The number of human trafficking offences recorded by Essex Police since 2015 have been revealed.
A Freedom of Information (FOI) request, published by the force, shows data for each year - starting from 2015 to the present day.
According to charity Unseen UK, human trafficking can be defined as "the movement of people by means such as force, fraud, coercion or deception, with the aim of exploiting them. It is a form of modern slavery."
However this does not always involve international transportation. Trafficking in the UK can include commercial, sexual and bonded labour.
A spokesman from the charity said: "Trafficked people have little choice in what happens to them and often suffer abuse due to violence and threats made against them or their families.
"In effect, they become commodities owned by traffickers, used for profit."
So, what did the data show?
Essex Police figures, which range from April 1 2015 to March 31 2021, include both crime and non-crimes.
The period between April 2018 to March 2019 showed the highest number of human trafficking offences recorded by the force, which was 141.
The lowest, at 13, was between April 2015 to March 2016, while during the latest period (April 2020 to March 2021) there have been 52 human trafficking offences recorded.
All data and graphs by Essex Police
The FOI also requested: "For each report that was recorded how many people were recorded as victims in each case?"
Data showed that in the period between 2018/2019 there were the highest number of victims recorded, which was 107.
The lowest was between 2015/2016, when there were 13.
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It was also revealed, for each report that was recorded, how many offenders were charged as a result each year.
Overall, 14 offences across the six years have a charged outcome.
The Serious Crime Command, said: "I understand the low charge rate for MSHT (modern slavery and human trafficking) offences but this is a national issue and is something being addressed at this time through national forums.
"This of course only takes into account the MSHT charges and does not show when other charges are laid, namely prostitution offences, drugs offences or assaults etc."
Full information on the FOI, with data correct as of April 12 2021, can be found here.
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