field Intelligence Officers (2 but hope
  to increase)
• Work to NIM principles
• Introducing OCG Mapping feed into ROCUs
• Analytical capability Problem/Target/Network
  profiles
• Intelligence Database NIM compliant
• Data Comms SPOC
• Limited Directed Surveillance capability (static)

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GLA Integrated Operating Model
Non compliance
Compliance
Organised crime
Complete disregard and evasion
Ignorant avoidance
Honest triers
Fully compliant
Ongoing support and advice
Full scale regulatory action
Disruption
RISK ASSESSMENT
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Forced labour and the law

• Section 71 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009
  (England, Wales and Northern Ireland)
• Section 47 of the Criminal Justice and Licensing
  Act 2010 (Scotland)
• Anyone found guilty of engaging in forced labour
  may be subject to a maximum sentence of 14 years
  in prison

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Coroners and Justice Act

• Creates an offence of holding a person in slavery
  or servitude or requiring them to perform forced
  or compulsory labour
• The offence is available in circumstances where
  the person was not trafficked
• they might be a British Citizen or came to the UK
  voluntarily, or
• the trafficking element cannot be proved to the
  criminal standard.
• this also carries the same penalties as
  trafficking for forced labour

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Asylum and Immigration Act 2004

• Creates specific offences (section 4) of
  trafficking another person for the purposes of
  domestic servitude or forced labour (behaviour
  contravening Article 4 of the European Convention
  of Human Rights slavery or forced labour)

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United Nations Palermo Protocol

• Trafficking in persons shall mean the
  recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring
  or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or
  use of force or other forms of coercion, of
  abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse
  of power or of a position of vulnerability, or of
  the giving or receiving of payments or benefits
  to achieve the consent of a person having control
  over another person, for the purpose of
  exploitation.
• Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the
  exploitation of the prostitution of others, or
  other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour
  or services, slavery or practices similar to
  slavery, servitude or the removal of organs.

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The Protection of Freedoms Act 2010

• Revised s4 to cover any involvement in
  trafficking individuals out of the UK, as well as
  into, and that a UK national commits the offence
  wherever they were when they were involved in the
  commission of the offence
• Persons can be trafficked within the UK for the
  purpose of forced labour

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Other Offences

• Fraud Act 2006
• Proceeds of Crime Act 2002

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Linked Offences
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National Referral Mechanism

• Apr 2009 to Mar 2011 - 1481 cases referred to NRM
• 465 on the basis of forced labour - 31.4
• 621 on the basis of sexual exploitation - 41.93
• Apr 2011 to Mar 2012 - 1186 cases referred to NRM
• 370 on the basis of forced labour - 31.12
• 480 on the basis of sexual exploitation - 40.47
  

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Case totals
2009/11 and 2011/12
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ACPO, UKBA, GLA, CPS
The 2012 MOUs

• It states
• The benefits of a joint investigation include the
  GLAs experience and operational expertise of
  employment legislation, treatment of workers,
  their terms and conditions of service, and in
  interviewing potential victims in this crime area

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Strategy

• Partnership Working
• Engaging Stakeholders
• Victim Support
• Prevention
• Communication

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What the GLA will do

• Deal with potential victims if they present
  themselves to us, duty of care as first responder
• If for any reason GLA cannot offer immediate
  assistance liaise with relevant partner
• Assist with victim/witness interviews and
  evidence gathering
• Liaise with UKHTC and Salvation Army/Migrant
  Helpline
• Advice on Forced Labour
• Assist in completing NRM Forms
• Secure evidence
• Work alongside investigative teams
• Open up opportunity for POCA Financial
  Investigation
• Support development of cases through intelligence

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What the Police/Partners can do for GLA

• Support joint enquiries and lead on forced labour
  and trafficking cases
• If unable to deal with wider offences - say so!
• Provide up-to-date intelligence
• Identify cases of joint interest
• Contribute to prevention strategy with large
  agencies and labour users within force area
• Assist in GLA deterrence and disruption activity

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Risks

• Community Tension
• Increase in acquisitive crime
• Increase in assaults
• Health Risks through alcohol and drug dependency
• Health and safety in the workplace
• Risk to workers family in own country

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Current Gaps

• Lack of awareness
• Public
• Industry
• Partners
• Workers
• Co-ordinated response, not always possible
• Identifying best means of support for potential
  victims
• Advice and guidance

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Recent Cases

• Workers recruited in home country
• Brought to addresses in the UK
• Placed in houses with a controller/enforcer
• Placed in work in regulated sector with licensed
  agencies
• No control over bank cards
• Taken to withdraw money
• Fear of assault if wages not paid over
• Actual assaults if step out of line
• Become alcohol dependent

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Accommodation
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Poor conditions
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Health and safety issues
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Lessons Learned

• Have streamlined process for making licensing
  decision
• Manage expectations of victim and other partners
• Media strategy in place - closely controlled by
  lead agency
• Early engagement and understanding of respective
  roles
• Where possible have support systems in place
  prior to intervention

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What next?

• Ensure all officers are trained as first
  responders
• Raise awareness with police and other enforcement
  agencies
• Prepare and issue SOPS for dealing with potential
  trafficking victims
• Work closely with UKHTC and Salvation Army to
  ensure smooth process and reduce trauma for
  potential victims
• Promote best practice in order to prevent
  exploitation and opportunities for forced labour.
• Financial Investigators/Intelligence Officers
• Work with overseas partners

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Prevention

• Already working with Industry to identify threats
• Identifying lessons learned with partners
• Developing advice for issue by trade
  representatives
• Supply chain protocol
• Engaging overseas partners to make workers aware
  of risks/indicators of forced labour
• Development of website
• Promote successes
• Act as focal point for advice

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Contact

• enquiries_at_gla.gsi.gov.uk
• 0845 6025020
• intelligence_at_gla.gsi.gov.uk
• 0115 9597052

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• Questions and comments?