Event Summary

The rising cost of living crisis is being used by organised criminals to exploit those struggling to make ends meet and expand recruitment for County Lines.  Over the last six months there has been an increase in the use of social media by county lines gangs. Content resembling professionally produced job adverts have been appearing on Instagram and Snapchat to entice young people into county lines activity.

Join us online at this well-established biannual event to hear the latest best practice and strategies from leading experts across the country. Find out how your organisation can help prevent county lines activity and provide appropriate support to victims and those at risk of criminal exploitation.

You’ll hear best practice examples of multi-agency working across a range of partners, including health, education, housing, local councils, the police and the voluntary sector

Gain key insights into the latest models and strategies used by perpetators to groom children and young people, and the changing profile of those being targeted.

Hear directly from young people who have experienced County Lines drug smuggling and gang involvement, to gain an insider’s insight into the mechanisms of drug lines and how to provide effective exit strategies.

Hear from frontline services working with vulnerable young people and adults including schools, youth services, social services and housing, on how to identify exploitation and intervene at an early opportunity to divert young people away from gangs.

Sessions include

  • The national picture – changing patterns of County Line activity across the UK
  • Latest methods used to groom, recruit and exploit young people including the rise of social media and online gaming
  • How to identify children most at risk of exploitation – insights on how younger children and girls are increasingly being targeted
  • The currency of debt bondage explained
  • Preventing and reducing school exclusions – tackling adultification bias, supporting transitions and working with parents and carers
  • Disrupting County Line networks through intelligence-led policing and inter-agency collaboration
  • Strategies and projects to prevent criminal exploitation of looked after children, vulnerable adults and preventing cuckooing