Hundreds of people were feared to be the victims of modern slavery in West Yorkshire last year - including nearly 150 children thought to be being exploited by criminal gangs.
More potential victims were referred to the Home Office than ever before. West Yorkshire Police investigated 456 potential cases in 2021, up by a quarter from 365 investigations in 2020. This number includes 146 children who were mostly exploited by criminal gangs.
These children were commonly targeted by ‘county-lines’ drug-dealing gangs. Nationally, around half of potential child slavery victims were criminally exploited (49% or 2,689 children) and most of those youngsters (2,053) were exploited by county lines gangs.
