Post-Brexit Challenges in Policing Modern Slavery in the United Kingdom

Abstract

Modern slavery is a complex and notorious form of transnational organised crime (TOC). Its elusive nature, a characteristic of most cross-border crimes such as drug trafficking and cybercrime, makes fighting it quite challenging; policing it requires a dynamic, proactive, contemporary, multi-agency and multi-national approach. Although the police play a vital role in maintaining law and order in the United Kingdom (UK), they are still under-resourced in some areas, and this compounds the already daunting task of cross-border security and law enforcement. More so, modern slavery has not yet been fully understood by various law enforcement agencies and is therefore not being adequately addressed in spite of the apparent determination of the UK government to combat it as evidenced by the introduction of Modern Slavery Act 2015. New developments in information communications technology (ICT) and global transport systems have enabled ease of cross-border interactions as well as movements of crime and its products. In spite of the need for increased inter-state cooperation to tackle the offence, Brexit, an inconclusive political phenomenon so far, could make it difficult to share intelligence and apprehend potential global criminals, thus exacerbating the already difficult task. This study critically examines the possible impact of Brexit, albeit predominantly speculative, on policing modern slavery in the UK.