Human Trafficking and Criminal Investigation Strategies in the Amsterdam Red-light District

The subject of human trafficking has recently received a lot of attention. The criminal-law approach to human trafficking has also been placed high on the agenda of law enforcers. Human trafficking is, however, a complex crime with several specific characteristics. For example, there is often a complex relationship between victims and perpetrators of human trafficking, and victims are often too afraid to file a report. How do the police and the judicial authorities work in the investigation of human trafficking in view of the specific characteristics of human trafficking? What choices are made in practice, and what different police investigative strategies can be distinguished? What opportunities and risks are inherent in the choices made? In this chapter we answer these questions on the basis of four large scale police investigations into human trafficking that were studied closely. The four criminal cases all focused on violent groups of human traffickers that operated in the Amsterdam red-light district. All criminal cases have since been concluded (in the first instance). It turned out that in each of the four investigations the relevant police team applied a different investigative strategy: one investigation focused primarily on victim statements, one focused on reports of public nuisance, one focused on the evidence against the criminal organisation, and one investigation focused on the offences (evidence concerning the exploitation of sex workers). In this chapter we compare the four strategies applied and consider the consequences of each strategy for the course of the investigation and the criminal prosecution, and what dilemmas were faced in the use of each strategy. Although the various investigations cannot be easily compared and a uniform ‘best’ strategy cannot be designated, the comparison does show that some choices or decisions entail great opportunities or risks regarding the successful investigation and prosecution of human trafficking. The decisions concern, for example, the choice of involving local investigative services (community police), or the choice for short-term or, as the case may be, longer-running investigations.