PSNI decide not to seek prosecutions ......
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08:00Wednesday 18 November 2015
The PSNI has decided not to seek prosecutions, for the time being, under an anti-human trafficking law passed by the Assembly which makes it a criminal offence to buy sex.
Police told the News Letter they will not be charging anyone – for an unspecified period – in order to “allow time for understanding and awareness” of the new law to take effect across the community.
Instead, anyone arrested will either be offered a caution or subjected to a potential rape investigation, depending on whether detectives believe the woman involved was consenting or under duress.
Buying sex in Northern Ireland controversially became a criminal offence in June, inspired by similar legislation in Sweden. The bill – introduced by Lord Morrow and backed by the Executive parties – was intended to cut down trafficking and exploitation of vulnerable women by reducing demand among buyers. However critics insisted it would make life more dangerous for people in the sex trade by driving it further underground.
The revelations came after Chief Constable George Hamilton told the Policing Board recently that one man had been arrested under the new legislation as part of an intelligence led operation against human trafficking.
Police have now told the News Letter that the suspect was arrested, interviewed and released on bail. “During his bail period the matter was concluded via a discretionary disposal [a caution].”
Three women arrested in the same case for suspected brothel keeping received an adult caution. “The streamlined caution file will be forwarded to the PPS.”
A PSNI spokesman clarified the policy it has adopted. “Under certain circumstances, officers have been advised to deal with such an offence by way of discretionary disposal [a caution],” he said. “This is to allow time for an understanding and awareness of the new legislation to take effect across the community. This applies to a purely consensual transaction where consent is freely given by all concerned.”
He clarified that “if there was evidence of a sexual act with a non-consenting victim, this would be investigated as a possible rape”.
Police did not say if or when they will begin to prosecute suspects.
The News Letter has also discovered that a second arrest took place under the law in June.
“There was an incident in June which, at one stage, looked as if it might involve a Section 15 [sex buyer] offence but after further inquiries this transpired not to be the case and the matter is being dealt with under different legislation,” he said.
Police declined to give any further details.
Lord Morrow, who spearheaded the new law, said it was the duty of the PSNI to enforce the will of the Assembly. In October it passed his Human Trafficking and Exploitation bill by 81 votes to 10.
“The police have stated their policy on charging is to allow time for understanding and awareness to increase amongst the public, but there have been no indications as to how this will actually be achieved,” he said.
“Despite the Justice Minister’s reluctance to support Clause 15 [the sex buyer clause], the Assembly has spoken loudly and clearly, ensuring all the provisions of the Bill became law.
“With that fact the Department of Justice has a duty to ensure the public are aware of the changes in the law, but to date they have done nothing in that area. With the law in place it is also the job of the Police to then enforce that law.
“Waiting until an offence has been carried out to make people aware of legislation is a far from adequate response. The PSNI also appear not to have indicated how long they intend this ‘temporary’ stance to be in place.’”
A human trafficking victim who lobbied MLAs to introduce the sex buyer law slammed police for not immediately enforcing it.
“I think they are playing with the law because the people they arrested may have been public figures with good lawyers,” said ‘Anna’.
There is no evidence whatsoever that this wild speculation is indeed the case.
Anna felt the three women arrested for brothel keeping in the latest raid would have felt “too threatened” to talk immediately and should have been given 45 days to reflect. This would have allowed the PSNI to see who came calling for them – family or a trafficking gang.
In her experience of being in brothels, some women are trafficked, some are voluntary and some are female traffickers who pretend to be sex workers in order to maintain control and evade detection.
She was arrested and convicted with other women after a similar raid in the Republic of Ireland, while under the control of a violent trafficking gang.
“When I was brought to court for brothel keeping I was not given a chance to defend myself [to explain she was under duress]. I was told to keep my mouth shut.” she said.
“Giving women criminal records only blocks their prospects of leaving the sex trade.”
Anna holds a human trafficking victim certificate from the Serious Organised Crime Agency.
Dr Graham Ellison of the QUB Institute of Criminology said Lord Morrow needs to remember is that in the UK the responsibility for law enforcement lies solely with the police. “The common law convention, and given legal substance in a crucial judgement by Lord Denning in the Blackburn case [1968] set the seal on the doctrine of constabulary independence, sometimes called the operational independence of police,” he said.
“Basically Lord Denning ruled that the police cannot be dictated to over what laws they enforce by anyone, including politicians.”
He added that the bill is “in many senses a disaster” and will “do nothing for victims of human trafficking for sexual exploitation”. It will also dry up valuable sources of intelligence on victims from voluntary sex workers their clients and from internet advertising companies, he added.
Independent sex worker Laura Lee is launching a legal challenge against the new law in Belfast High Court.
She declined to offer any comment.
Department of Justice figures for child and adult trafficking in Northern Ireland since 2009 show there have been 39 confirmed cases of sex trafficking, 29 of labour trafficking with two victims of unknown exploitation type.
QUB STUDY:
In the run-up to the new legislation last year, a Queen’s University study said that less than one per cent of people in the sex trade are forced to be there – a claim rejected by Women’s Aid.
Detective Chief Superintendent Roy McComb said “the greater number” of people in the sex trade were not trafficked but added that people in it are on “a spectrum” regarding consent and vulnerability.
Annie Campbell of Women’s Aid said that many women who are not technically trafficked “are still victims of dreadful exploitation” and are controlled by addiction or “a pimp”; it takes many “quite a while” to realise they have been “groomed” into prostitution, she said.
Similarly, a GB study by the Association of Chief Police Officers found some 56pc of women in the sex trade, were “vulnerable” and had chosen prostitution “albeit with limited alternatives” and are now “overly reliant on their controllers”; a further 15pc were trafficked while 32pc were largely independent.
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