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People trafficking: response to Met police unit closure fears

Responding to reports that the Metropolitan Police’s Human Trafficking Team may be disbanded, Amnesty International UK Director Kate Allen said:

“We’re extremely concerned that if the Met’s highly specialised Human Trafficking Team is disbanded, the fight against people trafficking is going to suffer.

“People trafficking is a difficult crime to detect and combat, and there’s a danger that transferring responsibility for combating trafficking to other police teams will mean that hard-earnt expertise will be lost within the police.

“There’s also a danger of over-focusing on the fight against trafficking for sexual exploitation, with trafficking into forced labour and domestic servitude being forgotten.

“Instead of closure, what we need to see is the Human Trafficking Team bolstered and fully supported, with NGOs and other agencies helping in this fight.”

Along with other campaign organisations, Amnesty International UK has written to the Met Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson outlining these concerns.

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