The National Referral Mechanism is a framework for identifying victims of modern slavery and ensuring they receive appropriate support. Read more about it in our Guide to Modern Slavery here.
The newly-released statistics from the National Crime Agency show how it has been working from July to September 2017. The West Midlands has had a total of 137 referrals, second only to the Metropolitan Police Region. In terms of victim care and support its important we fully understand these stats so we can ensure the victims once rescued, receive the best possible care and are not vulnerable to re exploitation in the future. Read the full statistics here.
Key Points
- 1322 potential victims were submitted to the National Referral Mechanism during the period July to September 2017; a 10% increase from the previous quarter April to June 2017.
- Reporting showed potential victims of trafficking originating from 73 different countries this period.
- Albania, the UK and Vietnam remain the most commonly reported nationalities from these, with the United Kingdom being the most referred this quarter.
- The most common exploitation type recorded for potential victims exploited as an adult was labour exploitation, closely followed by sexual exploitation.
- The most prominent exploitation type recorded for potential victims first exploited as a minor was labour exploitation, which includes the sub category of criminal exploitation such as cannabis cultivation.
- One case of organ harvesting has been recorded this quarter, although the harvesting threat occurred overseas.
- Four potential victims were referred for crime recording purposes to Northern Ireland, with 50 to Scotland and 45 to Wales. The remaining 1223 were referred to police forces in England.