Look closer and modern slavery could be happening right in front of you – that’s the message from Lancashire Constabulary.



This week officers will be out in force carrying out checks on premises such as nail bars, car washes, massage parlours and properties suspected of being used as brothels, in a bid to find any potential victims and to ensure that our communities have a better understanding of what modern slavery is.

Representatives from the police and modern slavery charities in Romania will also be visiting Lancashire during the week to see how the constabulary is tackling the issue.

This will also act as an opportunity to reinforce relationships with the foreign authorities to better support victims who have been trafficked to the UK.

Since January, 158 incident and intelligence reports have been submitted to Lancashire Constabulary with reference to modern slavery and since 1 April officers have made nine arrests.

Whilst earlier this year three men were convicted for the trafficking of two young women in Preston who were forced to work in a brothel, and another man was convicted in a separate case for the running of brothels in Blackburn and Burnley.

These were significant convictions at court and the perpetrators are now facing time behind bars.

But for the force it’s not just about arrests and securing convictions, but equipping the public with the knowledge about the types of businesses that the crimes might be occurring in and the sort of signs that victims may display.

Detective Chief Inspector Sion Hall, one of the force leads for modern slavery, said: “Here in Lancashire we want to raise as much awareness about modern slavery as we possibly can, and the aim of this week of activity is to drive home the message that it is happening, possibly right in front of you.

“We need the public to share information with us so that we can disrupt these activities and rescue those who are often living in fear and being subject to various forms of exploitation and abuse. Sometimes they are unaware they are victims, so it could be something that a member of public spots that leads to the discovery of a vulnerable person in need of help.”

Modern slavery involves the recruitment and movement of individuals using threats, deception and coercion for the purpose of exploitation.

It takes many forms but the most common are sexual exploitation, forced labour and domestic servitude. Victims are forced to work against their will in many different settings, including brothels, cannabis farms, nail bars, car washes, and agriculture and even within people’s homes.