Young women increasingly recruited into ‘county lines’ gangs

The Local Government Association has warned that girls and young women are being deliberately and increasingly recruited into drug-dealing ‘county lines’ gangs and subjected to horrific acts of sexual violence.

The menace of county lines has been fuelled by the pandemic, with ruthless gangs targeting young, often vulnerable, people to carry and sell drugs from borough to borough and across county boundaries, to reduce their risk of detection.

Data shows that at least 14.5 per cent of referrals were flagged as county lines last year, compared to around 11 per cent in 2019. A London-based project which rescues and supports victims of county lines has reported a 35 per cent increase in referrals during the pandemic.

Although those involved in county lines are predominantly male, the involvement of girls and young women is said to be underestimated and growing. This is because females are considered to be less of a target of suspicion than males and may be increasingly asked to carry drugs and weapons as they are less likely to be discovered by public services.

At least 27,000 children in England have been identified as a member of a county lines gang. Gangs have increased their recruitment activity during the pandemic and related lockdowns by targeting young people ‘hanging around’ on local streets. Although not everyone forced into taking part in county lines is vulnerable, gangs often deliberately target care homes, foster care and supported housing.

The LGA says that in order to tackle county lines activity, there is a need to focus on multi-agency working to address the root causes of serious violence and put greater emphasis and investment towards early intervention and prevention.

The LGA is calling for Violence Reduction Units – currently in 18 police force areas - to be extended to all police forces in England and Wales and for them to have five years long-term funding, rather than year-on-year commitments. It also wants to work with government to invest fully in children and youth services, which it says is key to tackling serious violence.

Anntoinette Bramble, chair of the Local Government Association’s Children and Young People Board, said: “The harrowing exploitation of children and young people by county lines drugs gangs, including the increasing trend to recruit females, is a significant and increasing concern for councils who are working hard to identity and protect those at risk of abuse.

“However, to robustly tackle serious violence requires multi-agency working across a range of partners, including health, education, local councils, the police and the voluntary sector. Many of the current Violence Reduction Units set up are making in-roads on identifying and tackling county lines – but this needs to be on a national basis if it’s going to have a real impact.

“Councils’ youth offending teams have an exceptional record of reducing youth crime and making a real difference to young people’s lives, but they are under huge pressure after seeing their government funding halved over the last decade. We want to work with government to help it understand these pressures and how it can provide appropriate funding for children and youth services to prevent children from being exploited and ensure the right support is available for all young people, whatever their needs.”