Current status: Answered by Keith Brown on 25 March 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many victims of modern slavery have been identified in each year since 1999.
The National Referral Mechanism is the UK-wide framework for identifying victims of human
trafficking and exploitation and ensuring they receive appropriate support. The NRM is
operated by the Single Competent Authority and Immigration Enforcement Competent Authority
within the Home Office.
NRM data can be accessed via the Modern Slavery: National Referral Mechanism statistics which
contains records back to 2013.
In terms of police recorded crime statistics, there is no single crime of slavery. However multiple
types of crime involve, or can involve, slavery. A list of these is provided below. Further information
on slavery related activity is also available from the Anti-Slavery Commissioner, within their
Annual Report . The data the Scottish Government receives from Police Scotland is a general count
of the number of crimes and offences recorded by the police, split by local authority. We do not receive
further details on the characteristics of these cases, including the number of victims.
Slavery or forced labour
Human organ offences
Immoral traffic
Procuration (excluding homosexual offences)
Procuration (homosexual offences)
Breach of trafficking and exploitation order
Most of these crime types fall under the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015.
This came into effect on 31 May 2016, with the first recorded crimes falling in the 2016-17 recording
year (see Table One below). Prior to this act there were no straightforward means to track crimes of
slavery.
Table 2 shows the number of Immoral traffic and Procuration-based crimes recorded in Scotland since
1999 (both of which are classified as crimes associated with prostitution). It should be noted that the
same crimes are shown in Tables 1 and 2 for Immoral traffic over 2016-17 to 2020-21. This is because
the data we hold does not identify which crimes of Immoral traffic relate to the Human Trafficking and
Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015, and which relate to earlier legislation.
Table 1 – Recorded crimes under the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015,
Scotland, 2016-17 to 2020-21
Crime name | 2016-17 1 | 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 |
Slavery or Forced Labour | 23 | 68 | 144 | 244 | 92 |
Human Organ Offences | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Immoral traffic 2 | 26 | 21 | 31 | 23 | 23 |
Breach of Trafficking & Exploitation Order | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
Total | 61 | 99 | 184 | 277 | 123 |
Notes:
1. As the act came into effect on 31 May 2016 this is not a full recording year.
2. Although this crime pre-dates the act, some charges under the act were assigned to this crime
beginning with the 2016-17 recording year.
Table 2 – Recorded crimes of Immoral traffic and Procuration, Scotland, 1999-00 to 2020-21
Crime name | 1999-00 | 2000-01 | 2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 |
Immoral traffic | 5 | 11 | 12 | 24 | 14 | 47 | 27 | 17 | 16 | 21 | 36 |
Procuration (excluding homosexual acts) | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 4 | 7 | 6 |
Procuration (homosexual acts) | 14 | 3 | 6 | 11 | 3 | 8 | 6 | 13 | 9 | 8 | 5 |
Total | 23 | 14 | 20 | 36 | 21 | 56 | 35 | 43 | 29 | 36 | 47 |
Crime name | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | 2013-14 | 2014-15 | 2015-16 | 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 |
Immoral traffic | 33 | 26 | 14 | 32 | 13 | 7 | 26 | 21 | 31 | 23 | 23 |
Procuration (excluding homosexual acts) | 10 | 10 | 11 | 14 | 6 | 12 | 11 | 8 | 5 | 10 | 7 |
Procuration (homosexual acts) | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Total | 48 | 38 | 25 | 46 | 21 | 20 | 37 | 31 | 36 | 33 | 30 |