Drug gangs ‘preying on vulnerable girls in care’
COUNTY Lines gangs are preying on girls in care and using them for sex, a former police officer has claimed.
Vulnerable children as young as 12 are being groomed with alcohol, cannabis and trendy new clothes, then being forced to have sex with gang members to “work off their debt”, according to Bernie Gravett.
The former Metropolitan Police superintendent said that girl grooming was rife among street gangs.
“I see the same horrific story, over and over again,” he said. “This is Rotherham and Rochdale in a different guise.
“Young rebellious girls – some as young as 12 – have gone into the care system because of family abuse or problems with their upbringing and foster care.
“They’re offered protection by gangs and shown love. They’re given what they want – weed, new trainers, the latest mobile phones – then they’re asked to take a package from A to B.
“It might be pills, it might be a delivery of crack cocaine, heroin or weed but they’ve unwittingly worked up a debt.and the gangs quickly call that debt in.
“It’s not just drugs, either. They’re pressured into having sex and handed around gangs who use them as pieces of meat.
“If they refuse they’ll be beaten, and beaten badly.
“They’re trapped, and that’s how they get into the system.”
Mr Gravett, who now helps exploited youngsters who have committed crimes, added: “The girls are sent to towns outside London and other cities where they’ll deal to local junkies. They have to carry knives for protection against other gangs, and they start using violence themselves.
“These girls appear to be gang members and criminals and by the letter of the law they are – but the reality is very different.
“Many of them have been groomed, trafficked and made to commit crimes.
“Often, they are robbed by their own gang and then blamed and charged for the losses. This binds them tighter into the gangs that control them.”
The Home Office says it is committed to protecting vulnerable children – but a report by Anne Longfield, the Children’s Commissioner for England, warns the mistakes that led to grooming scandals in Rotherham and Rochdale are being repeated with gangs.
Ms Longfield told how the “sophisticated techniques” used to recruit children were incredibly similar and started with “inducements”. She also warned that gangs were using “chilling levels of violence” to keep young people onside.