Force hits back after anti-slavery inspection
A SENIOR detective has said the county's force is a '˜hostile place' for those behind modern slavery.
It comes as a police watchdog warned in the UK there was ‘inconsistent, even ineffective, identification of victims and investigations closed prematurely’.
HMICFRS, which published a report yesterday on modern slavery, said some victims were unprotected, leaving perpetrators to exploit others.
Hampshire Constabulary Modern Slavery lead Detective Superintendent Scott MacKechnie said: ‘Awareness raising is key to making Hampshire and the Isle of Wight a hostile place for perpetrators and a supportive place for victims.’
The county launched the Modern Slavery Partnership in 2015, with arrests made in Portsmouth last month. Figures show Hampshire police referred 21 victims in 2014 to a national scheme, eight in 2015 and seven in 2016.
Also in 2016 the force identified 13 others who did not want to enter referral mechanism.