Child criminal exploitation and county lines
What is child criminal exploitation?
Child criminal exploitation (CCE) is abuse where children and young people are manipulated and coerced into committing crimes.
CCE often occurs without the victim being aware that they are being exploited and involves young people being encouraged, cajoled or threatened to carry out crime for the benefit of others. In return they are offered friendship or peer acceptance, drugs, alcohol, cigarettes or even food.
Criminal exploitation is not restricted to drugs; some children are transporters of cash as well as firearms and weapons, and are coerced into carrying out theft and burglaries. Many children and young people subject to CCE are exploited by criminal gangs.
Children and young people involved in criminal exploitation are often sent to differing locations within the United Kingdom to carry out tasks for gangs, such as supplying drugs to suburban areas, market and coastal towns. Gangs are usually based in cities. This criminal activity is known as 'County Lines'.
What is county lines?
County Lines is a term used to describe gangs, groups or drug networks that supply drugs from an urban location to suburban areas across the country, using dedicated mobile phone lines. They exploit children and vulnerable adults to achieve storage and/or supply of drugs, movement of cash proceeds and to secure the use of houses for supply (referred to as 'cuckooing').
A mobile phone line is established, to which orders re placed by customers. The line will commonly (but not exclusively) be controlled by a 3rd party, who is remote from the market. The group will use intimidation, violence and weapons to gain control upon the child and vulnerable adults to establish a foothold in the marketplace.
Multi-Agency Exploitation Training
If you wish to improve your understanding of exploitation, county lines and online harm, Darlington Safeguarding Partnership provides a range of free training opportunities and e-learning modules which can be accessed below.
Criminal Exploitation and County Lines - spotting the signs of criminal exploitation and recognising who is at risk, county lines and how to support victims (e-learning)
Child Criminal and Sexual Exploitation with Barnardo's - understanding the different types of exploitation, signs and indicators, recognising who is at risk, how to raise concerns and make referrals (teams session)
Child Sexual Exploitation - level 1 & 2 - what child sexual exploitation is, how an offender may behave, identifying warning signs, the role of the internet and social media and risk assessment and intervention
Online safety - Risks to children - what the risks are, damaging content and behaviours
and online abuse and exploitation
Additional tools and resources
Darlington Xtra Toolkit
Child Criminal Exploitation [external link]
Contextual Safeguarding Network
Contextual Safeguarding Network [external link]
GOV.UK
- Criminal Exploitation of children and vulnerable adults - County Lines Guidance [external link]
- Knife, gun and gang crime guidance [external link]
NSPCC
Criminal Exploitation and gangs [external link]
National County Lines Coordination Centre
County Lines Awareness YouTube Video [external link]
National Crime Agency
County Lines [external link]
County Lines Drug Supply, Vulnerability and Harm (2018) [external link]
Home Office
Home Office Child Exploitation disruption toolkit [external link]
The Children's Society
- County Lines and Criminal Exploitation [external link]
- Child Exploitation Language Guide [pdf document] revised November 2024
- Appropriate Language in Relation to Child Exploitation [pdf document]
NWG Network
Making Language Matter - Attending to Language when working with children subject to or at risk of Exploitation - A Practice & Knowledge Briefing [pdf document]
Crimestoppers Fearless
Access information and advice about crime and criminality [external link]