Police in Cornwall are struggling to get to grips with modern slavery and human trafficking because they lack resources and the cases are too difficult, the county’s senior officer has admitted.
Sex trafficking, forced labour and young boys being trafficked to sell drugs is a major issue in Cornwall, Chief Constable Shaun Sawyer said.
Officers are currently involved in “dozens” of operations to tackle modern slavery and human trafficking across the south west.
The revelation comes after a report into the police response to the issue found that forces up and down the country are failing to tackle the problem, because the cases are too difficult and senior officers believe the public lack sympathy for the victims.
Senior officers in forces across the country openly expressed a reluctance to “turn over the stone” and proactively look for modern slavery and human trafficking offences, the report said.
![Men using sex workers in Cornwall's pop-up brothels are committing rape, senior police figures warn](https://i2-prod.cornwalllive.com/news/cornwall-news/article672680.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/0_GettyImages-522117684-2.jpg)
Cornwall’s most senior police officer, Chief Constable Shaun Sawyer, is also the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for modern slavery.
Chief Constable Sawyer admitted that police simply do not have the resources to deal with the issue of modern slavery and human trafficking in a more proactive way.
“In the south west we now have dozens of highly complex active investigations, and many hundreds of lines of intelligence cases,” he told BBC Radio Cornwall.
“Sadly we are lifting the lid on something that will soon run into many hundreds, and ultimately could lead into many thousands of intelligence reports.
![Cornwall’s most senior police officer, Chief Constable Shaun Sawyer, is also the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for modern slavery](https://i2-prod.cornwalllive.com/news/cornwall-news/article676653.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/ShaunSawyer.jpg)
“The reality is we don’t [have the resources], but you go onto the pitch with the resources you have and play with what you’ve got.
“The perpetrators and those exploited take many hundreds of hours of police work so it’s not just the numbers, it's the complexity of these investigations. It's a real, real challenge to officers in Cornwall.”
Chief Constable Sawyer identified sex trafficking, forced labour and young boys being trafficked to sell drugs as the biggest issues in Cornwall.
He added: “Organised immigration crime will try and infiltrate legitimate businesses by using migrant workers, and often then taxing them and taking their pay.
![Officers are currently involved in “dozens” of operations to tackle modern slavery and human trafficking across the south west](https://i2-prod.cornwalllive.com/news/cornwall-news/article676659.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/slavery.jpg)
“So we have to be vigilant working with businesses to ensure that legitimate businesses are really not infiltrated by organised crime through labour exploitation.
“Drug gangs infiltrating Cornwall through young boys is also a major challenge for us, and there’s been some excellent work by police in Truro combating that.
“Then the other thing in Cornwall is of course sexual exploitation. We live in a digital age and sadly we do see women trafficked into Cornwall for sexual exploitation.”
Pop-up brothels found in holiday lets and other properties in Cornwall are currently being probed by MPs investigating the sex trade.
![Over 20 pop-up brothels have been discovered in Newquay since July 2016](https://i2-prod.cornwalllive.com/news/cornwall-news/article667678.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/1_Newquaybrothel3PNG.png)
The sex den epidemic in Cornwall first came to light in July 2016 and is still considered to be an issue, particularly in Newquay.
An inquiry has been launched into organised crime gangs who use temporary addresses to traffic and sexually exploit women.
The majority of the sex workers are from Poland and Romania and are being trafficked by international gangs, while the customers using the brothels are mainly local people.
While prostitution is legal in England and Wales, the sex workers in these situations are under duress and are not technically consenting, Chief Constable Sawyer has warned.
He added: “Pop-up brothels; it all sounds quite cosy, but if we think what goes into that, the men who use them... these aren’t women who are sexually consenting, these are women who are under duress and you are committing rape - let's say it as it is.”
Chief Constable Sawyer has called on the community in Cornwall to help police to get to grips with modern slavery and human trafficking.
“If you don’t want to call local police and speak to specialists, you can report concerns to the modern slavery national helpline, on 08000 121 700,” he said.
“Those concerns might be; you see a lot of men in one location or building coming in and off on shift, people who are dishevelled, people who have someone controlling them, let’s say you’re at the shops and there always seems to be someone controlling their money, they are very quietly spoken.
“Or you’re an employer and always paying cash and the money is not going to the worker. We work off that community intelligence to identify potentially vulnerable victims.”