County Lines: A Parent's Guide to Child Criminal Exploitation

Part of: Child Lawyer

County lines is the Home Office term for gangs that move illegal drugs from one area into others using a dedicated phone line. These gangs often use children to carry and store the drugs and money. The government calls this child criminal exploitation, and it treats the child as a victim (Home Office guidance on criminal exploitation and county lines).

This guide is for parents who fear a gang has reached their child. It covers the signs and what social services and the police usually do. You will also find the National Referral Mechanism, the legal defence for exploited children and when the family court becomes part of it. The law described is that of England and Wales. For the wider picture, see our child law guide.

If your child is in danger now, call 999. If you cannot talk safely, here is how to call 999 without speaking. Missing People’s SafeCall gives confidential help to young people and families affected by county lines: call or text 116 000 (listed in the Home Office guidance).

Has the school, the police or a social worker raised exploitation with you? You can book a free initial consultation before the next meeting.

What is county lines?

The government defines it as gangs and organised networks that export illegal drugs into other areas through a dedicated phone line or another “deal line”. They often exploit children and vulnerable adults, using coercion, intimidation, violence and weapons (Home Office guidance).

The county lines meaning has grown wider over time. Some lines now supply drugs within one town or city, and the guidance says the absence of a phone line should not stop a safeguarding referral. Most children involved are 15 to 17. However, gangs also target children of primary school age.

Gangs draw children in with money, clothes, status or a sense of belonging. They also use threats, violence and debt. A gang may stage a robbery of the drugs, then tell the child they owe the money. The guidance also describes “cuckooing”, where a gang takes over a vulnerable person’s home. It names forced internal concealment of drugs too, which some people call “plugging”.

How is child criminal exploitation defined?

Child criminal exploitation happens when a person or group uses an imbalance of power to push someone under 18 into crime. The exploiter may coerce, control, manipulate or deceive the child, offer something the child wants, or use violence or threats (Working Together 2026, glossary).

It can happen online. It also reaches beyond drugs, and the Home Office gives cannabis farms and theft as examples. Working Together lists it among the harms children can suffer outside the home (para 216). This page deals with criminal exploitation only. If you fear sexual exploitation, speak to the police or children’s services straight away.

Parliament has also created a specific offence for an adult who uses a child to commit crime. It carries up to 10 years in prison (Crime and Policing Act 2026, s.48). When we checked, legislation.gov.uk still marked that section as prospective, so it was not yet in force.

Signs of county lines exploitation

Children rarely report this themselves, often because they fear what the gang will do. So the adults around them have to notice the changes. The Home Office guidance lists signs such as these:

• going missing from home or school, or turning up in towns with no obvious link to them;
• money, clothes or phones you cannot explain, several SIM cards, or constant calls;
• train tickets for unusual journeys, or a bag they will not put down;
• new friendships with older or controlling people, and losing touch with old friends;
• small injuries they will not explain, or falling school attendance;
• asking for money, or stealing, to pay off a debt.

No single sign proves anything. Still, keep a dated note of what you see, and talk to your child calmly. Do not confront anyone you suspect. The guidance warns that gangs threaten and punish families as well as children.

What do social services do about child exploitation?

Social services assess your child first. They decide whether your child is a child in need, who can get support under section 17 of the Children Act 1989, or whether to make enquiries under section 47 because they suspect significant harm (Working Together 2026, para 220).

Where they suspect significant harm, children’s social care, the police and health should hold a strategy discussion (Working Together 2026, chapter 3). Working Together is the guidance for England. Councils in Wales follow the Wales Safeguarding Procedures instead. Our guides to the section 47 report and to a social services investigation explain each step.

With county lines, the danger usually comes from outside the home. Practitioners should draw on what parents know and look at the whole group of children. They should also record key decisions and share them with you and your child (paras 221 to 223). The Home Office adds that parents are safeguarding partners. If nobody seems to listen, write to the social worker and their manager.

Which routes can open for your child?

Several processes can run at once, and each has its own rules.

How does the National Referral Mechanism work?

The National Referral Mechanism (NRM) is the UK system for identifying victims of modern slavery. A first responder who suspects child criminal exploitation should refer the child as soon as possible, and the child does not need to consent (Working Together 2026, para 224).

Parents cannot refer directly. The police and local authorities must notify the Home Office about all potential victims (para 224), so ask the social worker or the officer whether they have referred your child. A decision maker then considers whether there are “reasonable grounds to believe” your child is a victim. They weigh your child’s account and any evidence for or against it (Home Office guidance). Where the service exists, the first responder should also refer your child to an Independent Child Trafficking Guardian (para 225).

Can a child face prosecution after county lines exploitation?

Yes, the police can still arrest and charge a child, but the law gives under-18s a defence. A child is not guilty if they acted as a direct consequence of slavery or trafficking-related exploitation, and a reasonable person in the same situation would have done the same (Modern Slavery Act 2015, s.45(4)).

That “reasonable person” shares the child’s age, sex and any illness or disability (s.45(5)). The defence does not apply to the serious offences in Schedule 4 of the Act (s.45(7)). Your child’s criminal defence lawyer decides how to raise it. Tell them about the exploitation early, and whether anyone has made an NRM referral.

When can care proceedings follow?

A court can make a care or supervision order only if your child suffers, or is likely to suffer, significant harm. That harm must come from the care they receive or from your child being beyond parental control. No care or supervision order can be made for a child who has reached 17 (Children Act 1989, s.31(2) and (3)).

The “beyond parental control” ground matters here, because it does not mean you failed as a parent. Before any application, the council may suggest your child lives elsewhere for a while with your agreement, under section 20 of the Children Act 1989. Our guide to interim and final care orders explains the court process.

In the most serious cases a court can authorise secure accommodation for a looked-after child. This applies where the child keeps running away and faces significant harm, or is likely to injure themselves or others (Children Act 1989, s.25). Our guide to deprivation of liberty orders for children covers that route.

County lines checker: what happens next for your child

Three answers show what normally happens at your stage, what to ask for and what to write down. Your answers never leave this page, and the page stores nothing.

County lines: frequently asked questions

General information about the law in England and Wales, not advice on your circumstances.