Modern Slavery Legislation

The difference between People Smuggling and Human Trafficking explained.

People Smuggling and Human Trafficking are both criminal offences. What are the differences?

People smuggling	Human Trafficking
Immigration Act 1971	Modern Slavery Act 2015
People smuggling is a crime against the state	Human trafficking is a crime against a person
People smuggling is characterised by illegal entry	In Human trafficking, a victim’s entry into a state can be legal or illegal
People smuggling requires international travel	Trafficking can take place both within and across national borders
The criminality is intrinsically linked because People Smuggling can lead to Modern Slavery offences.

Modern Slavery Act 2015

There are three principle offences under the act.

Section 1 - Holding a person in slavery or servitude or requiring a person to perform forced or compulsory labour.

Section 2 - Trafficking a person for exploitation.

These both have a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

Section 45 of the Modern Slavery Act introduced a statutory defence:

for adults being compelled to commit some criminal offences because of their slavery or exploitation and
for children committing some criminal offences as a direct consequence of being, or having been, a victim of slavery or a victim of relevant exploitation.

This defence can only be applied to the less serious offences. A list of those to which it cannot be applied can be found here.

For a more detailed understanding of the Modern Slavery Act legislation Click here

An effective Modern Slavery investigation requires police to work with a wide range of partners including those in law enforcement, local authorities and other emergency services. Often these have access to legal powers not available to policing. The National Enforcement Powers Guide describes some of those powers.

National Enforcement Powers Guide - Public Version July 2021 Download

Last Updated on June 20, 2024