The police are currently investigating a record number of modern slavery cases involving children, according to a report released on May 22.
Under the Modern Slavery Act, the number of ‘live’ police investigations involving children has surged alarmingly from 53 in 2017 to 475 in 2019 – an increase of 796%.
The vast majority are being exploited by criminal gangs and forced into county lines which run drugs from urban centres to more rural towns.
