The first line of defence is the trust built up between trusted adults & children. If we approach young people with an open mind, our age is no barrier to working with children (so long as we don’t try to be cool / acting younger than our chronological age). Be Yourself – “Real Recognises Real” Children need to be able to rely upon their Foster Carers / Social Workers / & other trusted adults, however, too often, these people change with regular frequency which adds to the challenges for children to open up & tell a trusted adult if they have concerns or feel vulnerable. Trust Reliability Time Empathy A safe-space

1. County Lines – What you need to know
The term ‘County Lines’ refers to the mobile telephone lines used to
coordinate the supply of drugs across the United Kingdom. It is estimated to
be a £750 million criminal business. County Lines exploit both legal medical
prescription drugs, & illegal non-prescription lifestyle drugs.
County towns with a market for drugs (mostly Class A drugs, including
Cocaine & Heroin) are identified, & then children are targeted (often online).
A County Line is a phone line used to deal drugs
The use of coercion, debt-bondage, grooming, sexual violence, physical
violence, financial exploitation & weapons is used to control & cajole children
into crime. Children become embroiled in a range of criminal activity including:
drug dealing & handling; Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE), gang related crime &
sex trafficking, including participation in OCN’s – Organised Crime Networks
with adults.
2008 saw record numbers of ‘youth crimes’ recorded.
It is estimated that there are over 900 active lines currently in use out of the
3,500 mobile telephones detected as being used for County Lines activities by
the Police Service.
The current street value of a single gram of Cocaine in the Swansea area is £80
(www.streetrx.com/uk 21-07-20). County Lines are very much territorially
based & supply the demand for high-quality / grade, high-concentration drugs.
There are currently 15 – 20 active County Lines operating in Swansea & Neath
Port Talbot, South Wales

2. The key sources of County Lines currently operating in the UK originate from
London (predominately BAME members), Liverpool (predominately White
members), & the Midlands. All children are vulnerable to becoming involved in
County Lines activities, whether they are from a BAME, or White background,
affluent, or poor. They are particularly vulnerable if they are poor & homeless.
Those who are socially excluded (especially children in the Looked After
system), are more vulnerable to being recruited into crime – including County
Lines activities.
Out of 700 children interviewed, 100% had experienced school exclusion
Gang members utilise the rail network for travelling between towns & Air B&B
as their primary source of accommodation whilst trafficking drugs.
Most schools are open to help, but are surprised by the level of criminal
activity amongst the pupils in their schools.
Agencies don’t talk to each other which protects the criminal gangs
Open communication between agencies makes the co-offending groups’ lives
more difficult.
In the recent Rotherham Child Sexual Exploitation scandal, professionals
involved felt out of their depth & were scared that any actions they took might
be viewed as racist. There was a County Lines connection in the criminal
activities in Rotherham.
The County Lines Structure:
Criminal Gangs which recruit children are very well organised & use a three-
tier management structure:

3. The High-Level are the ‘hard-core’ managers
The Mid-Tier includes the recruiters, enforcers, supervisors & ‘elders’
The Lower-Tier includes ‘Street-Soldiers’ - recruits ‘earning their stripes’ by
handling drugs on the frontline
The structure is effectively Pyramid Selling & it depends upon the silence of
everyone involved to work.
Power & Control:
One of the only ways to leave an organised crime gang is to move away to ‘the
sticks’ to get out of the heat of the town, or City. Those without social mobility,
or the funds to be able to move, end up staying. Many children either witness a
crime, or are the victim of a crime committed against them. One of the
techniques employed by gang recruiters is to financially, or sexually exploit a
child so that they can gain power & control over them. This power is exerted to
force them to then become the perpetrator of a crime, & the pyramid of control
is therefore now complete.
High Level
Mid-Tier
Lower-Tier
Victim
Perpetrator
Witness

4. In order to help children caught up in County Lines activities, we need to
invest time into building trusting relationships. The movement of workers
between roles & the lack of continuity is a major challenge to the building of
trusting relationships. If a worker moves on, then a thorough handover can go
some way to maintaining trust.
Children who begin to open up about their connections with criminal activity
are most at risk or reprisals.
Children who have debts of greater than £2,000 are the most likely to put their
siblings at risk to pay off the debt (such as their sibling repaying the debt
through sex).
87% of missing children are involved with County Lines
The only children seen by agencies seem to be those who are unsuccessful in
their efforts to make big money in the gangs. They are often seeking help to
leave the gang.
The BIG draw:
Children who become involved in County Lines activities do not see
themselves as being part of a gang, rather, being with likeminded friends.
Joining is often a rational choice influenced by:
Belonging Fear Money Status Friendship
Peer-Pressure Protection Reputation
Excitement They will get away with it
Forced to join

