Modern slavery on rise as county lines gangs exploit the young
MODERN slavery in the UK is on course to surpass last year’s record level, as county lines gangs lure jobless young people into a career of crime.
Home Office data shows that so far this year there have been 2,804 referrals of potential victims of modern slavery under the age of 18. It is expected to surpass last year’s figure of 3,091 cases flagged to the Government’s National Referral Mechanism.
Driving the rise were 926 cases of county lines gangs exploiting vulnerable young people in their criminal networks of drug pushers operating in towns and cities across the country.
Dame Sara Thornton, the independent anti-slavery commissioner, said that county lines gangs will pick off those left jobless by youth unemployment, which reports suggested could more than triple to the highest levels since the early Eighties. “Between July and September 2020 there were over 2,500 potential victims of modern slavery referred into the National Referral Mechanism,” she said.
“Covid-19 i s already resulting in higher levels of unemployment. When people are desperate to provide for their families they are vulnerable and may view exploitative work as their best option.
“In the case of young people I am concerned that this increases their vulnerability to the organised criminals who run county lines drug dealing.”
Over half of the 1,159 cases of children found to be victims of modern slavery in the UK and abroad since July involved criminal exploitation. Data also showed that more cases of children than adults involved sex trafficking with 166 cases of under-18s flagged to authorities.
Dame Sara told The Daily Telegraph: “Whilst an increase in the number of county lines cases being referred into the National Referral Mechanism may indicate improving levels of awareness among practitioners, for these highly vulnerable children identification is not enough.
“It is essential that there is substantial child protection activity to ensure that they are appropriately safeguarded and protected from further exploitation. I am not yet convinced that this is happening in all cases and more must be done.”
A Home Office spokesman said it had invested £25 million in specialist support for victims of county lines exploitati on, i ncluding a roll- out of the Independent Child Trafficking Guardian service, offering advice for trafficked children.