Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner
Sara Thornton
Biography
Ms Thornton has worked in policing since 1986, when she joined the Metropolitan Police. During her 33 year career within policing she served as Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police from 2007 until 2015 and was appointed the first Chair of the NPCC in 2015. She has also received the Queen’s Police Medal and, in 2011, was awarded a CBE.
Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner
The role was created as part of the landmark Modern Slavery Act 2015 and has a UK-wide remit to give independent advice on modern slavery issues and how they should be addressed.
The Commissioner is expected to:
- encourage good practice to increase the identification and protection of victims of modern slavery, and to ensure the provision of enhanced support for all victims and survivors in the UK
- enable effective prevention of slavery and human trafficking offences
- promote an improved law enforcement and criminal justice response to modern slavery across the UK
- engage with the private sector and promote policies to ensure that supply chains are free of slavery
- foster constructive and targeted international collaboration to combat modern slavery.