The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and the National County Lines Coordination Centre (NCLCC) released the County Lines Strategic Threat Risk Assessment on 5th November 2024 for April 2023 to March 2024, revealing a shift towards more localised operations.
The assessment indicates a 12.2% decrease in cross-boundary drug lines and a 232% increase in internal lines operating within single force areas. This trend suggests that criminal groups are adapting their strategies, potentially in response to intensified law enforcement efforts.
“We will strengthen the law to prevent young people from being drawn into crime and stop gangs exploiting children, leaving no community behind in our efforts to eradicate this awful activity.”
Despite a reduction in the involvement of children, with more adults now recorded in county lines activities, child exploitation remains a significant concern. Children are often trafficked to serve as drug runners, placing them at high risk due to their possession of valuable commodities and exposure to potential violence over territorial disputes. The assessment also highlights that 91.3% of organized crime groups (OCGs) involved are British, with individuals of Black ethnicity being over-represented compared to regional population data.
In response, the National County Lines Co-ordination Centre (NCLCC) launched the Disrupting County Lines Policing Strategy 2024 to 2027, focusing on prevention, safeguarding vulnerable individuals, community resilience, and the relentless pursuit of offenders. This strategy builds on previous successes, including the closure of over 5,600 county lines and the safeguarding of more than 8,800 individuals. The NPCC emphasises the importance of early intervention and collaboration with partners to effectively combat the evolving county lines threat.
"Relentless and robust action to bring down County Lines gangs is part of policing’s strategic objective in breaking the model used by the organised criminals and protecting vulnerable people who are being exploited by them"
