- Latest available (Revised)
- Original (As enacted)
Modern Slavery Act 2015
You are here:
What Version
Advanced Features
- Show Geographical Extent(e.g. England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland)
- Show Timeline of Changes
Opening Options
More Resources
Changes to legislation:
Modern Slavery Act 2015, Section 23 is up to date with all changes known to be in force on or before 18 April 2024. There are changes that may be brought into force at a future date. Changes that have been made appear in the content and are referenced with annotations.
Changes to Legislation
Revised legislation carried on this site may not be fully up to date. Changes and effects are recorded by our editorial team in lists which can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area. Where those effects have yet to be applied to the text of the legislation by the editorial team they are also listed alongside the legislation in the affected provisions. Use the ‘more’ link to open the changes and effects relevant to the provision you are viewing.
Changes and effects yet to be applied to the whole Act associated Parts and Chapters:
Whole provisions yet to be inserted into this Act (including any effects on those provisions):
- s. 50A(5A) inserted by 2023 c. 37 s. 28(1)
23Slavery and trafficking risk ordersE+W
This section has no associated Explanatory Notes
(1)A magistrates' court may make a slavery and trafficking risk order against a person (“the defendant”) on an application by—
(a)a chief officer of police,
(b)an immigration officer, F1...
(c)the Director General of the National Crime Agency (“the Director General”)[F2, or
(d)the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority.]
(2)The court may make the order only if it is satisfied that the defendant has acted in a way which means that—
(a)there is a risk that the defendant will commit a slavery or human trafficking offence, and
(b)it is necessary to make the order for the purpose of protecting persons generally, or particular persons, from the physical or psychological harm which would be likely to occur if the defendant committed such an offence.
(3)A chief officer of police may make an application under this section only in respect of a person—
(a)who lives in the chief officer's police area, or
(b)who the chief officer believes is in that area or is intending to come to it.
(4)An application under this section is to be made by complaint, and may be made to any magistrates' court acting for a local justice area that includes—
(a)any part of a relevant police area, or
(b)any place where it is alleged that the person acted in a way mentioned in subsection (2).
(5)Where the defendant is under 18, a reference in this section to a magistrates' court is to be taken as referring to a youth court (subject to any rules of court made under section 32).
(6)Where an immigration officer[F3, the Director General or the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority] makes an application under this section, the officer[F4, the Director General or the Authority] must give notice of the application to the chief officer of police for a relevant police area.
(7)“Relevant police area” means—
(a)where the applicant is a chief officer of police, the officer's police area;
(b)where the applicant is an immigration officer[F5, the Director General or the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority], the police area where the defendant lives or a police area which the officer[F6, the Director General or the Authority] believes the defendant is in or is intending to come to.
(8)The acts of the defendant which may be relied on for the purposes of subsection (2) include acts taking place before this section comes into force.
Textual Amendments
F1Word in s. 23(1) omitted (12.7.2016) by virtue of Immigration Act 2016 (c. 19), s. 94(1), Sch. 2 para. 13(2)(a); S.I. 2016/603, reg. 3(t)
F2S. 23(1)(d) and preceding word inserted (12.7.2016) by Immigration Act 2016 (c. 19), s. 94(1), Sch. 2 para. 13(2)(b); S.I. 2016/603, reg. 3(t)
F3Words in s. 23(6) substituted (12.7.2016) by Immigration Act 2016 (c. 19), s. 94(1), Sch. 2 para. 13(3)(a); S.I. 2016/603, reg. 3(t)
F4Words in s. 23(6) substituted (12.7.2016) by Immigration Act 2016 (c. 19), s. 94(1), Sch. 2 para. 13(3)(b); S.I. 2016/603, reg. 3(t)
F5Words in s. 23(7)(b) substituted (12.7.2016) by Immigration Act 2016 (c. 19), s. 94(1), Sch. 2 para. 13(4)(a); S.I. 2016/603, reg. 3(t)
F6Words in s. 23(7)(b) substituted (12.7.2016) by Immigration Act 2016 (c. 19), s. 94(1), Sch. 2 para. 13(4)(b); S.I. 2016/603, reg. 3(t)
Commencement Information
I1S. 23 in force at 31.7.2015 by S.I. 2015/1476, reg. 2(b)
Options/Help
Print Options
PrintThe Whole Act
PrintThe Whole Part
PrintThe Whole Cross Heading
PrintThis Section only
Legislation is available in different versions:
Latest Available (revised):The latest available updated version of the legislation incorporating changes made by subsequent legislation and applied by our editorial team. Changes we have not yet applied to the text, can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area.
Original (As Enacted or Made): The original version of the legislation as it stood when it was enacted or made. No changes have been applied to the text.
See additional information alongside the content
Geographical Extent: Indicates the geographical area that this provision applies to. For further information see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.
Show Timeline of Changes: See how this legislation has or could change over time. Turning this feature on will show extra navigation options to go to these specific points in time. Return to the latest available version by using the controls above in the What Version box.
Opening Options
Different options to open legislation in order to view more content on screen at once
Explanatory Notes
Text created by the government department responsible for the subject matter of the Act to explain what the Act sets out to achieve and to make the Act accessible to readers who are not legally qualified. Explanatory Notes were introduced in 1999 and accompany all Public Acts except Appropriation, Consolidated Fund, Finance and Consolidation Acts.
More Resources
Access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item from this tab. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
- the original print PDF of the as enacted version that was used for the print copy
- lists of changes made by and/or affecting this legislation item
- confers power and blanket amendment details
- all formats of all associated documents
- correction slips
- links to related legislation and further information resources
Timeline of Changes
This timeline shows the different points in time where a change occurred. The dates will coincide with the earliest date on which the change (e.g an insertion, a repeal or a substitution) that was applied came into force. The first date in the timeline will usually be the earliest date when the provision came into force. In some cases the first date is 01/02/1991 (or for Northern Ireland legislation 01/01/2006). This date is our basedate. No versions before this date are available. For further information see the Editorial Practice Guide and Glossary under Help.
More Resources
Use this menu to access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
- the original print PDF of the as enacted version that was used for the print copy
- correction slips
Click 'View More' or select 'More Resources' tab for additional information including:
- lists of changes made by and/or affecting this legislation item
- confers power and blanket amendment details
- all formats of all associated documents
- links to related legislation and further information resources
All content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. This site additionally contains content derived from EUR-Lex, reused under the terms of the Commission Decision 2011/833/EU on the reuse of documents from the EU institutions. For more information see the EUR-Lex public statement on re-use.