Midlands Euro MP joins call for Scotland Yard to save top Human Trafficking Unit
October 8, 2009 1:37 PM
Originally published by Liz Lynne MEP
Originally published by Liz Lynne MEP
Liz Lynne MEP launched the EU wide Blue Blindfold campaign to report suspected human traffickers to police with Chief Constable Grahame Maxwell and DCI Nick Kinsella in Brussels. Liz believes specialist police teams working internationally are the only way to beat trafficking gangs.
A top London-based police unit must be saved to preserve its key role in fighting human trafficking gangs in Birmingham, Stoke and across the country, says LibDem MEP Liz Lynne.
The West Midlands MEP has joined growing calls by charities for the Metropolitan Police not to scrap it's specialist Human Trafficking Unit, widely seen as an example of best practice.
Officers from the unit were closely involved in a series of raids in Birmingham and other cities last year which released many women imprisoned as sex slaves and led to a large number of arrests and successful prosecutions.
But police chiefs are looking at plans to close it down and disperse the work of the team among other officers as part of administrative reforms.
Liz Lynne has worked closely with senior police officers on campaigns to raise awareness of the trafficking problem all over Europe, such as the Blue Blindfold scheme to report suspected trafficking.
She has now joined calls from charities such as End Child Prostitution and the Poppy Project in a plea to Met Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson not to disband the unit and disperse it's work among other regular police officers.
Liz Lynne said: "Human Trafficking is a horrendous hidden crime which is going on all over Britain, especially in our cities. The Met's Trafficking Team have proven to be a beacon of hope in the fight against these vile gangsters, not just in London but in Birmingham and Stoke in my region, and across Britain. They are widely seen as an example of best practice for police forces across the European Union.
"I am sorry to see that this proposal to disperse this team is once again being considered and urge the Met to listen to these calls from groups closely involved with the victims. Their team is a success story, this international crime needs specialist police teams working internationally. The fantastic work of the Anti Trafficking Team must not be put at risk in the name of administrative convenience."
A decision on the future of the unit, which has dealt with 211 separate trafficking cases in the past two years, is expected to be taken in the next few weeks.
ENDS
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