HMICFRS Report: The Police and CPS response to crimes against older people

Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) and Her Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI) have published a report on the police and CPS response to crimes against older people.

The main findings of the report were:

1. There is no national police focus on older victims, many of whom are vulnerable.
   Police forces don’t generally treat crimes against older people as a specific category of offending. Older people are not one of the groups of vulnerable people considered by the cross-policing vulnerability and public protection board, and instead are treated as vulnerable only if certain conditions apply or are deemed to be at risk.
2. The police and the CPS can work better together.
   There is little evidence that the CPS’s policy on crimes against older people was being considered and applied by prosecutors. The different national arrangements of the police and the CPS prevent them working together effectively. A good start would be to agree a joint and simple definition of what constitutes a crime against an older person. Police should develop a strategy that accounts for some of the specific problems faced by older people, and should consider whether, nationally, the response to crimes against older people can be organised differently.
3. It is critical that the police have consistent and effective arrangements to make sure people are kept safe.
   HMICFRS found no common approach to how the police work with other organisations that have responsibility for keeping older people safe. Police don’t always identify older people who need safeguarding, and don’t always share information in an effective way. However, they also found some reluctance from partners to become as fully involved with the police in adult safeguarding arrangements as they are in those for children.
4. The police are usually good in their initial dealings with older victims.
   When victims or their representatives called the police, there was mostly an appropriate response. Initial decisions about whether a victim was vulnerable were mainly accurate, and HMICFRS commends this as the result of forces’ investment in training to help officers recognise vulnerability.
5. Investigations are often not good enough.
   Victims’ experiences of the investigation process were frequently characterised by low levels of communication from the police, and police response was inconsistent.
6. There is little evidence that the police are routinely assessing victims’ needs.
   The Code of Practice for Victims of Crime makes it clear that the police should conduct assessments of victims’ needs and whether they need any support. HMICFRS found that vulnerable victims weren’t being treated according to their needs because of omissions and errors within their assessments. They also raise concerns that the referral system does not work as well as it should.
7. The police and the CPS are often poor at dealing with the complex needs of vulnerable older victims.
   Police and the CPS often didn’t consider: different ways for victims to give their best evidence; special measure assessments and meetings; requesting registered intermediaries; and what reasonable adjustments to help victims in court.
8. Crime allocation policies are often not sophisticated enough.
   These allocation policies can make decisions based primarily on crime types, meaning they were not sophisticated enough to produce the right decisions for the particular circumstances of the case.
9. Systems to refer victims to support services remain patchy.
   Echoing the findings of last year’s hate crime review, HMICFRS again found that some victims weren’t being appropriately referred to support services.

Government response to the independent review of the Modern Slavery Act

The government has published its response to the the independent review of the Modern Slavery Act 2015. The independent review, commissioned in July 2018, considered the specific provisions in the Act, the role of the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, transparency in supply chains, Independent Child Trafficking Advocates and legal application of the Act.

The government response to the independent review sets out how the government intends to respond to the recommendations made by the review. Alongside the response to the independent review, the government has launched a consultation on transparency in supply chains.

Home Office to lift cap on ‘inadequate’ help for trafficking victims

The Home Office has announced that it will end the 45-day policy that limits support for victims of trafficking after finding it incompatible with international standards. Instead, the policy will be replaced by a ‘needs-based systems’ which would not be redistricted to any length of time.

This announcement comes after two victims challenged the policy in the High Court which ruled that the 45-day policy was at risk of causing harm to vulnerable individuals and potentially unlawful.

The announcement, which is hoped to end the conflict of interest between the Government’s immigration policies and its modern slavery duties, has been welcomed by lawyers, politicians, and charities. However, there is now a call for the Home Office to clearly define its plans for support.

Source: The Independent

Domestic workers face heightened slavery risk in UK, warns EU study

A study by the European Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) has found that domestic workers face a higher risk of slavery in the UK. The findings of the study have been published in the report Protecting migrant workers from exploitation in the EU: workers’ perspectives. The findings are based on interviews with 237 exploited workers.

The report focuses on the following areas:

• Pathways into severe labour exploitation
• Working and living conditions of exploited workers
• Employers’ strategies to keep workers in a condition of exploitation
• Interviewees’ perceptions of risk factors for severe labour exploitation
• Exploited workers’ access to justice

The report notes that exploitation often starts with people being given false promises and fraud. One of the key findings concerning the United Kingdom is that domestic workers are not protected by legislation that limits the hours an individual can work. This can easily lead to exploitation.

The report details how once an individual is being exploited, the person exploiting them will often use threats, violence and entrapment to keep them from getting access to help.

Source: European Agency for Fundamental Rights

Independent Review of Modern Slavery

The final Independent Review of Modern Slavery report was laid in Parliament yesterday, 22^nd May 2019. The review, which can be found here, considered specific provisions in the Modern Slavery Act 2015, the role of the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, transparency in supply chains, Independent Child Trafficking Advocates, and legal application of the Modern Slavery Act. The government is now considering the review’s recommendations and will respond formally in due course.

Updated Modern Slavery Victim Referral Guidance

The Government has today published their updated modern slavery victims guidance and forms. The updated forms, which reflect the changes to the referral process, can be found here.

Child Exploitation Disruption Toolkit

The Government has published a child exploitation disruption toolkit. This toolkit, designed for law enforcement, social care, education, housing and the voluntary sector, is to safeguard children and young people under the age of 18 from sexual and criminal exploitation. It intends to set out the legislative powers, such as orders and injunctions, available to police and other safeguarding professionals in the following areas:

• Abduction and trafficking
• Sexual offences
• Victim care
• Unusual or harmful behaviour
• Location of specific concern.

In addition, the toolkit includes best practice in information sharing, multi-agency working, and intelligence and evidence gathering.

Home Office limit on support for slavery victims may be unlawful, court rules

A high court judge has ruled that a Home Office policy which stops all statutory support to victims of slavery six weeks after they have been formally identified as victims of slavery is potentially unlawful.

The judge has ordered the Home Office to extend the support to all victims until the next hearing on 14th April. This comes after campaigners and front line service providers have stated that abruptly ending support after such a short period could result in victims back under the control of traffickers and exploiters.

Source: the Guardian

The Domestic Abuse Report 2019: The Economics of Abuse

The Domestic Abuse Report 2019: The Economics of Abuse is the first thematic report from the series in 2019. The Annual Audit will be published later this month.

Economic abuse is often misunderstood but it is a key tactic used by perpetrators of domestic abuse to control their partner and stop her from leaving. The Domestic Abuse Report 2019: The Economics of Abuse explores the relationship between domestic abuse and economic resources, looking at the needs and experiences of survivors around finances, welfare, housing and employment (economic needs), and how these needs are met by specialist domestic abuse services.

Source: Women’s Aid

Breast ironing awareness ‘needed in school’

The National Education Union has said that breast ironing should become part of the national school curriculum in order to protect young girls from abuse. Furthermore, Nicky Morgan MP has said that teachers must be educated on the matter in order to help prevent breast ironing from happening.

An article by the BBC suggested the number of girls in the UK thought to have been affect by breast ironing is approximately 1000.

Source: BBC News