Not the whole picture? Modern slavery crimes recorded and charged by the police

Since 2013 the British government has repeatedly promised to eradicate modern slavery. Far from diminishing as a social problem, the number of cases of modern slavery officially recorded has grown every year.

We analysed 3,304 suspected modern slavery incidents reported to two police forces in northern England between 2021 and 2023, of which 2,170 were recorded as crimes.

In around two-thirds of crimes, no suspect was identified, and fewer than 4% resulted in a charge. Almost three-quarters of victims were male and almost half were under 18. This profile of victims was partly due to the predominance of criminal exploitation crimes (59% of all crimes recorded), in which over 90% of victims were male, and nearly 60% were under 18.

Crimes detected by the police were far more likely to lead to charges: although police-detected offences made up less than half of recorded modern slavery crimes, they accounted for four-fifths of crimes where people were charged. Charging rates were higher in crimes involving female victims, whilst crimes classified as cannabis cultivation and domestic servitude rarely resulted in charges.