Child Criminal Exploitation
Child criminal exploitation interlinks with a number of multiple vulnerabilities and offences, including the child or young person being exposed to, and/or being victim of, physical and emotional violence, neglect, sexual abuse and exploitation, modern day slavery and human trafficking, domestic abuse and missing episodes.
Criminal drug exploitation is also known as ‘county lines’, when gangs and organised crime networks exploit children to sell drugs. Often these children are made to travel across counties, and they use dedicated mobile phone ‘lines’ to supply drugs.
See the following guidance and resources on child criminal and ‘County lines’ exploitation;
- The Children’s Society – Criminal exploitation and County Lines: A toolkit for working with children and young people
- Catch 22 – Running The Risks: the links between gang involvement and young people going missing
- Home Office – Criminal Exploitation of children and vulnerable adults: County Lines guidance
- National Crime Agency – County Lines Violence, Exploitation and Drug Supply: National briefing report 2017
- All Party Parliamentary Group on Runaway and Missing Children and Adults – Briefing report on the roundtable on children who go missing and are criminally exploited by gangs
- tri.x Policy Briefing: Moving Drugs and Cash Along County Lines: What we know about the Exploitation of Children and Young People by Criminal Gangs and Networks
- Brighton and Hove LSCB and SAB – Working Together to tackle Vulnerability, Violence and Exploitation
- Home Office and Crimestoppers County Lines poster
- Catch 22 Child Criminal Exploitation Poster: how do gangs recruit and coerce young people
- Safer London – County lines: what do I need to know?
- NSPCC – Gangs and young people