A Critical Literature Review of County Lines Gang Activity, the Harms of Child Criminal Exploitation and the Adequacy of Government Responses.

By Grace Elizabeth Moore,

Leeds Beckett University.

This dissertation aims to explore the harms caused to young people by Child Criminal Exploitation from within County Lines drug gangs. It aims to review academic literature such as journal articles and books to gain an understanding of the severe implications that this type of exploitation can have. This project uses government reports and evaluations to develop knowledge around the effectiveness of responses implemented by the government to reduce this threat. This is because county lines gangs target vulnerable young people and children and proceed to coerce and manipulate them into criminal activities. They then use extreme violence and intimidation to ensure the young people are unable to leave and reach support. It was found that young people are manipulated through grooming tactics that are based on their perceived vulnerability such as a lack of parental supervision. Also, there is a significant impact on the role that the social environment and community has on how young people end up trapped within county lines gangs. Moreover, another main finding was the damaging physical and psychological harm that is inflicted on young people throughout their engagement with gang members. Also, within chapter 2, it was found that there have been improvements in supporting young people after they have been exploited, but an overall lack of provisions for preventing child criminal exploitation in the first place which identifies where progress needs to be made within tackling county lines gangs. Therefore, further research should prioritize investigation into how social inequalities leads young people to engage in county lines gangs and criminal activities.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15863105

Click Here To Download