In this special episode, which is brought to you in partnership with the Centre for Social Justice, we’ll be shining a light on the crisis of modern slavery, and in particular the increasing prevalence of Cuckooing – a terrible new trend that you might have seen featured in the TV show Happy Valley. Cuckooing is a deeply damaging and frankly cruel practice used by criminals to take over someone’s home, someone’s life, as a base or as a cover for their own illegal activities.
Led by the former Conservative Party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith, one of my guests today, the CSJ’s vision is for those living in the poorest and most disadvantaged communities across Britain to be given every opportunity to flourish and reach their full potential. The CSJ, which Iain founded 20 years ago, was one of the first to call for greater action around modern slavery and is now focussing its efforts on Cuckooing.
Also joining us is Louise Gleich, a senior researcher at the CSJ whose brilliant work is centred around the Modern Slavery agenda. And finally we’ll also be joined by Declan, a former police detective turned Victim Navigator for Justice and Care. Declan is operating day in, day out on the Modern Slavery frontline. This may feel like a crisis that is very unlikely to touch your life, but the reality is that it’s very likely to be happening right now, in a property not that far from you.
Declan works closely with Modern Slavery victims, as such we won’t be revealing his surname or his full identity. For further information, advice and guidance on the contents of today’s episode – call the Modern Slavery helpline on 0800 0121 700.

Topics covered:
- Slavery
- Cuckooing
- Exploitation
- Human Trafficking & Migration
- Community
- Policing priorities

Full episode transcript available at: https://www.crisiswhatcrisis.com/podcasts/special-episode-slavery-at-home/

Links:
CSJ report – Slavery at home - https://www.centreforsocialjustice.org.uk/library/slavery-at-home
The Centre for Social Justice - https://www.centreforsocialjustice.org.uk/about
Justice and Care - https://justiceandcare.org/
Iain’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/MPIainDS
Louise’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/GleichLouise

Stream/Buy ‘Allies’ by Some Velvet Morning: https://ampl.ink/qp6bm
Some Velvet Morning Website: www.somevelvetmorning.co.uk
Your Daily Practice: Sleep by Myndstream: https://open.spotify.com/track/5OX9XgJufFz9g63o2Dv2i5?si=b2f9397c92084682

Host – Andy Coulson
CWC production team: Louise Difford, Ed Isaacs and Jane Sankey
With special thanks to Global