Safe Car Wash App

Modern slavery is happening in hand car washes in towns and cities up and down the country.

There are thousands of hand car washes across the UK. You probably pass one every day. While many of these are legitimate businesses, some are run by unscrupulous people determined to exploit their workers to make as much money as possible. In these instances, these workers may be victims of modern slavery.

By using the Safe Car Wash App, you can identify cases of exploitation and help end modern slavery at hand car washes.

What does the Safe Car Wash App do?

The Safe Car Wash App enables anyone who uses hand car washes to identify and report slavery. The app asks a series of questions related to the indicators of modern slavery and then assesses the answers. If there is a high likelihood that modern slavery is occurring at the hand car wash, users are invited to send a report to the Modern Slavery Helpline at the touch of a button. By visiting a hand car wash and submitting a report you can help law enforcement end exploitation at hand car washes.

Improvements to the App

Since the launch of the Safe Car Wash App in June 2018, it has been downloaded 40,000 times. We have now received almost 9,000 reports, with several reports being referred to Modern Slavery Helpline and law enforcement every month. This intelligence has been crucial in building a clear picture of the hand car wash sector around the country, and has enabled statutory authorities to follow-up on numerous businesses that may be exploiting their workers.

Following feedback from our users, we’ve made the following improvements to the app:

• There is no longer a requirement to submit any personal information before filing a report
• Users now have the ability to send a report straight to Modern Slavery Helpline at a click of a button, if the report scores above the threshold of concern for modern slavery and exploitation
• All new location functions, meaning you can pinpoint the exact location of the car wash on a map and confirm the precise street address and postcode.

"This citizen engagement in data collection is a powerful technique with potential for mapping other vulnerable services."

Zoe Trodd, Rights Lab.

The data

The data from all reports through the app is collected and mapped against car washes throughout the country. The data collected is anonymised and shared with the National Crime Agency and the Gangmasters & Labour Abuse Authority, two law enforcement agencies who are leading on efforts to stamp out modern slavery across the UK.

How effective is the app?

Since launching the Safe Car Wash app in June 2018, it has been downloaded around 29,000 times and we have received thousands of reports.

"The Safe Car Wash app is a great way of utilising the technology available."

Roger Bannister, Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority.