Croydon Community Against Trafficking slams Met Police human trafficking cuts (From Your Local Guardian)

Croydon Community Against Trafficking slams Met Police human trafficking cuts

12:10pm Friday 21st November 2008

The decision to cut the funding for a London human trafficking unit has been labelled “ludicrous and short-sighted” by a Croydon action group.

The Metropolitan Police announced it was withdrawing the £2.3m funding to their Human Trafficking Team, which will disband in 2009.

Croydon is one of the biggest ports for human trafficking in the UK and Croydon Community Against Trafficking (CCAT) claim the cuts will only make things worse.

A spokesman said: “We are deeply disappointed and extremely concerned at the decision to close down the Met Human Trafficking Team.

“As a community which is significantly affected by the issue of human trafficking we are concerned Croydon police will be inhibited in continuing the essential and effective work they have done in helping us tackle this issue locally.

“Policing, and indeed resourcing of police work, is always driven by crime priorities.

“So in a time in our world when human trafficking is the second fastest growing crime, it seems ludicrous and short sighted for the Home Office to withdraw funding and force the closure of such a vital part of our crime prevention and prosecution response to this issue.

“This latest cut is a cut in favour of traffickers, because ultimately they will be the ones that will benefit from the lack of resources being poured into stopping them from enslaving human lives in our town and country.”

It added it feared larger operations would struggle to be supported due to the cuts and urged the Met to find alternative resources.

The Home Office said the money was intended only as a one-off start-up fund.

A Home Office spokesman added the Government’s support for the policing of human traffickers would continue.

It said: “We have made it clear that trafficking should be core police business and a high priority, and the Home Office is continuing to support forces’ effort, notably through funding the UK Human Trafficking Centre with £1.7m this year.”

A statement from the Met said the dedicated team launched in March 2007 will have to cease operations because it does not have the money to keep it open.

It added: “The Met does not have the additional funds to keep the team running in its current format whilst meeting other existing policing requirements.”

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