Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015 section 38: consultation
This consultation document is about section 38 of the Act, which relates to the duty to notify and provide information about victims.
Section 38(2) of the Act
The Scottish Government is of the view, subject to this consultation exercise, that the anonymised information listed below should be included in a notification if an adult does not consent to providing information that may identify them.
The purpose of duty to notify can be broken down into 3 main categories. Ultimately the collation and processing of data contained in notifications will help to achieve the original policy intention behind section 38 of the Act:
- To provide a more accurate picture of the scale and extent of trafficking in Scotland, to enable more effective targeting of enforcement activity and provision of support services.
However as time has moved on since the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Bill 2014 passed through Parliament, section 38 of the Act will now also feed into and meet the key outcomes of the Trafficking and Exploitation Strategy :
- Identify and support victims to safety and recovery,
- Identify perpetrators and disrupt their activity, and
- Address the conditions that foster trafficking
Further, Part 4 of the Act introduced Trafficking and Exploitation Prevention Orders (TEPO) and Trafficking and Exploitation Risk Orders (TEROs). These are orders that can be imposed on people who have committed, or might commit, a trafficking or exploitation offence prohibiting or requiring them to do certain things.
Although a person must have committed a trafficking or exploitation offence before a TEPO can be made, Police Scotland are able to apply to the Courts for a TERO if there is a risk that an adult may commit a trafficking or exploitation offence and there is a need to protect a particular person, or persons generally, from the physical or psychological harm which would be likely to occur if the adult was to commit a trafficking or exploitation offence.
The collation of the information below may assist Police Scotland in applying for TEROs that will safeguard victims whilst further investigations are ongoing into any alleged criminal activity and subsequent prosecutions.
| Information |
Purpose |
|---|---|
| Gender |
The gender of the victim may be required to identify specific sexual crimes in Scotland. There are specific crimes in Scotland that require the gender of the victim to be known in order to proceed. |
| Nationality |
Action Area 3 (AA3) of the Trafficking and Exploitation Strategy focusses on addressing the conditions that foster trafficking both locally and globally. Information about the nationality of victims will feed into international work being taken forward in respect of AA3. |
| Country of Origin |
Allows Police Scotland to carry out further checks/safeguarding in country of origin. Allows Police Scotland to work with law enforcement in country of origin to put measures in place to prevent victims being trafficked and re-trafficked to Scotland. Action Area 3 (AA3) of the Trafficking and Exploitation Strategy focusses on addressing the conditions that foster trafficking both locally and globally. Information about the country of origin of victims will feed into international work being taken forward in respect of AA3. |
| Location victim was recovered |
This can be the starting point for a criminal investigation to take place, and would allow for enquires to be conducted at this location to try and obtain information/intelligence that could assist a specific enquiry. Action Area 2 (AA2) of the Trafficking and Exploitation Strategy focusses on identifying perpetrators and disrupting their activity. If wider information is known about the location where victims are recovered this can feed into work to break down criminal activity and perpetrator behaviour. Wider information about the location where victims are recovered may assist local authorities, NHS and other support agencies to tailor their services accordingly. |
| Location reported activity took place |
Must be known in order for a crime to be investigated in Scotland and is an essential element to start an investigation. Action Area 2 (AA2) of the Trafficking and Exploitation Strategy focusses on identifying perpetrators and disrupting their activity. If wider information is known about the location where victims are recovered this can feed into work to break down criminal activity and perpetrator behaviour. |
| Reported to be a victim of a section 1 offence |
Must be known in order for a crime to investigated in Scotland and is an essential element to start an investigation. Information about whether a victim is the victim of an alleged section 1 offence will help inform law enforcement activity. |
| Reported to be a victim of a section 4 offence |
Must be known in order for a crime to investigated in Scotland and is an essential element to start an investigation Information about whether a victim is the victim of an alleged section 4 offence will help inform law enforcement activity. |
Question 5:
Do you agree that the anonymised information below should be included in a notification (if it is available) from a specified Scottish public authority to the Police if the adult does not consent to provide information that may identify them?
| Information |
Yes |
No |
If no, please give your reasons for this here |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gender |
|||
| Nationality |
|||
| Country of Origin |
|||
| Location victim was recovered |
|||
| Location reported exploitation took place |
|||
| Has a referral been made to the Police |
|||
| Reported to be a victim of a section 1 offence |
|||
| If a victim of human trafficking, did the trafficking involve
|
|||
| Reported to be a victim of a section 4 offence |
The Scottish Government is of the view, subject to this consultation exercise, that the additional information below should also be included in a notification (if available) if an adult consents to the inclusion of identifiable information. The purpose for collecting each piece of specific information is stated below.
| Information |
Purpose |
|---|---|
| Consent for additional information |
Required so that Police can engage with victim(s) to assess threat risk and harm to them and others. |
| Is the victim willing to be contacted by the Police |
Required so that Police can engage with victim(s) to assess threat risk and harm to them and others. |
| First name |
Required so that Police can engage with victim(s) to assess threat risk and harm to them and others. |
| Family name |
Required so that Police can engage with victim(s) to assess threat risk and harm to them and others. |
| Alias name(s) |
Required so that Police can engage with victim(s) to assess threat risk and harm to them and others. |
| Date of Birth |
Required so that Police can engage with victim(s) to assess threat risk and harm to them and others. |
| Alias Date(s) of Birth |
Required so that Police can engage with victim(s) to assess threat risk and harm to them and others. |
| Is the victim a parent or carer |
May be relevant to safeguard children or vulnerable people either in Scotland, the UK or abroad. |
| Other victims whereabouts |
Required to safeguard other victims either in Scotland, the UK or abroad. |
| Safe Phone Number |
In order for Police to contact victim in respect of investigations and safeguarding other victim(s) |
| Safe Address |
In order for Police to contact victim in respect of investigations and safeguarding other victim(s) |
| Safe Post Code |
In order for Police to contact victim in respect of investigations and safeguarding other victim(s) |
| Does the victim have any additional needs |
So that any additional needs the victim has can be met by Police and other support agencies where applicable. |
| Details of persons responsible/perpetrators |
This will allow Police to assess the situation and potentially identify further victims of trafficking and take any necessary measures to protect those individuals. |
Question 6:
Do you agree that the additional information listed below should be included in a notification from a specified Scottish public authority to the Police if the adult consents to the inclusion of that additional identifiable information?
| Information |
Yes |
No |
If no, please give your reasons for this here. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consent for additional information |
|||
| Is the victim willing to be contacted by the Police |
|||
| First name |
|||
| Family name |
|||
| Alias name(s) |
|||
| Date of Birth |
|||
| Alias Date(s) of Birth |
|||
| Is the victim a parent or carer |
|||
| Other victims whereabouts |
|||
| Safe Phone Number |
|||
| Safe Address |
|||
| Safe Post Code |
|||
| Does the victim have any additional needs |
|||
| Details of persons responsible/perpetrators |
Question 7:
Is there any other information that you think should be included in a notification under section 38(1) of the Act? Yes/No
| If you answered yes to Question 7 please list the information and reason for each piece of information here |
|
|---|---|
| Information |
Reason |
Contact
Email: susan.young@gov.scot
There is a problem
Thanks for your feedback