Crimestoppers
Fearless - our youth service
County Lines
What is County Lines?
County Lines is a term used to describe gangs and organised criminal networks involved in exporting illegal drugs into one or more importing areas within the UK, using dedicated mobile phone lines or other forms of “deal line”. They are likely to exploit children and vulnerable adults to move (and store) the drugs and money and they will often use coercion, intimidation, violence (including sexual violence) and weapons.
- National Police Chiefs Council
Spotting the signs
Below are some signs that a young person who is being criminally exploited may exhibit:
- Returning home late, staying out all night or going missing for days or weeks at a time.
- Being found in areas away from home, particularly areas you would not expect that young person to travel to alone.
- Increasing drug use, or a young person having a large amount of drugs on them when they do not use drugs themselves.
- Suddenly being secretive about who they are talking to or where they are going.
- Unexplained absences from school, work, college or training.
- Having large amounts of money on them, or having lots of new stuff such as clothes, jewellery or phones they usually wouldn’t be able to afford.
- A change in behaviour – more disruptive, aggressive, anxious.
- Using drug-related or adult language you would not expect that young person to know.
- Having injuries that cannot be explained.
- In possession of hotel keys or keys to unknown places.
Whilst there are key signs and indicators that a young person is being exploited, it is important to recognise that not every young person who is being exploited will exhibit these signs and not every young person exhibiting these signs is being exploited.
Glossary of terms
The terms below are often used to describe County Lines activity. This is not an exhaustive list of terms, and there will be some regional variations.
Taking over the home of a vulnerable member of the community to use and sell illegal drugs from. The person whose home has been taken over may be exploited in a number of different ways by the County Lines group, including criminally, sexually and financially.
When someone is referring to a person 'going country', they are suggesting that person is travelling to another city, town or county to deliver illegal drugs or money. This is sometimes also referred to a 'going cunch' or 'going OT'.
A building used as a base for drugs to be sold, and sometimes manufactured from. Young people being criminally exploited through County Lines activity may be forced to stay at a trap house for days or weeks at a time. A trap may sometimes be referred to as a 'bando'.
These are terms used to describe a type of financial exploitation of a young person. A young person may be forced to work to pay off a debt that they owe. However, sometimes a County Lines group may use deception to trick a young person into believing they have a debt to pay when in reality they don't.
