New report examines legal responses to victims of criminal exploitation across the UK
Thu 11 December 2025
We are pleased to share a new report, 'Legal Responses to Victims of Criminal Exploitation', produced in collaboration with Dr Grant Barclay (University of Glasgow) and Dr Alicia Heys (Wilberforce Institute, University of Hull). The report summarises the proceedings of a recent workshop, 'The Criminal Exploitation of Victims of Modern Slavery: Comparing the Scottish and English & Welsh Responses', held at the University of Edinburgh and funded by the Scottish Institute for Policing Research.
The workshop brought together police officers, prosecutors, defence practitioners, social workers and researchers from Scotland and England & Wales to examine how different jurisdictions across the UK apply the non-punishment principle for victims of modern slavery and human trafficking who commit offences due to their exploitation.
Key themes emerging from the discussions include:
• The impact of early vs. late decision-making on safeguarding
• How adversarial and investigative models shape victim experience
• Challenges in identifying victims, including age-assessment issues
• The persistent victim-offender overlap and barriers created by legal frameworks
• The crucial role of multi-agency cooperation and specialist knowledge
Read the full report
Legal Responses to Victims of Criminal Exploitation
Read the blog post on the SIPR website
Listen to the podcast
Read the blog post