Protecting children from grooming will 'really break' county lines drug gangs

The Government’s crackdown on county lines drug gangs will only work if more is done to prevent the criminal organisations from exploiting thousands of children, a former Children’s Commissioner has warned.
Former Children's Commissioner Anne Longfield said: "We need to put a ring of protection around the kids who are vulnerable and that’s the way, I believe, we can really break the county lines model.”Former Children's Commissioner Anne Longfield said: "We need to put a ring of protection around the kids who are vulnerable and that’s the way, I believe, we can really break the county lines model.”
Former Children's Commissioner Anne Longfield said: "We need to put a ring of protection around the kids who are vulnerable and that’s the way, I believe, we can really break the county lines model.”

Anne Longfield said vulnerable children are currently used to traffic and sell drugs across the country, but the gangs will be deprived of the workforce they depend on if those youngsters are protected from grooming.

The Government announced yesterday it will provide £300m to help police dismantle 2,000 county lines, as part of its 10-year drugs strategy, but Ms Longfield said enforcement alone will not solve the problem.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

She said: “The police are the first ones to say to me that they can’t arrest their way out of this problem, they have to work alongside other agencies in the area to really ensure that kids who are at risk are identified and there is a coordinated programme of support around them.

Police make an early morning raid on a home in Liverpool, watched by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, as part of 'Operation Toxic' to infiltrate County Lines drug dealings, before the Government announced £300m for a nationwide crackdownPolice make an early morning raid on a home in Liverpool, watched by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, as part of 'Operation Toxic' to infiltrate County Lines drug dealings, before the Government announced £300m for a nationwide crackdown
Police make an early morning raid on a home in Liverpool, watched by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, as part of 'Operation Toxic' to infiltrate County Lines drug dealings, before the Government announced £300m for a nationwide crackdown

“If there are trusted adults around the child, if they’re in a safe place where there are all sorts of activities going on outside school, if they have the mental health support they need and families to support them, then the gangs can’t get to them.

Read More
Joey Barton cleared of assault charge over tunnel incident with ex-Barnsley mana...

“They (gangs) are not going to be able to break through that. We need to put a ring of protection around the kids who are vulnerable and that’s the way, I believe, we can really break the county lines model.”

She added: “I've been told that, at any point, criminal gangs are looking to recruit for about a 20 per cent turnover of the kids they need to deliver their drugs.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“They're not just casually spotting the odd child here. There's a ruthless recruitment process going on at the moment to identify kids who are vulnerable and groom them.”

The gangs are based in cities, but they sell to customers in more rural areas via dedicated phone lines, known as county lines.

There are 600 active lines at any one time, according to The National Police Chiefs’ Council, and violent drugs gangs are targeting areas such as North Yorkshire, where police have identified 20 lines so far this year and 10 are still active. Ms Longfield, who is from Yorkshire, has set up the Commission on Young Lives, which is developing a co-ordinated national approach to stop children from being exploited.

Figures published by the commission show gangs were a factor in the referral of 14,700 children to social services in England in 2020 - up from 10,960 the previous year - and 1,380 of them lived in Yorkshire and the Humber.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

She is now urging parents and teachers to educate themselves on the signs of grooming and said they must be willing to work with the police and social services to prevent children from falling into the hands of criminals.

Ms Longfield, who is from Otley, said: “We all have to be alert to the fact that this is a reality in far too many children's lives and it is possible to help those children and protect those children. That's what must be a priority.

“Everyone was really shocked by the findings of abuse into child sexual exploitation, seven years ago, and things changed and people became much more alert. It now needs to be the case for child criminal exploitation. That's something that everyone can play their part in.”

Policing minister Kit Malthouse said the Government is investing £300m in “throttling the drug supply chain” over the next three years, when he announced the Government’s 10-year drug strategy yesterday in the House of Commons.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He said: “The county lines phenomenon is one of the most pernicious forms of criminality to emerge in recent years. That’s why we (have) ramped up activity to dismantle the business model behind this threat.”

The Minister told MPs that over the last two years the Government has helped police close around 1,500 county lines, make over 7,400 arrests, and rescue more than 4,000 vulnerable people from exploitation.

He also said the Government will invest £780m in “a world class treatment and recovery system” for people suffering with drug addiction and look to reduce demand among recreational users by introducing tougher penalties for possession.