Criminal Exploitation in Ireland, North and South

Human trafficking for criminal exploitation within Irish drug markets

Dr James Windle

This paper presents a scoping review of the academic and grey literature on human trafficking for criminal exploitation in the Republic of Ireland. The key findings were: 1) human trafficking for criminal exploitation is conceptually underdeveloped; 2) as the available data on all forms of exploitation in Ireland is poor, the scale of the problem remains largely hidden; 3) the limited Irish research literature has focused on child criminal exploitation or drug-related intimidation and, as few studies have interviewed or surveyed those involved in exploitation, almost all knowledge comes from official or media sources. The paper concludes that the lack of identified victims is likely indicative of an ambiguous definition and, lack of understanding, training, and political will.

Hidden harm: Capturing the voices of children and young people criminally exploited across the island of Ireland

Dr Colm Walsh

Despite decades of evidence illustrating children's involvement in organised criminal activity, to date few studies have captured the voices of children themselves. Drawing on two qualitative studies undertaken in the north and south of Ireland, this paper will illustrate the key themes that emerged from interviews with children. These studies illustrate the contextual harms that facilitate exploitation and impede support; the mechanisms by which organised criminals incite, entice and exploit children in criminality; and the implications for policy and practice.  

Understanding Child Criminal Exploitation as a form of modern slavery through Critical Discourse Analysis

Alan McKinstry

Research has shown that drug distribution networks in the UK involve child criminal exploitation (CCE). The debt bondage, coercion, and human trafficking involved in such distribution networks have resulted in CCE being framed as a modern slavery issue in the UK. Through a critical discourse analysis, this paper will showcase if/how CCE was framed in the creation of Northern Ireland's Human Trafficking and Exploitation Act, and the implementation of modern slavery victim identification through the National Referral Mechanism, and what these policy discourses mean for victims.

Examining child exploitation in drugs economies in Ireland: The Greentown Programme

Prof Seán Redmond (TBC)

New research in Ireland provides evidence of child exploitation for involvement in local drugs economies in communities in Ireland. The Greentown Programme was initially an exploratory study of serious and persistent child offenders involved in child/ adult collaborations. The study devised a tool for qualitative examination of criminal networks constructed using police data. The study has been replicated four times in different locations, building a body of evidence showing clear processes of enticement and coercion by senior members of local drugs networks on children. This paper will outline the study, its innovative methodology for network examination and findings which are troubling for policy and programme development.