TRACKING THE TRAFFICKER? -A Qualitative Study of the Investigation of Trafficking in Human Beings in Norway. Lone Charlotte Pettersen MASTER I POLITIVITENSKAP / MASTER IN POLICE SCIENCE 2012-2015 ABSTRACT Title: The investigation of human trafficking in Norway Student: Lone Charlotte Pettersen Supervisor: Dr Maren Eline Kleiven Supervisor at the Norwegian Police University College: Dr Bjørn Barland Submitted: June 2015 Trafficking in human beings (THB) is a vast global problem where the cynic eXploitation of fellow human beings is limited only by the eXploiter’s creativity and cruelty. This paper looks upon the phenomena of THB from a law enforcement perspective, thus defining and problematizing it as a crime against humanity and a crime against international and national laws. Consequently, understanding the compleXity of the crime enables the investigator and prosecutor to better conduct criminal investigations to uncover, prevent and prosecute the crime of THB. Norway is a recipient country, and to some eXtent also a transit country, which means that the victims of THB in Norway are mostly from foreign countries. However, the numbers on THB are not reliable when it comes to describing the reality of victims that have yet to be identified by Norwegian authorities. Thus, the majority of THB-cases reported, investigated and receiving convictions, are THB for sexual exploitation. Trafficking for other types of exploitation is widely under-reported. At the same time, research on the field of trafficking in Norway has focused mainly on seXual eXploitation. However, this paper does not distinguish between the different types of exploitation. Rather, it focuses on how the police investigate the phenomena in order to be able to prosecute the traffickers. As such, this paper is based on a qualitative study where police investigators and police prosecutors from 8 different police districts in Norway have been interviewed about their knowledge and experience in investigating cases of THB. The study aims to answer the following approach to the research topic: Tracking the Trafficker? - A qualitative study of the investigation of trafficking in human beings in Norway. The research findings suggest that there is a severe lack of competency in THB in general in the Norwegian police and that this affects the outcome of THB-cases in several ways. The police does not initiate THB-cases themselves, rather they are to a large extent recipients of information from others – especially the victim. This leads to a highly victim-oriented approach to the investigation, placing much responsibility on the victim to provide the investigation with sufficient information to identify the trafficker or other important part of the exploitation they have been exposed to. Furthermore, the victim itself is considered a great challenge in the investigation of THB-cases. The findings also indicate that the organisational structure of the police districts, combined with how THB is prioritized with regard to resources and personnel, may have some affect as to how the investigation is conducted in the different police districts. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS It is not easy to describe how the process of working with this thesis has been. However, I choose to use the words of the great conqueror Julius Caesar and just simply state Veni, Vidi, Vici. For those of you who do not know what that means: look it up! This paper would never have become a reality if it were not for my husband whom supported me even in my darkest hours! Thank you, my love, for keeping me sane when I wanted to through the computer out the window. I have to thank my supervisor, Dr Maren Eline Kleiven, for having a strict, but fair and insightful way of guiding me through this project. Thank you for not going easy on me! Furthermore, I would like to thank all my informants for so willingly contributing with their knowledge and experience – providing me with the data I needed to write this thesis. Your contribution is priceless, thank you! At last, I would like to thank my friends whom have been patient with my anti-social behaviour the past 6 months. I promise you will see more of me in the time to come! TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE – INTRODUCTION 1 THE PURPOSE OF THIS PAPER 1 THB AND SOCIAL THEORIES 4 VICTIMOLOGY 4 CONFLICT THEORY 5 CAPITALIST THEORY 6 THE NORWEGIAN POLICE ORGANISATION 7 THE PROSECUTING AUTHORITY 10 THE INVESTIGATION UNITS IN THE POLICE ORGANISATION 10 THE POLICE ACT AND THE CRIMINAL PROCEDURE ACT 12 THE LAYOUT OF THIS PAPER 15 CHAPTER TWO – LITERATURE REVIEW 16 PREVIOUS RESEARCH 16 DEFINING THE TERM TRAFFICKING IN HUMAN BEINGS 21 HUMAN TRAFFICKING VS HUMAN SMUGGLING 23 HUMAN BEINGS AS A COMMODITY 24 PROFILING THE VICTIM 24 CONTROL AND CONCEALMENT 26 MISTRUSTING THE POLICE 27 CHAPTER THREE - INVESTIGATING THB-CASES 29 PROFILING THE TRAFFICKER 29 THE PENAL CODE 31 SPECIALIZED ANTI-TRAFFICKING UNITS WITHIN THE POLICE ORGANISATION 34 THE NATIONAL CO-ORDINATING UNIT FOR VICTIMS OF