The scale of the “county lines” national drugs network crisis is laid bare as figures analysed by the Guardian reveal the soaring number of cases in which vulnerable children are linked to gangs.

In 2017-18, 8,650 assessments by children’s services in England noted young people as being vulnerable with gangs identified as an issue. This included 1,290 cases from the north-west and 3,130 from London, up from 3,680 in 2014-15.

MPs, academics and charities described the findings as shocking, saying the rise of organised criminal groups which use children to traffic drugs from inner-city areas to provincial towns, where they are used to sell drugs, was a key factor in the surge.

Separately, analysis found the number of times children were assessed as vulnerable because of having gone missing also soared in the same time period, from 8,850 to 16,070. This is also considered a major feature of the county lines drug crisis.

Quick guide What is ‘county lines’ and who are the victims? Show Hide What does the term ‘county lines’ mean? The name ‘county lines’ refers to the phone numbers, or lines, that criminal gangs which traffic drugs from urban to rural areas use to organise the sale of their wares. Gangs in cities such as London, Birmingham and Liverpool use children to deal mostly heroin and crack cocaine over a network of dedicated mobile phones to smaller towns and rural areas. Who are the victims and how are they recruited? The majority of victims groomed into working for gangs are 15- to 17-year-old boys but children as young as 11 have been safeguarded and girls have been targeted.

Many victims are recruited over social media, with offenders luring them with images of cash, designer clothing and luxury cars, but vulnerable girls and women are being targeted by men who create the impression of a romantic relationship before subjecting them to sexual exploitation. How big is the problem? In 2015, about seven forces reported county lines behaviour. Now, 44 forces, including British Transport Police, have recorded county lines behaviour on their turf. No one really knows how many young people across the country are being forced to take part. Children without criminal records – known as ‘clean skins’ – are preferred because they are less likely to be known to detectives. The Children’s Society says 4,000 teenagers in London alone are exploited through county lines, while the children’s commissioner estimated at least 46,000 children in England were caught up in gangs. How many children have been affected The number of individual phone numbers identified by law enforcement officials as being used on established county lines networks is about 2,000 – nearly three times the 720 previously established.



Police estimate the phone numbers are linked to about 1,000 branded networks, with a single line capable of making £800,000 profits in a year. The Children's Commissioner estimates at least 46,000 children in England are caught up in gangs.

Simon Harding, an associate professor of criminology at the University of West London, said the figures were very worrying.

“The rise is shocking. There will be elements of that about increased reporting and awareness but that is not going to account for such a big rise. There is something happening. Working in county lines has a great allure for young people. It gives them a tax-free income, gives them a regular income and high income,” he said.

Harding said he had interviewed children making £1,000 a week, or even as much as £1,000 in a single day. “That is an enormous amount of money. It gives them a great deal of freedom, or at least these young people think it does.

“In reality it does not, as frequently they will be quite controlled – but they can be involved in a line for a year or two and then step out and run their own line, and employ their own kids to do it. The learning here is very fast.”

The data the Guardian analysed, from the Department for Education, shows the number of finished assessments by children’s social care. Overall, the number of episodes of children being in need at any point during the year went from 754,460 in 2014-15 to 753,840 in 2017-18. However, this is up from 742,890 in 2016-17. The rise for those in need who had been involved in gang activity or had been or gone missing surged at a much higher rate.

Josie Allan, the senior policy and campaigns manager of Missing People UK, said there was a general increase in children going missing. “It’s hard to prove with the data, as every year it is presented differently. But we do think there is a general increase in kids being vulnerable because of missing episodes.

“We also think there has been an increase in county lines activity and child criminal exploitation, which is supported by the National Crime Agency threat assessment published on this issue.”

Allan said the reasons children were increasingly going missing were complex, but factors included reduced children’s services and an increase in looked-after young people being placed outside their local authority area.

She said going missing was a common feature of county lines activity. “If a child is exploited into criminal activity then they are likely not to be where they are supposed to be, especially if there is an element of travel in what they are doing.

“I did research recently with a small group of young people involved in county lines, and everyone who took part said that going missing was a key feature, especially in the early stages of criminal exploitation.”



Ann Coffey, the MP for Stockport and chair of the all-party parliamentary group for runaway and missing children and adults, said a greater awareness was one factor behind the rise.

Previously, young boys who went missing were not seen as being at risk so were reported as being absent rather than missing, she said. “Now, people are aware if a 14-year-old boy is going missing, then it could be because of county lines activity.”

She added that no one knew the prevalence of the problem in the UK and the numbers the Guardian unearthed were likely to still be an underestimate.

“It is very difficult to map and one reason for that is because county lines activity involves a child going missing in one police area and committing an offence in another. Police have different IT systems and assessment of risk, so it is hard to share – get information – to pull intelligence together from different police force areas to give a good understanding of the problem.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A county lines victim. The scale of the problem is difficult to map because county lines activity involves a child going missing in one police area and committing an offence in another. Photograph: Graeme Robertson/The Guardian

Coffey said the figures were concerning for a number of reasons. “Clearly county lines is a very successful business model organised crime gangs have developed. Although it is seen as the transportation of drugs … supply lines have been set up and used to transport other merchandise, such as cash or guns.

“What concerns me is that we are not really making inroads on arresting and taking those senior gang leaders out of county lines. As long as they continue to operate, the number of children exploited will continue to grow.”

A government spokesperson said: “Any child that goes missing from home, school or care could be in danger of exploitation from gangs or violent criminals – that’s why we are equipping the professionals who protect vulnerable children to help them identify those who are most at risk and keep them safe.

“Our national ‘tackling child exploitation’ support programme is helping specialists in education, social care, health, the police and the voluntary sector to improve how they respond to these kinds of threats in their communities, including gangs, county lines drug activity and trafficking, and our serious violence strategy includes a range of actions to combat county lines.”