Child Criminal Exploitation and County Lines
Scope of this chapter
The guidance in this chapter is taken from Government and local guidance documents as listed below.
Relevant Regulations
Related guidance
Amendment
In December 2024, this chapter was refreshed and links were added to additional sources of information.
Child Criminal Exploitation (CCE) is where an individual or group uses their position of power to take advantage of a child or young person under the age of 18 and coerces, controls, manipulates or deceives them into criminal activity.
This could be:
- In exchange for something the victim needs or wants such as money, clothes, mobile phones;
- For the financial gain or other advantage of the perpetrator or facilitator;
- Through violence or the threat of violence.
CCE involves children with many vulnerabilities being exposed to, and/or being a victim of: physical and emotional violence, neglect, going missing, sexual abuse, sexual grooming and exploitation, modern day slavery, human trafficking and domestic abuse.
Even if the activity appears to be consensual, the victim may have been criminally exploited. CCE does not always involve physical contact, it can also happen through use of technology. This could include making contact through social media and posting videos on YouTube which glamorise gang violence, drug taking and knife crime, as well as using and making music videos to make threats to other young people.
County Lines is a term used to describe the involvement of organised criminal networks and street gangs in moving illegal drugs from cities to other parts of the UK. In Norfolk, the originating city is usually London.
Much of the activity and ‘business’ is conducted over a dedicated mobile phone line. Criminal networks involved in County Lines often exploit children and vulnerable adults to move and store drugs, money and weapons. This is frequently reinforced through coercion, intimidation and violence, including the use of sexual violence and weapons.
There is a growing concern about CCE in Norfolk and specifically the links to ‘County Lines’.
Any child or young person may be at risk of criminal exploitation, regardless of their family background or other circumstances, but children who are Looked After or who are excluded from mainstream education are at increased risk of being targeted.
Like other forms of abuse and exploitation, county lines exploitation:
- Can affect any child or young person (male or female) under the age of 18 years;
- Can still be exploitation even if the activity appears consensual;
- Can involve force and/or enticement-based methods of compliance (i.e. the receipt by the child of money / drugs or other goods) and is often accompanied by violence or threats of violence;
- Can be perpetrated by individuals or groups and young people or adults; and
- Is typified by some form of power imbalance in favour of those perpetrating the exploitation. Whilst age may be the most obvious, this power imbalance can also be due to a range of other factors including gender, cognitive ability, physical strength, status, and access to economic or other resources.
Any child can become a victim of exploitation. However, the majority of victims have a range of risk factors that make them particularly vulnerable.
These include:
- Having had previous contact with the youth justice system;
- Being a child in need or care-experienced;
- Poor mental health;
- Special educational needs or disabilities (SEND), particularly Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Autism Spectrum Disorder;
- Alcohol or substance misuse issues;
- A history of adverse childhood experiences;
- Living in poverty or homelessness;
- Exclusion from mainstream education;
- Unsettled immigration status in the UK;
- Perceived sense of status, belonging and/or protection.
Black and minority ethnic children are overrepresented in statistics on criminal exploitation and are more likely to experience multiple vulnerabilities that put them at risk of exploitation, including contact with the youth justice system, poverty, undiagnosed special educational needs and exclusion from school.
Children who have been criminally or sexually exploited or who are vulnerable to exploitation may exhibit these signs and behaviours:
- Frequently going missing - sometimes overnight but also unexplained absences during the day;
- Being found out of their home area, for example Norfolk young people being found in London or urban areas outside the county;
- Having cash, mobile phones, clothing, underwear, sexual items, jewellery, new haircuts or other items and gifts. Parents/carers don't know how the young person got them and the young person cannot explain where they came from or who gave them to them;
- Increased use of taxis as a mode of transport;
- Unexpected and/or concerning changes in behaviour for example becoming secretive, withdrawn, isolated; not mixing with or talking about their usual friends; changing friendship groups; having or talking about new friends;
- Not attending or enjoying school, college, training or employment;
- Becoming disruptive, hostile or physically aggressive at home or school, including the use of sexualised language and language related to drug dealing and/or violence;
- Acting or talking as though they are invincible or not caring about what happens to them;
- Anxiety;
- Unusual or different use of social media;
- Increased interest in making money.
These signs and behaviours may be seen in children who are already being exploited:
- Being arrested out of area - especially for drug related offences;
- Found with large quantities of drugs or weapons;
- Returned from missing episodes with injuries, or dishevelled appearance/ looking unwell;
- Reports of being taken to parties, people’s houses, unknown areas, hotels, nightclubs, takeaways or out of area by unknown adults or taken to make music videos;
- Increasing use of drugs or alcohol;
- Fear of reprisal or violence from young people or adults;
- Pregnancy and frequent sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
Where a member of staff is concerned that a child or young person is involved in, or at risk of, child criminal exploitation, they should discuss their concerns with a senior member of staff or the home’s Designated Child Protection Manager. If it is decided that action needs to be taken to protect the child, Local Safeguarding Children Partnership Procedures should be triggered. This will include making a referral to Children’s Social Care in which the home is located and the local Police.
In the case of suspected Child Criminal Exploitation, Ofsted, the Placing Authority and Police must be informed (see also Notification of Serious Events Procedure).
Statutory agencies and voluntary sector organisations together with the child or young person, and their family as appropriate, should agree on the services and support which should be provided to them and how they will be coordinated. The types of intervention offered should be appropriate to the young person’s individual needs and should take full account of identified risk factors and their individual circumstances. Your local Youth Offending Team is likely to be able to advise and assist where you suspect child criminal exploitation and/or the child’s case may already be open to them.
Advice should be sought from the nearest specialist service which works with children and young people involved in Child Criminal Exploitation. A referral should be made as appropriate, following consultation with the child or young person.
Issues raised and action planned should be incorporated into the child’s Care Plan and Placement Plan, and reviewed as part of the Looked After Child Review.
Because the effects of Child Criminal Exploitation can last well into adulthood, support may be required over a long period of time. In such circumstances, effective links should be made between Children and Adult Services and statutory and voluntary organisations.
This should be incorporated into the young person’s Pathway Plan.
The Police and Criminal Justice Agencies lead on the identification and prosecution of perpetrators. All practitioners, however, have a role in gathering, recording and sharing information with the Police and other agencies, as appropriate and in agreement with them.
The home’s Manager and senior staff should proactively liaise with local Police and Youth Offending Team (YOT) regarding Child Criminal Exploitation. This should include the Police giving advice to staff about what action they should take if they are concerned a child in their care is at risk of or is being criminally exploited. This may include gathering information to pass onto the Police, such as vehicle registration numbers, names, physical descriptions etc. It may also include what action staff should take in the case of suspected child criminal exploitation in order to protect potential evidence, which may be useful in the case of an alleged perpetrator being prosecuted.
Children and young people are by definition at serious and sometimes grave risk of physical and sometimes sexual harm when they are the victims of child criminal exploitation and their safeguarding must be a priority for the staff who look after them. This can only be achieved through multi-agency working with the Police, Children’s Services and the Youth Offending Team.
For contact details of YOTs, see:
Last Updated: December 9, 2024
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