Human Trafficking (HT) has serious social and economic implications for both society and the victims of the crime. Despite being one of the most complex crimes to detect and investigate, multi-agency collaboration can often underpin effective investigations. There remains, however, a scarce evidence-based knowledge concerning the investigation of HT and police collaboration with partner agencies. The present study examines police collaborations in England and Wales when investigating HT, providing empirical knowledge on (i) the types of support police officers usually require from other agencies when investigating HT crimes; (ii) the agencies with whom they usually collaborate; and (iii) the types of support agencies can provide. The study uses the Repertory Grid Technique to gather and analyse data from 28 investigators from nineteen police units in England and Wales investigating trafficking crimes. Data from the individual grids was analysed through content and descriptive analysis. A median grid was created and analysed through principal component analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis. The study identified that police officers need to collaborate with partner agencies when working with victims, planning and assisting police operations/strategies, building the criminal intelligence picture and obtaining information about premises/companies and individuals. Findings also reveal that the police believe they need to rely upon several key agencies for each category of support. Findings evidence the need for police collaboration with partner agencies to secure victim-centred and intelligence-led investigations.

On leaving the EU, changes to the UK’s immigration system meant that low-skilled workers from overseas were largely prohibited from entering the UK. Since industries such as agri-food and construction have been dependent on low-skilled migrant labor, the present study examined whether there would be increased risks of labor exploitation. Interviews conducted with 43 senior industry representatives revealed problems already being experienced recruiting labor that were expected to worsen. Participants believed that labor exploitation would increase, especially further down the supply chain, compounded by the impact of Covid-19, which some participants stated had prompted neglect of due diligence. In searching for practicable solutions, participants saw the new immigration rules as opportunities to reexamine business practices to appeal more to British workers through, say, providing better pay. Such aspirations are thought unlikely, when considering the various factors that create downward cost pressures upon consumers. Similarly, industry responses in developing new technologies to overcome labor shortfalls seem still some years away from realization. These conditions, together, suggest that there is a continuing and pressing demand for cheap labor, particularly from overseas, which is only being partially addressed by the current seasonal visa schemes. Accordingly, risks of increased labor exploitation remain very real.

The high-stress nature of policing contributes to deterioration of officer health and wellbeing as well as high levels of absenteeism and attrition. Wearable technology (WT) has been identified as a potential tool that can help in improving officer health and wellbeing. This pilot study aimed to give initial insight into acceptability and engagement with WT amongst officers. The study also aimed to uncover any notable areas for exploration in future research within the domain of officer health and wellbeing. Two groups were observed, firearms officers and a mixed group of officers. Participants wore the WT for an extended period, completed a variety of health and wellbeing questionnaires and discussed their experience in focus groups. Firearms officers and mixed group officers displayed similar sleep efficiency, but firearms officers have worse sleep consistency and sleep performance. Firearms officers appear to have higher HRV and a slightly lower resting heart rate. Both groups display reasonable acceptance of the use of WT, speaking favorably during the focus groups of how monitoring the data had improved their quality of life in terms of their understanding of sleep, wellbeing and how they had consequently completed lifestyle modification. WT offers some promise in managing officer health and wellbeing; studies with larger sample sizes are needed to confirm this.

Children in residential care are disproportionately represented in missing person reports in the UK; however, there remains limited evidence examining the reasons why they go missing and the locations they travel to during these incidents. This scoping review synthesises existing literature to address the research question: why do children go missing from residential care and where do they go whilst missing? Academic and grey literature published between 2003 and 2023 were systematically searched across major databases, alongside Freedom of Information (FOI) requests sent to police forces and local authorities across England and Wales. In total, 34 sources met the inclusion criteria, comprising 13 academic or grey literature sources and 21 FOI responses. Thematic analysis identified five overarching themes explaining why children go missing from residential care: (i) people pulls, (ii) lack of autonomy, (iii) well-being, social challenges and missing as a coping mechanism, (iv) the impact of others, and (v) victimisation or perpetration of criminality. Two themes described where children spend time during missing episodes: people-related locations and place-specific locations. Findings highlight how missing episodes often reflect attempts to create and maintain social relationships, gain autonomy, or cope with personal and systemic challenges associated with living in residential care. This review also reveals a lack of research linking motivations for going missing with locations visited and the limited inclusion of children’s lived experiences. Implications for safeguarding policies, practice, and future research aimed at preventing repeat missing incidents and improving outcomes for care-experienced children are discussed.