Police issues shocking warning about this picture but can you spot why?

police warning

Police has issued a shocking warning about this picture but can you spot why?

The warning was shared on Facebook by the Avon and Somerset police, alongside a picture of a woman inside a house cleaning the windows.

Even though that's a scenario most people would find normal and wouldn't think twice about, the police force is trying to raise awareness about 'domestic servitude'.

Alongside the picture, they wrote: 'Do you see someone who is always inside the home cleaning? They are also never out of the home on their own?

'This could be an indicator of domestic servitude.

'Many victims won’t know they’re being exploited and need you to be a voice for them.'

https://www.facebook.com/avonandsomersetpolice/photos/a.66888374811/10156773674824812/?type=3&theater

Domestic servitude is a type of modern day slavery, which they describe as 'the movement and trade of people of any age, often for the purpose of exploitation'.

A blog post in their website reads: 'Almost all forms of modern day slavery include some element of forced labour, which is any work or services people are forced to do against their will.

'There are many different types of modern slavery which include sexual exploitation, forced labour, domestic servitude, child exploitation and criminal exploitation.'

They also explain that you should contact police if you see 'someone responsible for the cleaning of a home / care of children 24 hours a day with no contact with anyone outside of the home'.

However, the warning confused many people who said the warning could lead to people reporting people just doing their housework.

One said: 'I can see lot's of people telephoning in on people who work at home or are house wives/husbands...'

Another wrote: 'Get a grip, welcome to 2018, better tell my nan to expect a knock at the door soon.'

A third added: 'My neighbour is cleaning windows a lot. Suspicious.'

If you do want to report suspected modern slavery, you can contact your local police station or call 999 if it's an emergency. You can also make an anonymous report via the modern slavery helpline by calling their number on 08000 121 700.

Mariana Cerqueira
Lifestyle Editor

Mariana is a lifestyle writer who has written for Goodto.com and My Imperfect Life. She joined the Goodto.com team as an intern after completing her journalism MA at City University. After six months spent writing about food, celebrity news, and family trends, Mariana left to write for Healthy Food magazine - but returned in 2017, to join the Future team once again. In her spare time, you’ll find Mariana in the kitchen cooking for her friends.