VICTIMS of human trafficking and modern slavery in the Bradford district are set to be better protected by a new national strategy to catch perpetrators, born out of pioneering work in West Yorkshire.

The first National Anti-Trafficking and Modern Slavery Network was being unveiled today at the Home Office, and will see Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) sign an agreement to tackle the issue by sharing best practice to identify and convict perpetrators and ensure Chief Constables are held to account for the way they tackle the crime.

The Network comes into being 12 months after West Yorkshire Police created a dedicated Human Trafficking Unit, and the developing of a West Yorkshire Anti Trafficking and Modern Slavery Network, which has trained 3,000 front line staff to spot the signs of human trafficking, with the help of Hope For Justice.

West Yorkshire PCC, Mark Burns-Williamson, said: "We have been very proactive in West Yorkshire, and the number of reports has doubled in the last 12 months as a result of the work we have been doing with the anti-trafficking network.

"There is a better awareness from front line staff in West Yorkshire to report suspicious activity where potential trafficking is going on. It has been central to putting forward the idea of establishing a national network."

Mr Burns-Williamson said the Anti-Slavery Commissioner, Kevin Hyland, visited West Yorkshire last year and was impressed with the work going on here.

He said it had mostly been Eastern Europeans who had been exploited in West Yorkshire for forced labour and sexual exploitation.

Mr Burns-Williamson said: "There have been good examples of both in the Bradford district and is an area that has suffered, and does suffer, from this."

He said establishing the national network would help to get a better understanding of the trafficking routes and the types of gangs behind it in the UK and abroad.

Mr Burns-Williamson added: "There are a number of live investigations under way which will lead to more victims being identified and arrested. Prosecutions will follow. This is something we have to try and keep on top of."

He said the national network would bring together key decision makers to ensure that awareness was raised and reflect the need to focus on human trafficking.

"Hopefully, there will be local investigations to rescue people from awful and horrific circumstances where they are sexually exploited or kept in conditions that in some cases are unimaginable in modern society.

"Ultimately this is about rescuing very vulnerable victims from devastating circumstances that they will have found themselves in through deception and organised criminality. At the end of the day, none of us want to see that happening within our communities.

"Working with the public, and other agencies, in identifying suspicious activities is one of the things we need to happen."