Criminal Exploitation Policy

1. Statement of Policy

The aim of the policy is to ensure that Dyfed-Powys Police has a consistent and professional approach to policing incidents of Criminal Exploitation involving both adults and children.

Dyfed-Powys police consider criminal exploitation as including.

• Slavery, servitude and forced or compulsory labour.
• Sexual exploitation.
• Removal of organs.
• Securing services by force, threats or deception.
• Securing services from children and vulnerable persons.

Dyfed-Powys adopts the following definition for Child Criminal Exploitation as set out in the Home Office’s 2018 Serious Violence Strategy.

Child Criminal Exploitation occurs where an individual or group takes advantage of an imbalance of power to coerce, control, manipulate or deceive a child or young person under the age of 18 into any criminal activity (a) in exchange for something the victim needs or wants, and/or (b) for the financial or other advantage of the perpetrator or facilitator and/or (c) through violence or the threat of violence. The victim may have been criminally exploited even if the activity appears consensual. Child Criminal Exploitation does not always involve physical contact; it can also occur through the use of technology.

Dyfed-Powys Police are committed to tackling all forms of criminal exploitation recognising its reach beyond our force borders. Engagement with local, regional and national partners will take place to ensure effective information sharing and joint working through the use of shared intelligence and assets.

Where exploitation is identified Dyfed-Powys Police will provide a robust response to investigate the criminal activity and protect victims through the use of civil orders and other existing pathways for support.

Dyfed-Powys Police will recognise that many of those exploited will not identify themselves as victims and a victim centred approach is necessary to secure evidence and achieve engagement with safeguarding measures.

Applies (but not limited) to: All categories of Dyfed-Powys Police officers and staff, whether full-time, part-time, permanent, fixed term, temporary (including agency staff, associates and contractors), seconded staff and volunteers. Police Officers, staff and volunteers accessing and using Force assets and property must have due regard to the contents of this policy.

 

2. Policy Scope

Dyfed-Powys Police recognises the impact on the lives of individuals who are exposed to criminal exploitation.  We also recognise the impact this can have on the lives of close family members and the wider community.

The safeguarding of individuals at risk of exploitation is paramount and identification of potential risk should be recognised as an opportunity to identify and address risks. The reasons for a person being identified as being at risk of exploitation may be complex and linked to a variety of social or family issues.

Criminal Exploitation occurs where an individual or group takes advantage of an imbalance of power to coerce, control, manipulate or deceive a child or vulnerable adult to commit criminal offences or be subjected to criminal acts. The victim may be criminally exploited even if the activity appears consensual.

It is accepted that the following are priorities for Dyfed-Powys Police in its approach to exploitation:

• Effective and early identification of those individuals at risk of exploitation.
• A consistent multi agency approach to safeguarding individuals at risk of exploitation.
• Engagement with wider community to raise awareness of the risks and signs of criminal exploitation.
• Robustly target and prosecute those who criminally exploit others no matter where they live.

The above principles are everybody’s business and Dyfed-Powys will equip its staff and volunteers to recognise and respond quickly and effectively to protect those at risk of harm.

This policy will be made available for all staff and volunteers to follow during the course of their duties.

The principles of this policy will be followed by all staff and volunteers when dealing with the pattern of reporting, responding to and investigating reports of criminal exploitation.  Dyfed-Powys Police guidance will provide details of the responsibilities of all parties involved in the conduct and management of investigations, from first contact with an employee of Dyfed-Powys to the conclusion of the investigation.

Guidance will be available to all staff and volunteers on the internal intranet site.

The safety and wellbeing of individuals at risk of exploitation is paramount.  Failure to identify and appropriately grade risks at the earliest opportunity could have serious consequences. 

 

3.  Powers and Policy/Legal Requirements

• Modern Day Slavery Act 2015
• Sexual Offences Act 2003
• Serious Violence Strategy 2018, Home Office
• The Wales Safeguarding Procedures

The following are the Approved Professional Practices created by the College of Policing which outline best practice (this information can be found directly on the College of Policing Approved Professional Practice website):

• College of policing APP for Child Sexual Exploitation
• College of Policing APP for Prostitution and Sex Work
• College of Policing APP for Modern Day Slavery

 

4.  Options and Contingencies

Dyfed-Powys Police have an exploitation team comprising of a Detective Sergeant and co-ordinators for Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation, Modern Day Slavery and Missing Persons. The team work closely with officers, staff and volunteers across the force to tackle criminal exploitation.

The Team chair weekly exploitation meetings with each of the four local policing areas (LPA), comprising of representatives from the Exploitation team, Field Intelligence Bureau (FIB) and Criminal Exploitation (CE) officers. Objective is to review the safeguarding and management of all nominated perpetrators across the force in addition to any new perpetrators, identified by FIB via new and developing intelligence. All managed perpetrators are allocated to the respective LPA to manage the safeguarding and any identified actions. All perpetrators are flagged on the force record management system (Niche) and form part of the LPA Threat and Tasking Meetings and the force Tactical Tasking & Co-ordination Group.

This policy will be owned by CID - PVP.

It will be reviewed regularly to ensure its effectiveness and make necessary amendments in relation to changes and updates in related legislation and guidance.

Approval decisions regarding the implementation of this policy will be made by the Detective Superintendent of Protecting Vulnerable People and the Strategic Vulnerability Group.

Scrutiny and audit of force records is regularly carried out to ensure Dyfed-Powys Police have acted accordingly to safeguard and seek support for vulnerable persons where necessary. 

The following Code of Ethics principles apply:

• Courage
• Respect & Empathy
• Public Service

 

5.  Take action and review

The Detective Superintendent for Protecting Vulnerable People is the strategic lead for Vulnerability and the coordination of Policies. Criminal Exploitation is managed under the Vulnerability portfolio, which receives oversight from the Strategic Vulnerability Board, ensuring that the strategic approach and response to vulnerability is fully embedded within the organisation.

 

CODE OF ETHICS CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE

This policy has been drafted in accordance with the Code of Ethics and has been reviewed on the basis of its content and the supporting evidence and it is deemed compliant with that Code and the principles underpinning it.

HUMAN RIGHTS ACT CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE

This policy has been drafted in accordance with the Human Rights Act and has been reviewed on the basis of its content and the supporting evidence and it is deemed compliant with that Act and the principles underpinning it.

EQUALITY IMPACT ASSESSMENT

Section 4 of the Equality Act 2010 sets out the protected characteristics that qualify for protection under the Act as follows: Age; Disability; Gender Reassignment; Marriage and Civil Partnership; Pregnancy and Maternity; Race; Religion or Belief; Sex; Sexual Orientation.

The public sector equality duty places a proactive legal requirement on public bodies to have regard, in the exercise of their functions, to the need to:

• eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation, and any other conduct that is unlawful under the Act;
• advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it;
• foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it.

The equality duty applies to all protected characteristics with the exception of Marriage and Civil Partnership, to which only the duty to have regard to the need to eliminate discrimination applies.

Carrying out an equality impact assessment involves systematically assessing the likely or actual effects of policies on people in respect of all the protected characteristics set out above. An equality impact assessment should be carried out on any policy that is relevant to the public sector equality duty. 

EQUALITY IMPACT ASSESSMENT COMPLETED: November 2024