More than 100 cases of modern day slavery have been reported to police in West Yorkshire in the last year, figures reveal.
Between April 2016 and March 2017 there were 114 crimes reported, 14 of them were in Kirklees, six in Calderdale, 57 in Bradford, 28 in Leeds and nine in Wakefield.
Five charges have been brought, the figures show.
In 2015/16 there were 10 crimes recorded.
The ‘slavery’ element is said to be largely connected to human trafficking from organised criminals.
The figures emerged in a Freedom of Information request to West Yorkshire Police and in the response the force says the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner was successful in a bid for £200,000 from the Ministry of Justice to set up a West Yorkshire Anti Trafficking Network, which would help form an Anti-Trafficking Network, raise awareness and train staff in the subject and help victims.
In 2015 a Lockwood woman was convicted for human trafficking offences, having promised workers from a poor background well-paid work in Huddersfield. Some paid her thousands only to find they got a fraction of what they were promised, and were regularly forced to pay money back in the form of taxes.
In 2016 a Dewsbury factory owner who employed large numbers of Hungarians as a “slave workforce” was sentenced to 27 months in prison for people trafficking.
Meanwhile, West Yorkshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner has called the public to help in the fight against human trafficking and modern day slavery.
Mark Burns-Williamson spoke out as the National Crime Agency (NCA) released shocking new figures highlighting the scale of the problem.
The statistics show there are currently 300 live policing operations targeting modern slavery in the UK, with the NCA making 111 arrests and encountering 130 people who may be considered as victims in operations between May and June this year.
Mr Burns-Williamson said: “The main point we really need to drive home is that this horrendous crime is happening everywhere and we need our communities help to stop it.”