5. In a ‘have-now-pay-later’ society, joining a gang seems like an easy way to
make money. Homeless children & adults with mental health issues are
targeted so that their home is taken over by the gang.
Debt Bondage:
One of the techniques employed by gang members is entrapment – a child is
recruited to complete a job for them, however, they are set up to be burgled /
mugged & for the drugs to be stolen. The child is then indebted to the gang &
they are required to offer their time, their property, their body to repay the
debt.
Child Criminal Exploitation (CCE):
Female children are exploited sexually & used as drugs mules / couriers
34% of children involved with County Lines are female
According to the Children’s Commissioner’s Report (England – based upon
15,000 responses).
These young girls tend not to be known to the Police Service & are often from
more affluent backgrounds. They are often plied with alcohol / other drugs &
then forced to commit sexual acts which are videoed to ensure that she is
indebted to the gang & can be discredited if she approaches the authorities.
Young girls are often used to set up other children & adults to become
indebted to the gang so that they can be exploited.
The local context:
Those involved with County Lines in the Swansea area are often White males
of a low socio-economic background & they are regularly targeted by the
Police Service. Compared with County Lines members in larger cities, those in
the Swansea area are considered to be naive & less ‘street-wise’.
Swansea are piloting the contextualised safeguarding approach to try to
address the children becoming involved in County Lines activities.
Drugs to-order online:
All of the usual mobile telephone Apps can be used for ordering drugs.
Student Halls are a magnet for drug dealers.
Unethical behaviours by workers:
The use of Social Media to track clients (any clients, be they children, or
adults) is ethically wrong. The only people authorised to carry out surveillance
are the Police Service, & even they need a legitimate & authorised reason to
carry out these activities.
Similarly, creating false on-line profiles to track / trap children is also
unethical.

6. Transparency is a key element of our work with children. The rule of thumb
here is: If you cannot tell the child / client, then you shouldn’t be doing it.
Relationships are the key to protecting children:
The first line of defence is the trust built up between trusted adults & children.
If we approach young people with an open mind, our age is no barrier to
working with children (so long as we don’t try to be cool / acting younger than
our chronological age).
Be Yourself – “Real Recognises Real”
Children need to be able to rely upon their Foster Carers / Social Workers / &
other trusted adults, however, too often, these people change with regular
frequency which adds to the challenges for children to open up & tell a trusted
adult if they have concerns or feel vulnerable.
Trust Reliability Time
Empathy A safe-space
Are all keys to protecting children from exploitation. Many workers have blind-
spots in terms of their practice. To better protect children, we need to:
 Be Professionally Curious
 Share Information. Be clear about who to share the information with &
be creative in the sharing of it to protect children
 Connect with other partner agencies (work together). Be authentically
helpful – an email alone doesn’t work
 Develop your relationship with the child – invest the time & be persistent
when they push you away
 Don’t turn a blind-eye to debt – this is one of the main techniques
employed by those who wish to exploit children
Since Baby P, we have been through the alphabet four times in terms of
Serious Case Reviews / child deaths.
In order to better protect children, the following big questions need to be
asked:
Who else has worked with the child? Talk with them
Who are the child’s friends?
What successes & failures / learning opportunities has the child
experienced?
What other organisations do I need to connect with?
If the child were to disclose something serious (such as indebtedness), is
there a plan in place to protect them?
Do they have friends from out of the area? If so, who are they?

7. Key indicators of risk (of County Lines activity):
 Being arrested for possession away from their home area
 Being previously relocated
 Sexually inappropriate behaviours
 The ‘Bando Smell’ – A vinegar / acidic smell often associated with rough
sleeping in abandoned buildings frequented by drug users
Actions you can take:
The best outcomes are in the medium to long-term. Short-term interventions
are like applying a sticking plaster over a knife-wound
Deal with the trauma first
Always think safeguarding
Be visible, present, approachable & available to children
Do not put yourself at risk – especially on-line – Remove all of your personal
information on-line. Run an internet search to check on your own name –
look at the first 5 & the last 5 pages to see what information is available for
all to see
Switch off the Wi-Fi & have regular conversations with the child
Go into their room & check for cash & drugs
Reinforce healthy boundaries – this conveys the message that ‘I care’
Have regular meals together – family time is important in relationship
building
The problem is not the pushy parent, it is the laid-back parent who so respects
the child’s privacy, that the child thinks / knows that they can get away with it
Signposting:
In Swansea, there is a single point of contact if you are concerned:
01792 635700 or email Kelly Shannon: Kelly.Shannon@swansea.gov.uk
Dr. Carleen Thurman – Misunderstood Project
Simon Harding (et al)’s research – Out of the Shadows Project
Book – The Trusted Advisor by David Maister / Green / Galford
This fact sheet was compiled by Alex Clapson based upon information shared
by Junior Smart – Business Development Manager – The SOS Project –
County Lines Web Training Course 21-07-20