The Perpetrators of Modern Slavery Offences: Motivations, Networks and Backgrounds

自进入世纪以来，现代奴隶制问题日益受到国际社会的关注。然而，政策的制定却走在了对这一问题的学术研究之前，而学术研究确实很缺乏。虽然国际机构和各国政府试图-并非总是成功-对问题的规模作出估计，而且现在有一些研究记录了被贩运者的困境，但几乎没有对被视为贩运者的人进行过任何研究。该项目的目的是通过与因这些罪行而被定罪的人进行第一手访谈，更好地了解现代奴隶制问题。该项目将利用逮捕和定罪数据对犯罪者进行剖析，并与根据2015年《现代奴隶制法案》被定罪的人进行深入访谈，以探讨一些人如何以及为什么贩运他人，什么情况和社交网络促成了他们的犯罪，以及什么阻碍了他们的犯罪。绘制出自《现代奴隶制法》颁布以来的三年中警方记录的现代奴隶制的轮廓。询问罪犯自己在他们被定罪的罪行中所扮演的角色-无论是“教唆者”、“招募者”还是“剥削者”-他们如何为自己辩护，对他们贩运的人说了什么，他们在多大程度上理解他们所违反的法律，以及他们为摆脱现代奴隶制所做的任何尝试。这些帐户将被匿名和存档，供其他研究人员使用。3.了解罪犯是如何参与现代奴隶制的，包括他们第一次参与奴隶贸易、以前参与过其他类型的犯罪、或移民及其便利、卖淫或色情、毒品和毒品贩运和/或暴力能力。该项目将利用高度敏感的深入访谈技术和社交网络方法，进一步推断犯罪人与在此类活动中与他们并肩工作、在他们之下和之上工作的人的关系，包括亲属关系、浪漫关系和亲密关系，和/或经济债务如何影响他们参与贩运和/或移民旅程，以及他们如何认识受害者。将仔细审查处于权威地位的人-无论是教师、家庭成员、参与犯罪企业的人还是官员-所发挥的作用。提出现代奴隶制的新模式，从中可以得出做法和政策干预措施。这项研究将有助于制定一个新的框架，处理被判犯有现代奴役罪的罪犯。它还将使那些与受害者一起工作的人能够制定保障办法，这些办法将借鉴关于犯罪者如何单独行动的经验性研究，研究小组由两名犯罪学家和两名方法学家组成，将试图展示如何通过家庭关系，犯罪网络，合法企业和散居社区以各种方式促进贩运。这项研究将在国家缓刑局的支持下进行，重点是通过发展对犯下这些罪行的人以及大曼彻斯特和西约克郡警察的知识和了解来减少重新犯罪。该项目将定期向由政策制定者、警察、移民、罪犯管理和与受害者合作的组织组成的指导小组报告。大曼彻斯特非政府组织现代奴隶制论坛也支持这一申请。与此项目并行的是，正在与“正义希望”组织合作开展一个侧重于受害者的博士生项目。

Since the turn of the century, increasing international attention has focused on the problem of modern slavery. Policy development has nevertheless raced ahead of academic research on the subject, of which there is a genuine dearth. While international bodies and governments have tried - not always successfully - to produce estimates of the scale of the problem, and there are now a handful of studies documenting the plight of those trafficked, there are hardly any studies that have been undertaken with those regarded as the perpetrators of the trade. The aim of this project is to produce a better understanding of the problem of modern slavery informed by first hand interviews with those convicted for these offences. It will use arrest and conviction data to profile perpetrators together with in-depth interviews with those convicted under the 2015 Modern Slavery Act to explore how and why some people traffick others, what circumstances and social networks have contributed to their offending, as well as what has impeded it. The project will: 1. Map out the contours of modern slavery as recorded by the police over the three years since the inception of the Modern Slavery Act.2. Solicit offenders' own accounts of their role in the crimes for which they were convicted - whether 'enablers', 'recruiters', or 'exploiters' - how they justified this to themselves, what specifically was said to those they trafficked, to what extent they understood the laws they were breaking and any attempts they have made to leave the businesses of modern slavery behind. These accounts will be anonymised and archived for use by other researchers.3. Develop an understanding of how offenders become involved in modern slavery, including their first engagements with the trade, previous involvements in other types of crime, or migration and its facilitation, prostitution or pornography, drugs and drug trafficking and/or capacity for violence. Using highly responsive in-depth interviews techniques and social network methods the project will further extrapolate the relations perpetrators have with those who worked alongside, beneath and above them in such activities, including how kinship, romance and intimacy, and/or financial indebtedness have impacted on their engagements with trafficking and/or migration journeys, as well as how they knew their victims. The roles played by people in positions of authority - whether teachers, family members, those involved in criminal enterprises or officials - will be closely examined.4. Contribute new models of modern slavery from which practice and policy interventions can be derived. The research will help contribute to the development of a new framework for dealing with offenders convicted of modern slavery offences. It will also enable those working with victims to develop approaches to safeguarding that are informed by empirical research on how offenders operate, alone, collectively and through the exploitation of vulnerable people who are highly dependent on each other and/or illicit activity for their subsistence.The research team - which consists of two criminologists and two methodologists - will seek to demonstrate how trafficking is variously facilitated across family ties, criminal networks, legitimate business, and diaspora communities. The research will be conducted with the support of the National Probation Service with a focus on reducing reoffending by developing knowledge and understanding about the people who commit these offences, as well as Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire Police. The project will report routinely to a steering group comprising policymakers, police, immigration, offender management and organisations working with victims. The application is supported also by Greater Manchester NGO Modern Slavery Forum. A PhD studentship focused on victims is being undertaken in conjunction with Hope for Justice in parallel to this project.