The battle to save vulnerable young people from entering the “county lines” drug trade is being undermined by a lack of government support, a watchdog warned today.
Dame Glenys Stacey, the chief inspector of probation, said that the absence of national guidelines on information-sharing between state agencies was making it harder for youth offending teams to help potential victims, while there was also “much frustration” among grassroots staff over a lack of central government assistance.
The “county lines” trade is organised on dedicated mobile phone “lines” and involves gangs using children and young adults to sell drugs in smaller towns.
The phenomenon has been identified as a major factor behind the rise in knife and other violent crime.
Dame Glenys’s report focuses on the effectiveness of youth offending services in Essex.
She found the county has seen a “rapid growth and development of ‘county lines’ as a factor” in youth offending cases.
She concluded: “Greater national support is required to help deal with [the ‘county lines’ trade].”
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