This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/uk/7024646.stm
The article has changed 12 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| New crackdown on sex trafficking | New crackdown on sex trafficking |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| A new crackdown on human trafficking is being launched by police forces across Britain and the Irish Republic. | |
| The operation aims to break up and prosecute gangs who force women and children - most of them from abroad - to work in the sex industry. | The operation aims to break up and prosecute gangs who force women and children - most of them from abroad - to work in the sex industry. |
| It will also aim to help victims and raise public awareness of the problem. | It will also aim to help victims and raise public awareness of the problem. |
| But groups working with foreign victims say there is not enough support and many face being returned to the countries they were trafficked from. | But groups working with foreign victims say there is not enough support and many face being returned to the countries they were trafficked from. |
| The operation, Codenamed Pentameter 2, will involve all 55 police forces in the UK and the Republic of Ireland and the dedicated UK Human Trafficking Centre in Sheffield. | |
| It's a very profitable crime for the criminals who work these women Dr Tim Brain, Gloucestershire Chief Constable | It's a very profitable crime for the criminals who work these women Dr Tim Brain, Gloucestershire Chief Constable |
| Gloucestershire Chief Constable Dr Tim Brain said it was a growing problem that needed tackling. | Gloucestershire Chief Constable Dr Tim Brain said it was a growing problem that needed tackling. |
| "It's a secret crime so nobody has a real idea of just how big it is, but the indications are that it is growing," he told BBC's Breakfast. | "It's a secret crime so nobody has a real idea of just how big it is, but the indications are that it is growing," he told BBC's Breakfast. |
| "It's a very profitable crime for the criminals who work these women. We expect it to grow unless we do something about it." | "It's a very profitable crime for the criminals who work these women. We expect it to grow unless we do something about it." |
| He said the operation to be launched at the Home Office on Wednesday would aim to gather intelligence as well as enforce the law and rescue victims. | He said the operation to be launched at the Home Office on Wednesday would aim to gather intelligence as well as enforce the law and rescue victims. |
| "A lot of it is intelligence gathering for now and for the future. So it's to improve our picture but equally at the same time to ensure that we go after these gang masters, the people are exploiting the women, and bring them to justice." | "A lot of it is intelligence gathering for now and for the future. So it's to improve our picture but equally at the same time to ensure that we go after these gang masters, the people are exploiting the women, and bring them to justice." |
| Resources needed | Resources needed |
| The public could play its part too by reporting any suspicious behaviour to local police, he said. | The public could play its part too by reporting any suspicious behaviour to local police, he said. |
| "They often will have information or suspicions. They will feel uneasy about some premises, some women they see, maybe somebody who is next to them on the plane as they are coming in," he said. | "They often will have information or suspicions. They will feel uneasy about some premises, some women they see, maybe somebody who is next to them on the plane as they are coming in," he said. |
| But campaign groups are warning sufficient resources must be made available if the problem is to be tackled. | But campaign groups are warning sufficient resources must be made available if the problem is to be tackled. |
| Aidan McQuade, of Anti-Slavery International, has called on the government to commit to ensuring sufficient resources are made available during the course of the operation. | Aidan McQuade, of Anti-Slavery International, has called on the government to commit to ensuring sufficient resources are made available during the course of the operation. |
| So far, no additional funding has been received for the police operation. | So far, no additional funding has been received for the police operation. |
| Sold for £500 | Sold for £500 |
| The first Operation Pentameter in 2006 freed 84 women and teenage girls from brothels and massage parlours and led to 232 arrests. | The first Operation Pentameter in 2006 freed 84 women and teenage girls from brothels and massage parlours and led to 232 arrests. |
| Officers visited 515 premises connected with the sex industry. | Officers visited 515 premises connected with the sex industry. |
| They found women, mostly from eastern Europe, sold for figures ranging between £500 and £8,000. | They found women, mostly from eastern Europe, sold for figures ranging between £500 and £8,000. |
| The operation also led to the creation of the Human Trafficking Centre. | The operation also led to the creation of the Human Trafficking Centre. |
| Pentameter 2 is likely to be more extensive than its predecessor because the problem of trafficking has intensified since last year. | Pentameter 2 is likely to be more extensive than its predecessor because the problem of trafficking has intensified since last year. |
| Helpline | Helpline |
| Ahead of its launch, some police raids have already taken place and officers have begun gathering intelligence about "internal trafficking", in which people born in the UK are sold, moved around and exploited by criminal gangs. | Ahead of its launch, some police raids have already taken place and officers have begun gathering intelligence about "internal trafficking", in which people born in the UK are sold, moved around and exploited by criminal gangs. |
| A new telephone information line will be set up to give advice to immigration staff and social workers attempting to identify victims of trafficking. | A new telephone information line will be set up to give advice to immigration staff and social workers attempting to identify victims of trafficking. |
| During the first operation, officers handed out leaflets at entry points, including airports and ports. | |
| They were aimed directly at women themselves offering advice about how to get help. | They were aimed directly at women themselves offering advice about how to get help. |