Helen Gordos is a Training and Development Specialist with the NPCC Organised Immigration Crime Unit. With over 30 years of policing and law enforcement experience, she worked for several years in CID and Public Protection, managing and investigating serious and complex crime and chairing multi-agency risk panels. For the last 12 years she has been a leading specialist in modern slavery, human trafficking, and more latterly in organised immigration crime. For over 10 years she operated nationally and internationally as a Modern Slavery & Human Trafficking tactical advisor, for the National Crime Agency's Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Unit.
Helen's expertise spans the full landscape of modern slavery, human trafficking, and organised immigration crime, encompassing both frontline investigation and strategic capability development. She has deep experience in sexual exploitation, sex industry visit frameworks, and evidence-based investigative approaches that reduce reliance on victim testimony. A strong advocate for trauma-informed practice, she specialises in victim engagement and safeguarding, working across multi-agency partnerships and with NGOs to deliver coordinated responses. Helen also brings expertise in digital investigations and online risk identification, she has an extensive track record in international training and capability building, as well as providing advisory support on complex and high-risk cases.
Experience:
Helen has held senior specialist roles within the National Crime Agency and the National Police Chiefs' Council, advising on and supporting some of the most complex exploitation investigations in the UK and internationally. She designs and delivers specialist training programmes on modern slavery and organised immigration crime, and provides strategic and operational advice, case reviews, and investigative support. Her work spans capability building for law enforcement agencies, NGOs, and multi-agency teams, as well as the development of tools, frameworks, and operational guidance.
Helen has spent more than a decade at the forefront of tackling exploitation advising on complex investigations, shaping national approaches, and delivering specialist training across the UK and internationally.
Helen is recognised for her expertise in evidence-led investigations (including cases that do not rely on victim testimony), trauma-informed victim engagement, and integrating NGOs and civil society into operational responses.
She works with governments, law enforcement agencies, NGOs, and international partners to strengthen capability, improve safeguarding outcomes, and deliver practical, operational results in high-risk environments
Helen has delivered national and international training to law enforcement, NGOs, and government agencies, advised on high-risk, complex trafficking and exploitation cases, designed and delivering investigator programmes across UK policing, supported the development of national policy and operational guidance, deployed internationally to support investigations and capability building and has worked closely with NGOs and frontline services to strengthen victim safeguarding.
At the heart of Helen's approach is effective victim engagement - getting it right from the outset. She believes that when victims are truly supported, they are empowered, and empowered victims very often go on to provide testimony, making evidence-led investigation a complement to, rather than a substitute for, genuine victim care.
She believes effective action against modern slavery requires more than enforcement it requires a victim-centred, evidence-led approach that reduces reliance on testimony, uses intelligence to build stronger cases, and translates strategy and training into practical, operational impact through partnership with law enforcement and NGOs.
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