TRAFFICKING (KOM) 34 HORDALAND POLICE DISTRICT – EXIT 35 OSLO POLICE DISTRICT – STOP 36 OPERATION LIME 37 INVESTIGATING CRIMINAL CASES CROSS BORDERS 38 CHALLENGES IN INTERNATIONAL POLICE INVESTIGATIONS 41 CHAPTER FOUR – METHODOLOGY 43 CHOOSING A RESEARCH PROJECT 43 STARTING THE PROCESS 44 SAMPLING INFORMANTS 46 THE CASE STUDY 49 THE QUALITATIVE INTERVIEW 50 ANALYSING THE DATA 51 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS 53 RESEARCHER AND POLICE OFFICER – DOING RESEARCH ON ONES OWN ORGANISATION 53 ANONYMITY 55 CHALLENGES 56 CHAPTER FIVE – DISCUSSION OF RESEARCH FINDINGS 58 LACK OF COMPETENCY ON THB 58 LACK OF TRAINING 61 LACK OF TRANSMISSION OF COMPETENCY 61 THE INITIATION OF CASES 63 POLICE DOES NOT IDENTIFY POSSIBLE VICTIMS OF THB 65 A CASE DEPENDING ON THE VICTIMS STATEMENTS 66 PLANNING THE INVESTIGATION 69 INVESTIGATION ORDER OR PLAN 70 CHALLENGING ISSUES IN THB-INVESTIGATIONS 71 ISSUES RELATED TO THE VICTIM 71 TRUST ISSUES OR UNDER THREATS 72 FOLLOWING UP THE VICTIM AND THE VICTIM DOES NOT CONSIDER HIMSELF A VICTIM 73 RESOURCE DEMANDING CASE 75 DIFFICULT TO PROVE THE PENAL PROVISION 76 ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE 77 LOW STATUS 80 WHY ARE THE NUMBERS OF CONVICTIONS LOW? 81 HOW TO DO BETTER? 82 CHAPTER SIX – CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 84 MAIN FINDINGS IN THIS STUDY 85 TRACKING THE TRAFFICKER? 88 - A QUALITATIVE STUDY OF THE INVESTIGATION OF TRAFFICKING IN HUMAN BEINGS IN NORWAY. 88 RECOMMENDATIONS 90 FUTURE RESEARCH 92 FINAL REFLECTIONS 93 BIBLIOGRAPHY 94 APPENDIX 106 CHAPTER ONE – INTRODUCTION Trafficking in human beings is a serious crime and a gross violation of human rights. It is very often linked with organized crime and is considered as one of the most profitable criminal activities worldwide. The estimated number of people trafficked to or within the EU amounts to several hundred thousands a year (Commision, 2013). Working as a detective sergeant in Oslo police district, I investigated many different types of crimes. But when I was introduced to trafficking in human beings (THB), and I started investigating cases of THB, it became apparent that I had to do my master thesis on this field. The more I read and learned about THB, the more I understood that these cases were especially challenging to investigate. Working with THB gave insight and understanding with regards to the importance of having sufficient knowledge about and understanding of the phenomenon when investigating these cases. Yet, the more I learned, the more questions I formed. The Purpose of this Paper This paper intends to show how the Norwegian police investigates criminal cases involving trafficking in human beings. The paper is based on a qualitative study where police detectives and police prosecutors have been questioned about their experience and knowledge regarding THB in order to scrutinize this topic and answer the following: Tracking the Trafficker? - A qualitative study of the investigation of trafficking in human beings in Norway. As such, the paper will describe and define the phenomena of THB. It will eXamine what focus the Norwegian investigations of the phenomena have – is the focus on the trafficker or is it on the victim? What implications might this have for the investigation process? Understanding the mechanisms of the crime and the compleXity of its effects is vital when trying to investigate, and at a later stage, prove that the actions in question is defined as human trafficking according to national and international laws. In order to ensure such understanding, this paper will give account of the national and international legal 1 framework that defines the crime of THB. In addition, it will give an account of the legal framework the Norwegian police is accountable to when conducting a criminal investigation of THB. The international standards on how to define human trafficking has been ratified and implemented in most countries’ legal framework – making a common ground across countries when it comes to defining the problem. The national police organisations, priorities and legal framework in the various countries are, on the other hand, not uniform and standardised. This paper will therefore give an account of how the police organisation is organised – with a special focus on how the investigation of THB is conducted in Norway. The TIP-report1 of 2014, states that Norway is a Tier 12 country and first and foremost a destination country when it comes to trafficking. And, to a lesser eXtent, a transit and source country for women and girls subjected to seX trafficking and for men and women subjected to forced labor in domestic service, in nursing, and the construction sector. Children are subjected to domestic servitude, forced begging, and forced criminal activity, such as shoplifting and drug sales (State, 2014, p. 299). According to the National Co-ordinating Unit for Victims of Trafficking (KOM)3 within the National Police Directorate (2014), there were 36 verdicts on human trafficking in Norway by June 2014.