Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Criminal Justice and Support for Victims) Act (Northern Ireland) 2015

Duty to notify National Crime Agency about suspected victims of offences under section 1 or 2

13.—(1) A specified public authority must notify the National Crime Agency if it has reason to believe that a person may be a victim of an offence under section 1 or 2.

(2) The Department—

(a) must issue guidance to specified public authorities about the sorts of things which indicate that a person may be a victim of an offence under section 1 or 2;

(b) may from time to time revise the guidance; and

(c) must arrange for any guidance issued or revised to be published in a way the Department considers appropriate.

(3) The Department may by regulations make provision about the information to be included in a notification under subsection (1).

(4) The regulations must provide that a notification relating to a person aged 18 or over may not include information that—

(a) identifies the person, or

(b) enables the person to be identified (either by itself or in combination with other information),

unless the person consents to the inclusion of the information.

(5) The regulations may not require information to be included if its inclusion would result in a disclosure which contravenes the Data Protection Act 1998.

(6) The Department may by order substitute for the reference to the National Crime Agency in subsection (1) a reference to such other body or person as may be specified in the order.

(7) In this section “specified public authority” means a public authority specified in regulations made by the Department.