More 'hidden' victims of adult exploitation in Luton are being found after clampdown by authorities

Luton Borough Council's 'ending adult exploitation' strategy was adopted in 2018.

It focuses on the criminal exploitation of adults. According to a report presented to LBC's health and social care review group, this exploitation can include:

> Modern day slavery and forced labour;

> Sexual exploitation, including both on and off street;

> Criminal exploitation through forced involvement in crime;

> Material exploitation, including taking over vulnerable people’s homes - otherwise known as "cuckooing".

“Victims of exploitation are hidden, and they often cannot access support services or reporting mechanisms because of the high level of coercion, control, fear and violence which is exerted over them,” the report stated.

“And a range of operations have been delivered to target exploitation settings, such as the closure of a number of premises used for drug trade and cuckooing.

“Part of the work has been closing down and disrupting other types of exploitative premises, in particular pop-up brothels."

The violence and exploitation reduction unit (VERU) was set up in 2019, as a partnership between Bedfordshire Police and local authorities. One of its key policies is preventing violence against women and girls.

VERU received £880,000 from the Home Office last December, which will fund the project until April 2021.

Luton Borough Council has also worked with the homeless partnership, drug and alcohol services, and the rough sleeping initiative.

“There are indications that the approach to exploitation is making progress," the report added.

“As a partnership, we believe the number of victims being identified has increased.

“But it’s recognised there is still a significant amount of work to be done.”

The town’s community safety partnership has an initiative against violence and exploitation, which is led by Supt David Cestaro, of Bedfordshire Police.

“Another form is child criminal exploitation where those essentially still of school age are used by usually drug dealing gangs to take part in their activities, either running drugs or carrying weapons,” he told the review group.

“You would call them county lines in most situations,” he explained.

“But Luton has a very well embedded drug trafficking gang-related issue.

“We’ve worked with four educational establishments and provided data to them and information around gangs and they’ll share information with us around pupils they’ve concerns about.

“We can look to identify some of their peers, so we can start putting in interventions to stop them getting sucked into gang related activity.”