Summary
At the time of his offending, our client was fifteen years old. He was facing multiple charges relating to shoplifting and making threats with a knife. Solicitor Samantha Harmer represented our client, where she was made aware that he had been involved in gang-related activity for a prolonged period. As a result of this, Samantha suspected that his criminal activity was the result of criminal exploitation and that our client was likely a victim of modern slavery.
A National Referral Mechanism (NRM) was submitted to investigate whether our client’s behaviour patterns could be positively linked to modern slavery. A decision of positive conclusive grounds was ultimately found. Following this, the Prosecution agreed to withdraw the offences against our client.
Details of the Offences
Our client was captured on CCTV shoplifting on numerous occasions. This was predominantly alcohol from a local supermarket, where the value of the stolen goods amounted to over £1000.
Despite being apprehended on several occasions and a ban from the supermarket being imposed on our client, he continued to return to the shop. Due to the frequency of our client’s offending and the value of the stolen goods, our client was at risk of a severe sentence if convicted. The impact of a criminal conviction at this stage in his life would have long-lasting consequences and affect his future education and job prospects, given that he has no previous criminal convictions.
Following further investigation, our client’s behaviour elicited concern from our team and our client’s social workers. The pattern and nature of his actions suggested he had no choice but to continue returning to the same place.
Victim of Modern Slavery
After further investigations, our team became increasingly concerned that our client’s offending was the result of modern slavery. We found that our client had frequent episodes where he would go missing and had a history of being threatened and intimidated by a local gang.
These threats included being chased by a group of armed men, where our client was issued with a Risk to Life warning by the Police. Our team also became concerned that our client had ‘debt bondage’ to his exploiters and that his offending was how he was expected to repay this.
These incidents raised numerous alarm bells, suggesting that our client had been coerced into criminal exploitation and could likely experience violence in retaliation from organised crime networks. Therefore, an NRM referral was submitted to confirm suspicions that our client was a victim of modern slavery.
National Referral Mechanism
Submission of an NRM means that a professional has concerns that a child may be at risk of harm and that said professionals want to reduce this risk. An NRM was submitted on two occasions, the first one returning negative conclusive grounds due to lack of information provided by the relevant agencies.
After re-submitting the NRM on the same grounds, the Single Competent Authority (SCA) reached a decision that there were positive conclusive grounds to suggest that our client was a victim of modern slavery.
Outcome
Despite the outcome from the NRM referral, there were significant delays from the Prosecution as to whether they would still be pursuing the charges. Samantha continued to chase them but despite this, court appearances were adjourned on several occasions due to the Prosecution not having reached a decision. As a result, proceedings lasted almost a year.
Ultimately, the Prosecution agreed that they would not be pursuing the charges against our client and all charges were withdrawn. This fantastic result is a testament to the dedication of our team and the hard work that goes into securing the best possible outcome for our clients.
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