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Just one charge has been made by police out of 27 reported modern slavery crimes against children in the the three years since new legislation came into force.

Gloucestershire Constabulary admitted it has 'challenges it needs to respond to' in terms of the criminality its officers see across the county, including modern slavery.

Only one charge out of 27 recorded crimes relating to under 18s has been made by the force under the Modern Slavery Act since the legislation was introduced in 2015, figures obtained by a Freedom of Information request show.

A total of 66 recorded crimes, including those involving adults, have been made since March 30 2015, three of which led to charges.

The Modern Slavery Act was introduced to give greater powers to police and the courts to crack down on slavery in Britain.

Gloucestershire detectives say they've recorded drug gangs which use people as mules to transport, hold and sell drugs in other areas.

The full scale of exploitation however cannot be captured as captors are often charged for wrongdoings different to the crimes that were initially recorded - meaning a recording of human trafficking can result in a charge for grooming.

Detective Chief Inspector Gavin Webb, Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking lead at Gloucestershire Constabulary, insisted the county is a "positive and safe place to live" and said the bare statistics don't necessarily reflect the full picture.

"This isn't as straightforward as it may seem," he said.

"The first thing to say is that recording crime is not evidentially based, in that the lever at which we would record a crime will be a great deal lower than the evidential level required to charge and prosecute it.

"Next, the way we record Modern Slavery Act offences is different from other types of crime.

"A number of criminal offences can sometimes occur during one incident, but we would record a crime in respect of the principle, most serious offence.

"For example, if a victim were assaulted and then a rape occurred, the rape offence would be recorded as a crime only, although the suspect in such a case may well be charged for one or both, depending on the evidence gathered and the charging decision made by the Crown Prosecution Service."

DCI Webb said that, in modern slavery and human trafficking cases, the National Crime Recording Standards require police to record those offences, in addition to any further principle crime.

He added: "So, if a victim were seriously assaulted, and the evidence suggested they were trafficked to that place by the offender, then a crime would be recorded for both offences. As covered above however, one or both offences could be charged.

"So, while a trafficking crime under the Modern Slavery Act could be recorded, it may be that if a charge is brought in relation to the investigation, it could be under the Sexual Offences Act, for instance, or controlling prostitution.

"Modern slavery is a broad subject and can be linked with child sexual exploitation.

"Human trafficking, a Modern Slavery Act Crime, is in effect the movement of a person with a view to exploiting them. It might be that a crime of human trafficking is recorded, but the result is a charge for 'grooming'.

"Also we have seen and recorded modern slavery and human trafficking crimes in relation to county lines drugs crime groups.

"This is where large urban area based drugs organised crime groups may enlist more vulnerable people to transport, hold and sell drugs in other areas. It may then follow that the group, or individuals, are dealt with for drugs related offences, if that is where the evidence is strongest.

"Notwithstanding the above explanation, there is absolutely more to do to in respect of upskilling staff to deal with the various challenges brought by modern slavery.

"We are engaged with regional partners around training and local multi-agency partners to help improve our intelligence picture and better understand the nature and scale of the issue in the county and beyond.

"The police are an integral part of the Anti-Slavery Partnership in the county and regionally.

"This is not an area of criminality where the police can respond alone. A vital partner, the CPS – the agency who make charging decisions – are also working on training lawyers to work with the police in identifying the best ways to gather and present evidence in these cases. Victims may well not be supportive of continuing investigations and this can also make it difficult, but not impossible, to bring charges.

"Modern slavery has seen a significant national focus and it is an operational priority within Gloucestershire Constabulary. Gloucestershire, like every county, has challenges to respond to in terms of the criminality we see, but there is no doubt that it is a positive and safe place to live."

(Image: Kevin Fern Photography)

Gloucestershire's police and crime commissioner Martin Surl said the statistics do not represent the trends in crimes.

He said: “Statistics can be interpreted in many ways.

“Police recorded crime figures do not provide a reliable measure of trends in crime, but they do provide a good measure of the crime-related demand on the police."