LAST UPDATE | 26 Jun
CROSS BORDER ORGANISED people trafficking gangs are bringing victims to Ireland to work predominantly in the sex industry but also in forced begging that includes disfigurement of their limbs, the Garda Commissioner has said.
Drew Harris made the remark today to media in Cork at the Santa Marta Conference organised by a Catholic Church religious organisation tasked with dealing with people trafficking.
The event was attended by Minister for Justice Helen McEntee who said in her speech that just one case has been successfully prosecuted in Ireland.
Harris said gardaí have established a Human Trafficking Investigation and Co-ordination Unit within the National Protective Services Bureau.
He said that in 2023 there were 53 people identified as victims of human trafficking in the State. Which represents an increase of 26% on the previous year – 71% of those people were women.
The statistics show that 67% were exploited for sexual exploitation, 19% were exploited for labour and 14% were involved in forced criminality.
Jon Boutcher, the Chief Constable of the PSNI and Harris spoke to reporters about the problem of people trafficking across the island.
Boutcher said that both the gardaí and the PSNI were working together across the Irish border to deal with the issue and in the last twelve months the PSNI had successfully targeted seven organised crime groups (OCG).
He said that four of those OCG had been “significantly impacted” in their operations with two of the gangs currently before the courts.
“We saved at least 50 people from the clutches of these groups. And we work hand in glove with the garda around a number of these operations and an exceptional example which will be spoken about at the conference around the exploitation of Romanian women.
“We have worked with An Garda Síochána in an exemplary way and with authorities in Romania. I think with the leadership of Commissioner Harris in this field for a period of time, and the work between our two organised crime capabilities, we’re probably at the vanguard of law enforcement cooperation around this sort of crime,” Boutcher said.
The garda operations extend across the organisation and Harris explained the nature of what his investigators are coming across in their enquiries.
He said the vast majority of cases are of the trafficking of women in the sex industry but also forced labour and forced crime which includes grow houses.
“We are very aware of the dangers around both forced labour, but also forced criminality and forced criminality comes from grow houses, which we are all well aware of, but also then begging rings, which can also lead to the imposition of quotas, daily quotas, and then violence if quotas aren’t met, coupled then with the forced disfigurement of individuals. So that’s a really heinous crime.
“We do see a lot of begging in Ireland, and we have to be an aware of that and that it could be part of an organised crime group engaged in it and exploiting people through begging,” Harris said.
Boutcher said that one key success for the PSNI was the manner in which there is a national referral system in which Government agencies and non-governmental organisations can report suspicions to the police.
This was now moving forward as a way to deal with the problem in the Republic also with proposed legislation.
“Human trafficking, sexual exploitation, modern slavery, these are some of the worst crimes that one human being would commit against another.
“This is about people’s lives, people have the right to feel safe and be safe,” he added.
Both Harris and Boutcher stressed that people trafficking “does not respect borders” both internationally and on the island.
Boutcher strongly criticised a lack of funding for the PSNI and accused the British Government of not investing in the service since 2010.
He said the key component of dealing with the crime is to invest in neighbourhood policing teams which he said are grossly under-funded.
Boutcher added that the only way to combat the crime of exploitation is a whole of society approach and that this can be achieved if people keep watch and report their suspicions.
Boutcher stressed that the current public discourse on immigration could be helping the gangs further exploit communities.
“I would say and this is quite difficult, and sometimes I get told off for saying things like this, but immigration is a key debate in elections around the world at the moment. Do not conflate immigration, with people trying to escape the awful experiences they’ve had and from being exploited.
“We need to make sure we don’t allow that to happen. By a very good fortune most people in this room have probably never experienced, even by relationship or witnessing any of these sorts of crimes. We’re very lucky. Not everybody around the world is as lucky as us. So that’s just something that I think we should keep in our minds,” he said.
Harris said that there was a noted increase in the amount of cases in Ireland that can be attributed to an increase in reporting and public awareness campaigns.
He said while there has been just one case successfully prosecuted in 2021 there are two cases working their way through the courts at present.
McEntee also said that there is a Sexual Offences and Human Trafficking Bill going through the Oireachtas which will establish the National Referral Mechanism.
She said this will provide a streamlined response to the issue and identify victims more easily.
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