Modern slavery costing police forces a staggering £210m, says new report

The report from the anti-slavery charity Unseen reveals this immense and growing burden is not only harming victims but also straining police resources and damaging the national economy.

The cost to UK police forces alone has skyrocketed by 141 per cent since 2018, reaching an estimated £210 million in 2024. That is enough money to fund the recruitment of 7,500 new police officers, says Unseen.

The charity says the response to this serious economic crime is “critically underfunded”.

The report, ‘The economic cost of modern slavery: policing’ reveals a stark disconnect between the scale of the problem and the recovery of criminal proceeds.

In 2024, only £854,000 was recovered under the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) from modern slavery cases – a mere 0.4 per cent of the total amount recovered by police and just 0.4 per cent of the estimated policing cost of the crime.

“Modern slavery is a highly profitable economic crime that results in severe human rights violations. Yet, our response is not targeting the perpetrators’ primary motivation: money,” said Andrew Wallis OBE, CEO of Unseen. “We are calling for a fundamental shift to treat modern slavery as the serious economic crime it is. By prioritising financial investigations and seizing assets, we can dismantle criminal networks and reduce the devastating impact on victims and society.”

The report uncovers significant regional disparities in both cost and prevalence of modern slavery.

Kent Police reported the highest impact, with modern slavery consuming £24.5 million, or 5.71 per cent of its total budget.

In contrast, Northamptonshire reports a cost of 1.27 per cent, West Yorkshire 1.17 per cent, Merseyside 1.02 per cent, and the Metropolitan Police Service, which has a much larger budget, 1.56 per cent. Meanwhile, City of London Police reports only 0.13 per cent.

Prevalence rates also vary dramatically, with Kent (128 per 100,000 people), City of London Police (122) and Bedfordshire (79) reporting far higher rates than areas such as Cumbria (ten) and Devon and Cornwall (eight). These variations likely reflect differences in policing focus, awareness, and prioritisation, rather than the true distribution of crime, says Unseen.

Unseen is calling on the Government, law enforcement and local authorities to take urgent action, including:

• Classify modern slavery as an economic crime to prioritise financial investigations from the outset of every case;
• Boost financial investigations to trace and seize criminal assets, disrupting the business model of exploitation;
• Ring-fence all POCA funds recovered from modern slavery to be reinvested into anti-slavery work across policing and survivor support;
• Strengthen multi-agency collaboration, including with NGOs, to improve victim support and prosecution rates; and
• Invest in prevention and early intervention to reduce long-term demand on police resources.

“Ignoring the true economic costs will result in escalating expenses and a growing societal burden,” Mr Wallis added. “At a time of economic challenge, the UK cannot afford to carry this £60 billion socio-economic drag.

“We urge the Government to recognise this threat, reinstate modern slavery to the National Threat Assessment, and fund a response equal to the scale of the crime.”