Police Officers' Understanding of Human Trafficking in Kent
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POLICE OFFICERS’ UNDERSTANDING OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN KENT: INVESTIGATING TRAINING AND KNOWLEDGE by Emilia Clarke Canterbury Christ Church University Thesis submitted for the Degree of Masters by Research in Policing Year 2020 Abstract Research into the impact of training is non-existent for human trafficking, this is in despite of requests for evaluation appearing frequently in academic literature. This study examines the impact of human trafficking training on police officers’ understanding in Kent Police, a county in England, United Kingdom. The first two stages of the study evaluate the immediate knowledge gained from the training, whilst the final stage is completed after a six month period when the officers’ knowledge is measured again to explore the long-term impact of the training course. This study highlights the struggle faced by police officers in defining human trafficking and understanding victim consent, but showcases the impact of training on improving understanding in key areas such as initial officer actions and removing harmful stereotypes, often seen within human trafficking. The third stage emphasises the need for police training to learn from educational research to improve memory retention. Recommendations are provided to assist Kent Police and wider human trafficking research to develop this further. Page 1 of 129 Table of Contents Abstract .................................................................................................................................................. 1 Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................... 4 1. Police officers’ understanding of human trafficking in Kent: Investigating training and knowledge .............................................................................................................................................. 5 2. Literature Review ......................................................................................................................... 8 2.1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 8 2.2. Definition ............................................................................................................................... 9 2.3. Indicators ............................................................................................................................. 15 2.4. Training ............................................................................................................................... 18 2.5. Human Trafficking Training in Kent ............................................................................... 23 2.6. Literature Review Summary .............................................................................................. 24 3. Methodology ................................................................................................................................ 25 3.1. Research Aims ..................................................................................................................... 25 3.2. Research Approach ............................................................................................................. 26 3.3. Research Design .................................................................................................................. 27 3.4. Participants .......................................................................................................................... 28 3.5. Measures .............................................................................................................................. 30 3.6. Quantitative Data ................................................................................................................ 32 3.7. Qualitative Data .................................................................................................................. 32 3.8. Procedure ............................................................................................................................. 33 3.9. Ethics .................................................................................................................................... 34 3.10. Research Reflections ....................................................................................................... 35 4. Findings ........................................................................................................................................ 38 4.1. Stage One and Stage Two ................................................................................................... 38 4.1.1. Definition of Human Trafficking ................................................................................... 38 4.1.1.1. Before Training ........................................................................................................... 39 4.1.1.2. After Training ............................................................................................................. 46 4.1.1.3. Summary of definitions findings ................................................................................ 50 4.1.2. Indicators ......................................................................................................................... 50 4.1.2.1. Before Training ........................................................................................................... 50 4.1.2.2. After Training Results ................................................................................................ 53 4.1.2.3. Confidence Levels ....................................................................................................... 54 4.1.2.4. The Stereotypical Victim ............................................................................................ 55 4.1.2.5. Before Training ........................................................................................................... 56 4.1.2.6. After Training ............................................................................................................. 56 Page 2 of 129 4.1.2.7. Barriers to Reporting .................................................................................................. 60 4.1.2.8. Before Training ........................................................................................................... 60 4.1.2.9. After Training ............................................................................................................. 61 4.1.3. Officers Evaluate Their Training .................................................................................. 62 4.1.3.1. Before Training ........................................................................................................... 63 4.1.3.2. After Training ............................................................................................................. 63 4.1.4. Conclusion of Stages One and Two ............................................................................... 66 4.2. Stage Three Results ............................................................................................................. 67 4.2.1. Definitions ........................................................................................................................ 67 4.2.2. Indicators ......................................................................................................................... 69 4.2.3. The ideal victim and the ideal offender ......................................................................... 71 4.2.4. Barriers to reporting ....................................................................................................... 72 4.2.5. Training ........................................................................................................................... 75 5. Discussion..................................................................................................................................... 76 5.1. Definitions ............................................................................................................................ 77 5.1.1. Human Trafficking versus Human Smuggling ............................................................ 77 5.1.2. Different forms of exploitation ....................................................................................... 80 5.2. Indicators ............................................................................................................................. 82 5.2.1. Form of Indicators .......................................................................................................... 83 5.3. Training ............................................................................................................................... 86 5.3.1. Case Studies ..................................................................................................................... 87 6. Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 89 6.1. Recommendations ............................................................................................................... 89 7. References .................................................................................................................................... 92 8. Appendices ................................................................................................................................