A NEW report based on police data claims there are likely to be more than 4,600 victims of modern slavery in Wales – more than 100,000 in total in the UK.

Produced by think-tank The Centre for Social Justice and anti-slavery charity Justice and Care, the report claims the issue of human trafficking is likely to intensify in the wake of Covid-19 and is already costing taxpayers billions of pounds.

Over the past five years, Gwent Police has seen an increase in the number of crimes relating to modern slavery – in 2015/16 there were three, in 2018/19 that jumped to 58, around the time when a team of officers were tasked with tackling the issue.

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(The number of crimes has increased over the past five years. The Gwent population is around 594,164.)

A spokesman for Gwent Police said: “Our officers are committed to not only targeting this area of crime and bringing those involved in human trafficking to justice, but also preventing these crimes taking place in Gwent in the first place.

“Just this month the Modern Slavery team has worked with Crimestoppers on a national anti-slavery campaign to help members of the public to spot #slaveryonyourdoorstep. Their role in this included intelligence gathering at car washes and raising awareness of signs of modern-day slavery amongst the agricultural community.

“We also continue our work with the National Crime Agency on Operation Aidant. This operation involves local police forces across the UK alongside partner agencies to focus on vulnerability, exploitation, and modern slavery.

“It also aims to highlight the signs of modern slavery that people may encounter in their everyday lives and encourage them to confidently report it.

“Recent activity has included safeguarding vulnerable sex workers and victims of labour exploitation and working with immigration to understand the implications Covid-19 has had on trafficked workers in the Gwent area.

“We also continue to deliver our MDS training programme to first responders, staff in partner agencies in Gwent and our new Police Staff Investigators”.

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Victims of modern slaveery are frequently trafficked from abroad, although in the last three years the UK has been the top country of origin of suspected slavery victims, the report says. It is calling on the government to do more to understand the scale of the problem, including analysing other police force’s data to build a better national picture of the problem.

Traffickers abuse and exploit their victims in a multitude of forms, with the most common types of exploitation being labour exploitation, sexual exploitation, criminal exploitation and domestic servitude, the report says.

Slavery is often linked to other crimes such as gangs using the identities of victims to commit benefit fraud or to control and coerce them with alcohol and drugs to beg in the streets, engage in the sale of illicit tobacco or work in brothels or car washes.

Four years ago, four family members - Patrick Joseph Connors, 59, and his 39-year-old son Patrick Dean Connors, 39, both of Greenway Road, Rumney, Cardiff, as well as William Connors, 36, of Trowbridge Green, Cardiff and Lee Christopher Carbis, 34, of Witla Court Road, Rumney - were jailed for 27 years for their parts in treating two vulnerable men as ‘slaves’.

The forced labour charge related to Michael Hughes, a 46-year-old man originally from Scotland who came to Wales to find work when he was 18 years old. He said he was treated like a “slave” for more than 20 years.

The Police and Crime Commissioner for Gwent, Jeff Cuthbert, is the all-Wales PCC lead for modern day slavery. He said: “I’m committed to working with Gwent Police and our partners to identify and support victims of all types of modern-day slavery; a despicable crime that exploits the most vulnerable.

“It is a crime that can hide in plain sight, and you may come into contact with victims regularly without even knowing it.

“All of us have a part to play to tackle this crime in our communities and all of us should be aware of what to look for, and how to raise the alarm.

“Please take some time to learn how to spot the tell-tale signs and if you suspect modern slavery is happening, have a hunch that something is not right, or have concerns about individuals, report it as soon as you can”.

For information on the signs to look out for visit www.gwent.police.uk/en/advice/g-m-graffiti-modern-slavery/modern-slavery

Anyone who suspects someone is a victim of modern slavery should call the GLAA’s dedicated intelligence team on 0800 4320804 or email intelligence@gla.gov.uk