Gangs, Criminal Exploitation & County Lines
Child criminal exploitation
Child criminal exploitation (CCE) occurs “Where an individual or group takes advantage of an imbalance of power to coerce, control, manipulate or deceive a child or young person under the age of 18 into any criminal activity in exchange for something the victim needs or wants and/or for the financial or other advantage of the perpetrator or facilitator and/or through violence or the threat of violence. The victim may have been criminally exploited even if the activity appears consensual. CCE does not always involve physical contact; it can also occur through the use of technology” (Home Office, 2018).
County Lines
County lines is a term used when drug gangs from big cities expand their operations to smaller towns, often using violence to drive out local dealers and exploiting children and vulnerable people to sell drugs. These dealers will use a dedicated mobile phone line(s), known as 'deal lines', to take orders from drug users. Heroin, cocaine and crack cocaine are the most common drugs being supplied and ordered. In most instances, the users or customers will live in a different area to where the dealers and networks are based, so drug runners are needed to transport the drugs and collect payment. Currently there is no legal definition of county lines or CCE and no government directive/legislation around how it should be addressed, epitomising the difficulties. (Home Office, 2018).
Click here to watch a 10 min clip from the National County Lines Coordination Centre.
National Referral Mechanism (NRM)
This 6 min clip focuses on the NRM, including the process, when to apply and how decisions are made. The NRM framework for identifying and referring potential victims of modern slavery and ensuring they receive the appropriate support.
Who to contact?
Suffolk County Council
Suffolk County Council – Children’s Services
Suffolk County Council provide a range of services for children and families. On this page you can access services such as Early Help via a Common Assessment Framework, and the Emotional Wellbeing Hub. If you have any safeguarding concerns, you can report it here.
Diversion Programme – Suffolk Youth Justice Service
This voluntary programme is designed to offer help and support to young people who are at risk of offending and anti-social behaviour. Suffolk Youth Justice Service offer a programme of work, which is created in collaboration with the young person (and their families). A plan is created with the aim of reducing the likelihood of offending or re-offending. Referrals are accepted from Children and Young People's Services; educational establishments; the police and parents / carers. All referrals are then assessed to see if they meet the criteria for further intervention work with the youth justice service.
Suffolk Police
This page contains information and advice for young people about gang / county lines:
Gangs / County Lines – Information and Advice - Suffolk Constabulary
Schools Intelligence Reporting Tool for County Lines and Criminal Exploitation
Velocity is a countywide operation to tackle drug dealing.
Velocity Leaflet County Lines Briefing for Partners
Youth Justice Board County Lines Pathfinder Programme
The Youth Justice Board works to support frontline service improve through pilots where learning can be disseminated to other parts of the system.
Youth Justice Board Pathfinder - Tackling County Lines
County Lines Pathfinder News - Issue 1
Suffolk Response Teams
Suffolk's works to tackle the problem of Gangs and County Lines through a multi-agency approach and plan. If you have any questions on our work, please contact chris.woods@suffolk.gov.uk
Multi-Agency Criminal Exploitation Panels (MACE) and Vulnerability Assessment Tracker (VAT)
Concerns regarding exploitation continue to feature for many individuals. To further support our approach to addressing these concerns, Suffolk has now implemented a Vulnerability Assessment Tracker (VAT) that will be managed by CYPS but contributed to by all partners. The VAT will be used to score and monitor vulnerabilities to assist us in understanding our landscape and to identify themes and patterns.
Alongside the VAT, we have recently commenced hosting Multi-Agency Criminal Exploitation Panels, known as MACE. MACE panels will be held across Suffolk monthly in Lowestoft, Ipswich and Bury St Edmunds, chaired by the Safeguarding Managers and attended by partners who can support the disruption of criminal activity and safeguard young people and vulnerable adults (up to the age of 24). No one agency or team alone can support an individual who is being exploited therefore partner agencies are collaborating on this venture.
The VAT and MACE are new systems which are designed to work alongside processes which are already in place. So, if you have a case where there is evidence of grooming or exploitation, do what you normally do – CYPS: complete your investigation, assessment or report and make sure the CCE box is ticked. Other professionals: submit a PVP, Multi-Agency Referral Form or contact Customer First. Alongside the pre-existing checks and assessments, the CE Co-ordinator is also notified and, if information suggests there are concerns for exploitation, will get in touch with you to begin the process of entering the person onto the VAT and presenting them to MACE. For further information please contact cecoordinator@suffolk.gov.uk
Criminal Exploitation Hubs
The Criminal Exploitation (CE) Hubs are a new initiative, building on the success of the Suffolk Against Gangs and Exploitation Team. Working with key partners, voluntary groups, communities, children, and families to support, disrupt, protect, and empower children and communities from the risk of criminal exploitation in hot spot locations.
