Modern Slavery - would you know the signs?

Guest article written by Laura Simpson, National Crime Agency

On the 22nd June 2023, the NCA’s Modern Slavery & Human Trafficking (MSHT) Illicit Finance & Enablers team gave a presentation at the Central Valuers Network conference which was attended by over 70 valuers and insurance group members.

The presentation aimed to raise awareness of Modern Slavery, the threat picture in the UK and empower valuers to report suspicions.

What is Modern Slavery?

Modern Slavery is when an individual is exploited by others, for personal or commercial gain. Whether the person is tricked, coerced, or forced, they lose their freedom. Often victims are distrustful of authorities and fear reprisals or disbelief and can therefore be reluctant to seek help despite living in atrocious conditions.

Statistics in relation to  MSHT within the UK are publically available and published on the gov.uk website. Latest figures show that there were 16,938 victims reported in the UK in 2022 with a quarter of them being UK nationals. Additionally it has been estimated that there are over 6,000 MSHT offenders within the UK.

Property & Modern Slavery

Modern Slavery cannot happen without access to property. Property is used to house victims of MSHT, often in houses of multiple occupation, or within exploitation models such as brothels for sexual exploitation, or cannabis grows. Property may provide both accommodation and a place of exploitation e.g nail bars / takeaways / hand car washes. Offenders use the lure of providing property to recruit vulnerable victims and then use the threat of removing this accommodation as a means of control.

The majority of less sophisticated offenders tend to acquire property for MSHT via lettings. The more highly sophisticated criminal organisations do so via purchase or rental through intermediaries; a more complex method that is more difficult to detect.

Identifying Modern Slavery

The indicators for Modern Slavery differ according to the exploitation type.  Below are some general examples of red flag indicators of MSHT within the property sector.

Ultimately most MSHT indicators showcase vulnerability. Everyone can recognise a vulnerability. In isolation, these may not justify any further action, but a combination of indicators, or simply the thought that ‘something doesn’t feel right’ should be enough to consider reporting.

How You Can Help?

MSHT is a vicious crime that harms individuals and causes a vast amount of suffering. Due to it being financially motivated, and requiring property, you are in a unique position to encounter it.

You have the power to detect, deter and disrupt it with strong due diligence and the information you can provide to internal investigative teams and ultimately law enforcement.

The potential gravity of the crime makes it always worth flagging up through internal processes even if you can’t identify the predicate offence. By identifying and reporting concerns, you could be rescuing someone in a dreadful situation. Your diligence may have a greater impact than you realise.

Any report could potentially help victims. Even if you see something outside of your working day, you should still consider submitting a report.

There are three ways to do so:

1. Police - If there is a crime in action or threat of serious harm then please immediately contact 999 . You can call 101 in a non-emergency situation.
2. SAR - via your official processes – please submit a Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) to the UK Financial Intelligence Unit (UKFIU) at the NCA.
3. Modern Slavery Helpline - If you are outside of work, or there is not sufficient suspicion to meet the threshold of a SAR but you have concerns, then you can always submit a report to the Modern Slavery Helpline by calling them on 08000 121 700, or through their website – www.modernslaveryhelpline.org

Written by Laura Simpson, Senior Officer, OIC/MSHT Cross Cutting & Enablers, Threat Leadership Command, National Crime Agency

This article has been written by Laura Simpson from the National Crime Agency and the opinions and views stated in this article are those of Laura Simpson and not Howden Insurance Brokers Limited (“Howden”). Howden is an insurance broker and is not authorised or regulated to advise on modern slavery. Howden shall not (i) owe or accept any duty, responsibility or liability to you or any other person; and (ii) be liable in respect of any loss, damage or expense caused by your or any other party’s reliance on this article.