The UK has a serious child exploitation crisis. County lines – the term that has come to describe the use of children by drug-dealing gangs – is on the rise. And many believe our drug policies are to blame.
The exact scale of the problem is unknown. In 2018, the Children’s Commissioner for England estimated that 50,000 children nationwide were involved, but that figure is likely to be higher now. While there hasn’t been a study on the same scale since, the Home Office had 589 county lines referrals between April and June 2022 (the latest quarterly data available) – the highest number since records began in 2009.
Both the pandemic – in which more vulnerable children were isolated at home, easily contactable by social media – and the cost of living crisis – where more young people are in need of money for food and clothes – have contributed to the crisis. But the UK’s drugs laws are the biggest factor, says former undercover drugs operative Neil Woods in a new film made for the Transform Drug Policy Foundation (TDPF).
