Clerics and police collaborate on anti-slavery project

Senior figures in the Catholic Church in East Anglia have met with members of the Government’s independent monitoring body on human slavery and the local police force in a bid to tackle the problem of trafficking in the region, writes Rose Gamble.  

During the meeting, initiated by the Bishop of East Anglia, Alan Hopes, and led by Bishop Patrick Lynch, chairman of the Office for Migration Policy for the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, police highlighted the exploitation of vulnerable communities within the agricultural industry across Fenland, West Norfolk and Lincolnshire.

They warned of the dangers of  gangmasters who exploit new arrivals, providing overcrowded housing and transport to work in the fields in exchange for a large proportion of the workers’ wages and often their passports. In a 12-month period 84 sex workers and 25 brothels were identified in Peterborough, police said.

Many of the exploited workers come from Catholic countries and sometimes attended Mass in East Anglican Catholic churches, the police added, giving priests the opportunity to support migrants.
“The Church is in a unique position to combat modern slavery, with open doors to the vulnerable and with valuable connections, both locally and internationally. We cannot fight against this heinous crime without working in partnership and utilising such assets. Together with the Catholic Church, we can get to the heart of the community and reach those most in need,” said the United Kingdom’s first Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, Kevin Hyland.

The meeting came as the Catholic charity, the Medaille Trust, prepared to open a new safe house in East Anglia to help local police in sheltering migrants involved in agricultural exploitation.

“There is a consistent need to shelter victims or witnesses of human trafficking due to the industrial and agricultural nature of the region,” explained Mike Emberson, chief executive officer of the trust.