We need more help to crack down on gangs

This week we reveal that vulnerable children in Kent’s hospitals, targeted by gangs in the county, are being placed under the 24-hour watch of police officers for their own protection.

It is the latest revelation in the seemingly-never-ending saga of gangs exploiting youngsters, primarily through so-called ‘county lines’ crime.

This is where drug dealers from London target other communities outside the capital, sometimes through ‘cuckooing’, which involves criminals taking over the home of a vulnerable person in order to use it as a base for their activities.

Detectives in the west of the county have brought down 20 dealers in the last year as part of efforts to crack down on the rise, but clearly it remains a serious issue.

The idea that young children recovering from sometimes horrific injuries in hospital can still not be considered safe, to the point where they need round-the-clock police protection, is a harrowing one.

The force, and its other partners such as local councils and those involved in the health service, is clearly doing all it can to prevent those at risk from reaching further harm, but once again you have to wonder if this all comes back to government cuts.

Do the police have enough resources to cope with this heightened new criminal challenge? It appears they are trying to utilise what resources they do have as effectively as possible by working closely with other local bodies, but fundamentally, it just seems like we need more bodies on the ground.

To stop this growing problem, we need help from all areas.