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New crackdown on sex trafficking New crackdown on sex trafficking
(about 2 hours later)
A new crackdown on human trafficking is being launched by police forces across Britain and the Irish Republic.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. It aims to rescue women and children forced to work in the sex industry and prosecute gangs who are profiting.
It will also aim to help victims and raise public awareness of the problem. Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said the operation would give a clearer picture of the scale of this "secret" crime.
But groups working with foreign victims say there is not enough support and many face being returned to the countries they were trafficked from. Campaigners said the government had not committed enough funding to tackle the growing problem but Ms Smith said it had invested "significant resources".
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.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 Two hundred years after we banned the trade in slavery in Parliament in the UK, it's shocking that this is still going on Home Secretary Jacqui Smith
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 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.
"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
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.
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.
So far, no additional funding has been received for the police operation.
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. It also led to the creation of the Human Trafficking Centre.
They found women, mostly from eastern Europe, sold for figures ranging between £500 and £8,000. Gloucestershire Chief Constable Dr Tim Brain said the new initiative would aim to gather intelligence as well as enforce the law and rescue victims.
The operation also led to the creation of the Human Trafficking Centre. "A lot of it is intelligence gathering for now and for the future," he told BBC's Breakfast.
Pentameter 2 is likely to be more extensive than its predecessor because the problem of trafficking has intensified since last year. "So it's to improve our picture but equally at the same time to ensure that we go after these gang masters, the people who are exploiting the women, and bring them to justice."
Helpline He said: "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.
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. "It's a very profitable crime for the criminals who work these women. We expect it to grow unless we do something about it."
2006 OPERATION PENTAMETER 84 women and teen girls freed232 people arrested515 premises visitedWomen sold for £500-£8,000
The home secretary said recent research suggested 4,000 women in the country were working in areas of sexual exploitation and may have been trafficked.
However she said there was no evidence to show it was a worsening problem.
Women and children were being trafficked from in and outside Europe, and within the UK too, she said.
"Two hundred years after we banned the trade in slavery in Parliament in the UK, it's shocking that this is still going on," she said.
The police are asking members of the public to play a part too by reporting any suspicious behaviour to local police.
Chief Constable Brain 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."
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. 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.
They were aimed directly at women themselves offering advice about how to get help.