Up to £5m allocated to help young people escape drug gangs, with money also going to helpline
Up to £5m has been allocated by the Home Office to support victims of county lines exploitation over the next three years.
Hundreds of victims will be helped to escape drug gangs following the expansion of support services in London, the West Midlands, Merseyside and Greater Manchester.
Continue reading...Police taskforce head says Covid-19 lockdown has not led to fewer young drug runners being used
Children and vulnerable adults are still being forced by gangs to travel from cities to towns and villages as part of “county lines” drug trafficking, according to the head of a police taskforce set up to tackle the problem.
Det Sgt Gareth Williams, head of intelligence and covert policing at British Transport Police (BTP), told the Guardian the restrictions on public transport during the coronavirus lockdown had not resulted in a reduction in the number of mostly juvenile drug runners identified across the country.
Continue reading...Expert calls for Home Office to lose powers but councils say they are struggling to cope
The UK’s independent anti-slavery commissioner has called for decision-making on child trafficking cases to be taken away from the Home Office.
Sara Thornton told the Independent that local authorities should take over the powers because they are better placed to provide subsequent support for the child.
Continue reading...High court judge intervenes to prevent victim of county lines sex exploitation being made street homeless after refusal to find her safe housing
A young and highly vulnerable British sex trafficking victim was re-trafficked by county lines drug gangs on multiple occasions after the Home Office repeatedly refused to fulfil its legal obligation to provide her with safe accommodation.
A high court judge was forced to intervene to compel the Home Office to house the woman, who was about to become street homeless.
Continue reading...Housing officers are using their local knowledge to spot abuse and exploitation, particularly ‘cuckooing’ of vulnerable residents by drug gangs
Housing associations are playing a growing role in tackling county lines crimes, using their knowledge of local communities to spot early signs of abuse and exploitation.
In the north west of England, the exploitation of young people by drug gangs – known as “county lines” crime – is a serious problem, not just in poorer areas but in York, Harrogate and places with good transport links. Now lawyers, housing associations and police are building networks of support to try and provide innovative solutions to the crisis.
Continue reading...Superintendent Darius Hemmatpour said that taking 20,000 police of the streets created a void
Funding cuts to police and public services that previously helped stop people, especially the young, from offending has helped fuel the surge in violent crime, a police chief has said.
Supt Darius Hemmatpour of Scotland Yard’s violent crime task force, said stabbings and other life-threatening attacks in London spiked after 2017, and suggested that austerity was a factor.
Continue reading...How a teenager from north London ended up selling drugs in the Cornish flat of a heroin addict
At the start of last year, a 16-year-old north Londoner, Boy X, found himself in a terrifying situation. He owed a drug dealer £55 and did not have the funds to pay off the debt.
He was told the cannabis debt would double – and keep doubling – if he failed to pay. But the teenager was offered a way out: he could work for the dealer and his associates.
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