Locations will be identified through police and community led intelligence, and the Multi-Agency Criminal Exploitation Panels (MACE).
There will be two teams one based in the South and one in the West of the county; and we can offer consultations county wide. The teams will adopt a targeted outreach approach to work with children, families, and communities, supporting the work of those already working in the community and partner agencies.
We want to:
- Build stronger links with our communities and community groups to help identify, support, and protect communities from the risk of criminal exploitation in hotspot areas.
- Help to develop understanding, skills, and expertise of criminal exploitation.
- Help to increase self-belief in children and young people who are at risk or have been criminally exploited.
If you have concerns around a location or would like to have a consultation with someone from the CE Hubs please complete the professionals form and send to: CEHubs@suffolk.gov.uk
Key documents
A short document for professionals to use at meetings or other settings when discussing children and young people who are at risk of exploitation.
This guidance document is designed for families, professionals and the community to help them understand what intelligence is and how it can be reported.
The Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel - It was hard to escape - report
A review from the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel that highlights the learning from incidents where children were seriously harmed or killed.
County Lines Exploitation Practice guidance for YOTs and frontline practitioners
The County Lines Exploitation Practice guidance for YOTS and frontline practitioners provides clear referral pathways for frontline practitioners to follow nationally and use as a best practice template, when responding to, and safeguarding children involved in county lines.
Home Office – Serious Violence Strategy, April 2018
The Serious Violence Strategy sets out the government’s response to serious violence.
Disruption Toolkits
Child exploitation disruption toolkit
Disruption can help disincentivise the use of children and vulnerable adults in drug supply.
Disruption toolkits set out the various powers and tactics that can be used by a range of agencies to disrupt exploitation.
Helpful resources for professionals
Contextual Safeguarding Network
This site provides access to research, resources, and briefings for professionals concerned about extra- familial harm.
This contains downloadable images, posters, booklets and social media resources focused on:
- Frontline staff
- Bus and coach company staff
- Train and rail operator staff
- Taxi and private vehicle hire staff
- Letting agents and landlords
- Private security industry staff
- Posters for social housing staff
- Social media graphics
This page contains resources that professionals can use with young people.
This slang dictionary seeks to support parents, carers and professionals to better understand the language young people may be using and support them to safeguard young people.
Children's Society - Criminal Exploitation: Stages of Recruitment CaRE
A short informative document highlighting the different stages of exploitation:
- Targeting stage
- Experience stage
- Hooked stage
- Trapped stage
Helpful publications
Contextual Safeguarding Network - Contextual Safeguarding and County Lines Briefing
This briefing will:
- Map the emergence of ‘county lines’ as a child welfare issue.
- Introduce the four domains of Contextual Safeguarding.
- Outline how a Contextual Safeguarding approach to assessment, planning, intervention and outcome measurement could offer an alternative response to young people who are affected by ‘county lines’.
- Undertake all of the above from an ecological, child welfare and participatory perspective.
A systematic map and synthesis review of Child Criminal Exploitation
This rapid review assesses what is known in the literature about child criminal exploitation, in relation to early identification of children vulnerable to CCE and key messages or an effective service response for children involved or at risk of becoming involved in CCE.
St Giles Trust - Kent County Lines Update Report, Jan 2019
Evaluation of the Home Office funded county lines project in Kent to test out what helps vulnerable children move away from involvement in county lines drug distribution networks.
Youth Justice Legal Centre (YJLC) Guide - Child Criminal Exploitation
This guide will assist criminal practitioners representing children who have been exploited and are charged with offences arising out of that exploitation.
Responding to Youth Violence Through Youth Work 2019 (nya.org.uk)
This report explores and highlights the need for youth work as one of the responses to youth violence.
This report asks which risk and protective factors practitioners working with children and young adults should look out for when assessing the likelihood of young people becoming involved in youth violence and gangs.
This report provides a summary of key findings from two studies into the evidence base on early intervention to prevent gang and youth violence.
This report provides a brief overview of the international literature on effective and ineffective approaches aiming to prevent gang involvement and youth violence.
There's research about Youth Gangs and Violence in Suffolk. The University of Suffolk and Public Health worked with us to find out about gang activity in Suffolk. This research helps to identify the size of the problem and how to prevent it, intervene and enforce the law to stop the trafficking.
Suffolk Evaluations
Suffolk Against Gang Exploitation (SAGE) Team Evaluation Report
The Suffolk Office of Data and Analytics undertook an evaluation of the SAGE team.