FOI 607-24 Sex Trafficking & Exploitation
Enquiry Reference: 607 - 24
I write in connection with regards to your Freedom of Information request. Below is your request and our response.
Sex trafficking and exploitation.
1, Please could you provide me with the number of investigations into sex trafficking recorded by your force, broken down annually from 2018 until 2022 (inclusive).
2, Please could you provide me with the number of victims of sex trafficking identified in your force area, broken down annually from 2018 until 2022 (inclusive).
Of these please could you break them down by their nationality (if unknown please state)
Of these please could you break them down by adult/child victims (if unknown please state)
3, Please could you provide me with the number of sex trafficking suspects identified in your force area, broken down annually from 2018 until 2022 (inclusive).
4, Please could you provide me with the number of charges in relation to sex trafficking in your force area, broken down annually from 2018 until 2022 (inclusive).
Of these please could you confirm the number charged under the modern-day slavery act
If any were charged under the "alternate offences rule" please could you give me the number and offence charged
5, Please could you provide me with the number of convictions for sex trafficking in your force area, broken down annually from 2018 until 2022 (inclusive).
Of these please could you confirm the number convicted under the modern-day slavery act. If any were charged under the "alternate offences rule" please could you give me the number and offence convicted
- a) It the duty of Cleveland Police to identify, apprehend suspects, decisions regarding prosecutions are the responsibility of the Crown Prosecution Service and Convictions is that of HM Courts Service therefore Conviction data is held by HM Courts.
6, Please could you provide me with the number of staff solely investigating sex trafficking, broken down annually from 2018 until 2022 (inclusive).
County lines
1, Please could you provide me with the number of investigations into county lines related modern day slavery recorded by your force, broken down annually from 2018 until 2022 (inclusive).
2, Please could you provide me with the number of victims of county lines related modern day slavery identified in your force area, broken down annually from 2018 until 2022 (inclusive).
Of these please could you break them down by their nationality (if unknown please state)
Of these please could you break them down by adult/child victims (if unknown please state)
3, Please could you provide me with the number of county lines related modern day slavery suspects identified in your force area, broken down annually from 2018 until 2022 (inclusive).
4, Please could you provide me with the number of charges in relation to county lines related modern day slavery in your force area, broken down annually from 2018 until 2022 (inclusive).
Of these please could you confirm the number charged under the modern-day slavery act
If any were charged under the "alternate offences rule" please could you give me the number and offence charged
5, Please could you provide me with the number of convictions for county lines related modern day slavery in your force area, broken down annually from 2018 until 2022 (inclusive).
Of these please could you confirm the number convicted under the modern-day slavery act
If any were charged under the "alternate offences rule" please could you give me the number and offence convicted
- a) It the duty of Cleveland Police to identify, apprehend suspects, decisions regarding prosecutions are the responsibility of the Crown Prosecution Service and Convictions is that of HM Courts Service therefore Conviction data is held by HM Courts.
6, Please could you provide me with the number of staff solely investigating county lines related modern day slavery, broken down annually
Section 1 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) places two duties on public authorities. Unless exemptions apply, the first duty at Section 1 (1) (a) is to confirm or deny whether the information specified in a request is held. The second duty at Sec 1(1) (b) is to disclose information that has been confirmed as being held. Where exemptions are relied upon s17 of FOIA requires that we provide the applicant with a notice which: a) states that fact b) specifies the exemption(s) in question and c) states (if that would not otherwise be apparent) why the exemption applies.
Having made enquiries within the Force, sexual exploitation and county lines are not a crime type. Sexual exploitation is part of modern-day slavery offences under home office code 106, however county lines could be any number of offences and to ascertain how many county lines related crimes of modern day slavery, if held, is not in an easily retrievable format and would require a manual search which it is estimated that this would take in excess of the appropriate time stipulated by the Secretary for Constitutional Affairs, Lord Falconer on the 18th Of October 2004, that is, eighteen hours. This falls under the exemption of 'Compliance exceeding the appropriate limit' covered by Section 12 (1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and as such this work could not be undertaken.
Therefore, please treat this as a refusal notice under S17 of the Freedom of information Act.
In accordance with Section 16 of the Act we have a duty to provide advice and assistance, and, on this occasion, we would suggest provided the crime code/offences from the below counting rules and we will endeavour to provide the information requested. This should not be taken as a precedent that additional information would be supplied outside of the time/fee’s legislation for any subsequent requests
Counting rules notification and notifiable reported incidents list 2024/24
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/counting-rules-for-recorded-crime
The Cleveland Police response to your request is unique and it should be noted that Police Forces do not use generic systems or identical procedures to capture and record data therefore responses from Cleveland Police should not be used as a comparison with any other force response you receive.
If you are not satisfied with this response or any actions taken in dealing with your request, you have the right to request an independent internal review of your case under our review procedure. The Freedom of Information Code of Practice (see below link) states that a request for internal review should be made within 20 working days of the date on this response or 40 working days if extenuating circumstances to account for the delay can be evidenced. Public authorities are not obliged to accept internal reviews after this date.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/freedom-of-information-code-of-practice
Yours sincerely
Information Rights Decision Maker