County Lines: what is it and what can we do to tackle it?
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‘You good for Monday, yeah? I have paid for ya ticket and got you those trainers you wanted, remember you’re going to this address and picking that package up, keep ya phone on, don’t talk to anyone and you will be looked after, just remember don’t mess this up.’ As simple as that, this young person is now part of a county line.
What is County Lines?
A county line is a phone line used by a gang to coordinate drug dealing across the country, the term county line can also be reference to the phone line used or the geographical route between counties to distribute drugs.
How big is the problem and who is affected?
The most recent statistics from the National Crime Agency suggests there are more than 2,000 individual deal lines in the UK linked to approximately 1,000 branded county lines. According to figures from The Children’s Society, 46,000 children in England are thought to be involved in gangs, 84% of parents are worried about county lines in their area and 4,000 teenagers are bei...
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