News
HUGE INCREASE IN ‘COUNTY
LINES’ ACTIVITY, SAYS NCA
‘COUNTY LINES’ DRUG DEALING NETWORKS ARE
CONTINUING TO EXPAND with increasing exploitation of
children and vulnerable adults, says a report from the
National Crime Agency (NCA).
The county lines model involves gangs and criminal
networks moving drugs – primarily heroin and crack –
into new supply areas such as smaller towns and rural
areas, and using dedicated mobile phone lines to take
orders. There are now around 2,000 operative mobile
lines compared to 720 in 2017-18, says NCA’s latest
County lines drug supply, vulnerability and harm
document, with the gangs remaining ‘highly adaptable
in their operating methods and practices’.
Gangs will offer free drugs in exchange for contact
details of potential customers to expand their supply
base, says the report, using ‘mass marketing text
messages’ to advertise their product. Children aged 15-
17 – both male and female – make up the bulk of
vulnerable people involved, recruited via grooming
techniques ‘similar to what has been seen in child
sexual exploitation and abuse’.
Rather than seeing themselves as victims, the young
people are often ‘flattered by the attention and gifts
they receive’, making them less likely to engage with
the police. However, the exploitation methods used
include sexual abuse, modern slavery, and the ‘threat
of violence and injury to ensure compliance’.
County lines gangs will also ‘capitalise on drug users
who allow the use of their property, as well as those
who introduce new customers to suppliers in exchange
for drugs’, says the document. ‘These drug users may
believe the arrangement to be mutually beneficial, but
in many cases will be building up a debt to the
offending network, which they are expected to pay
back through engagement in county lines offending.’
Government, law enforcement, charities and other
organisations need to work together to ‘safeguard the
vulnerable’, the report stresses, with county lines
activity driving a two-thirds increase in the number of
minors referred as potential victims of modern slavery
between 2016 and 2017 (DDN, April 2018, page 4). One
week of
coordinated
police
activity
between 21
and 27
January this
year saw 600
arrests, says
NCA, along
with more
than 400
vulnerable
adults and
600 children
‘engaged for
safeguarding
purposes’ and
seizures of
more than
140 weapons
including
guns,
machetes and
Nikki HollaNd
swords.
‘We know that criminal networks use high levels of
violence, exploitation and abuse to ensure compliance
from the vulnerable people they employ to do the day-
to-day drug supply activity,’ said NCA’s director of
investigations, Nikki Holland. ‘Every organised crime
group trafficking drugs is a business which relies on
cash flow. County lines is no different. What we will
continue to do with our law enforcement partners is
disrupt their activity and take away their assets. We
also need to ensure that those exploited are
safeguarded and understand the consequences of their
involvement. This is not something law enforcement
can tackle alone – the need to work together to disrupt
this activity and safeguard vulnerable victims must be
the priority for everyone.’
Report at www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk
NO CHARGE
UPDATED GOVERNMENT GUIDANCE on implementing health
charging regulations for overseas visitors has clarified the position
on drug and alcohol services. These can be considered the
equivalent of primary medical services, says the revised DHSC
document, which means that they are exempt from any charges to
foreign nationals – previous versions had been unclear on which
services were considered equivalent. Inpatient care, however –
which includes residential rehab – is not considered a primary
medical service and will therefore not be available without charge.
‘The change will enable drug and alcohol services to provide
treatment to anyone who needs it, irrespective of who they are and
where they come from,’ said Blenheim CEO John Jolly. Guidance on
implementing the overseas visitor charging regulations at www.gov.uk
4 | drinkanddrugsnews | February 2019
‘This is not
something law
enforcement can
tackle alone...’
‘drug and alcohol
services can continue to
provide treatment to
anyone who needs it,
irrespective of who they
are and where they
come from.’
EU WINE LAKE
EU HOUSEHOLDS spent more than EUR 350bn
on alcohol in 2017, equivalent to just under 1
per cent of EU GDP. ‘It should be noted that
this does not include alcoholic beverages
paid for in restaurants and hotels,’ says the
EU statistics office, Eurostat. The Baltic states
of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania spent the
most on alcohol, while Spain spent the least.
Figures at ec.europa.eu
DAMNING FIGURES
THERE WERE ALMOST 600 DEATHS of
homeless people in England and Wales in
2017, according to ONS figures, an increase
of almost a quarter over five years. Men
accounted for 84 per cent of the deaths, with
more than 30 per cent the result of drug
poisoning, primarily opiates – a 51 per cent
increase over the same period. Separate
research by Crisis estimates that there are
12,300 people sleeping rough on the street
and almost 12,000 sleeping in tents, cars or
on public transport. The numbers are more
than double official figures, which are based
on local authority estimates or street counts.
Deaths of homeless people in England and
Wales: 2013 to 2017 at www.ons.gov.uk ;
Rough sleeping figures at www.crisis.org.uk
COMMISSION CALL
THE GAMBLING COMMISSION is consulting
on a new three-year strategy to reduce
gambling harms. The aim is to ‘focus on the
range of harms gambling can inflict,
particularly those harms that affect those
other than the gambler’ – such as health,
crime and household debt. Have your say at
www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/J5QR6MT
STALLED STATE
THE NUMBER OF COUNTRIES PROVIDING
HARM REDUCTION initiatives has stalled in
the last two years, according to Harm
Reduction International’s (HRI) latest Global
state of harm reduction report. Despite
injecting drug use being present in almost
180 countries, the number providing needle
and syringe programmes has fallen from 90 in
2016 to 86. Funding for harm reduction in
low- and middle-income countries is just 13
per cent of what is needed annually for an
‘effective HIV response among people who
inject drugs’, says HRI. ‘The lack of progress in
implementing harm reduction measures is a
major concern and stunting progress in global
health,’ said HRI’s public health and social
policy lead, Katie Stone. ‘It is disgraceful that
governments continue to ignore the evidence
in favour of demonising people who use
drugs.’ Report at www.hri.global
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