Hundreds of modern slavery victims may be being locked up in prisons across England and Wales, an exclusive investigation by openDemocracy can reveal.
Between March 2023 and June 2024, the Prison Service and the Ministry of Justice received 368 warnings that an inmate was a potential victim of modern slavery and trafficking. Exploited people can be forced to commit crimes such as pick-pocketing, marijuana cultivation or county lines drug-running, as well as other serious offences.
The warnings were sent by prison staff who suspected a prisoner was at risk, using the National Offender Management Information System, a database to record personal details about inmates. More than one warning can be recorded for the same person, meaning some survivors could have been imprisoned multiple times during those 15 months.
