- Hundreds of young people successfully referred to the Mayor’s flagship scheme to rescue those exploited by County Lines gangs.
- More than 1,000 professionals are now specially trained to work with vulnerable young women and girls exploited by County Lines activity.
- New Rescue and Response report shows that nine out of ten young people have reduced or completely stopped involvement in County Lines activity thanks to successful scheme.
Hundreds of young people have been successfully diverted away from the dangers of County Lines gangs thanks to an intervention scheme set up and funded by the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, according to a new report published today.
The report by Brent Council sets out the impact of the Mayor’s flagship £5.6m Rescue and Response scheme to target youngsters caught up in county lines drug gangs and reveals that in the last year, nine out of 10 young Londoners supported by the project have either reduced or completely stopped their involvement in county lines.
The report also highlights how more than 1,000 social workers and staff from other frontline organisations have now received specialist training from the Mayor’s Rescue and Response programme to spot the hidden signs of exploitation in vulnerable young women and girls involved in county lines activity and provide the support they need to escape exploitation.
County Lines is the name given to drug dealing where phone lines are used to move and supply drugs, usually from cities into smaller towns and rural areas across the whole country.
Since the City Hall funded Rescue & Response programme began three years ago, more than 450 young people who were referred to the programme have engaged with the support provided and benefited from positive opportunities such as training, education and support towards employment.
Among those helped by the programme are a young woman who was identified to be at high risk from exploitation and from harm and abuse from her own family and faced multiple criminal charges linked to County Lines activity. She was provided with a support network and a safe space to understand her needs and protect her from abuse and exploitation, helped through her legal proceedings and set positive goals to focus on going forward.
A 17-year-old boy was intercepted by Rescue and Response programme while in hospital for a for a severe hand injury, directly linked to being exploited by County Lines activity. He was provided with temporary housing and a support network to ensure he could return to his local borough. He is now no longer offending and is working on building a career with the help of the Safer London ‘Hardship Fund’.
Last month the Mayor warned that the cost of living crisis, which is impacting huge numbers of Londoners and some of the most vulnerable groups in our society, could jeopardise the progress that’s been made in tackling violent crime. There is growing concern that loss of jobs and training opportunities could also lead to more young Londoners becoming vulnerable to exploitation in County Lines – making the Mayor’s Rescue and Response action and intervention more important than ever. In the last year the number of young people referred to the scheme for help to exit the dangers of County Lines increased by nearly 10 per cent [1].
The work of the Mayor’s Rescue and Response programme sits alongside the enforcement action being carried out by the Met police to dismantle county lines and target drug gangs who rarely leave the capital but are responsible for dealing drug, and exploiting young people and vulnerable adults. From April 2021 to March 2022, teams across the Met closed more than 560 lines and made almost 450 arrests for offences including drug supply, modern slavery and weapons.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “It’s vital that we support young people and keep them safe from exploitation by criminal gangs.
“I am determined to ensure we provide an escape route for young Londoners who feel trapped and I’m pleased the Rescue and Response programme is working to break the chain of criminality that holds some of our most vulnerable young men, women, girls and boys hostage.
“Thanks to this programme, more than 450 young people have benefited from positive opportunities to help change their lives for the better and divert them away from exploitation by criminal gangs.
“I know we’re only scratching the surface of a major national issue that is still driving violence in London and across the country, but that is why I will continue to invest record amounts in programmes that intervene in the key moments in a person’s life, to divert them away from crime and build a safer London for everyone.”
Head of Practise at Safer London, Alison Campbell, said: “We’re proud to be part of the Mayor of London’s Rescue and Response initiative which enables young Londoners to break free - and stay free - from the cycle of County Lines.
“It’s important to understand that young Londoners affected by County Lines have been exploited, groomed and abused. They have experienced traumatic events many of us couldn’t comprehend. Furthermore, the impact of County Lines is far reaching, affecting entire families and communities. Rescue and Response has allowed Safer London to provide direct support to young Londoners impacted by County Lines.
“Our Rescue and Response team work collaboratively with young Londoners, building strong trusting relationships, so they can work through their trauma, improve their safety and move onto the positive futures they deserve. We hope, with the support from the Mayor of London, we can continue to support those affected for as long as the threat of County Lines persists.”
Founder and Chief Executive of Abianda agency, Abi Billinghurst, said: “We are so pleased that we are entering into a fifth year of support from MOPAC for the Rescue and Response service. Abianda's work in the partnership has shone a much needed light on the experiences of young women and girls, but we know they are still very much a hidden group and are not being identified sufficiently.
“We are delighted to see the Mayor's ongoing focus on women and girls experiences and look forward to seeing how pan-London provision for young women will be designed and supported going forward.”
Notes to editors
The full 2020-21 (year 3) Rescue & Response report can be found here: https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/rescue_and_response_strategic_assessment_2021.pdf
Key findings from the report into the Mayor’s Rescue and Response programme include:
• Newham remains the top borough for referrals of young people to services this year, while Lambeth has seen the largest increase in referrals as it jumped by 75 per cent
• 80% per cent of the top-10 towns for county lines in 2019-20 have remained in the top-10, with Ipswich, Cambridge, Portsmouth, Southampton and Swansea in the top positions
• Young Black people from London aged 10-25 years are 6 times more likely to be referred to Rescue and Response for county lines concerns compared to all other ethnicities of the same age.
• More than half (54 per cent) of all young people referred to the programme in the year 2020-21 were Black.
• 598 referrals were received in 2020/21. 245 of those referred accepted support and 145 of those who accepted support, engaged with the support when it was offered.
• 93% of those completing a period of support achieved positive outcomes at the end of this and 88% of these had reduced or ceased county lines involvement.
• 80% of the 19/20 top-10 towns have remained in the 20/21 top-10, with Ipswich, Cambridge, Portsmouth, Southampton and Swansea taking the highest five positions.
The Mayor set up the Rescue and Response service in 2018 to better understand, target and respond to county lines activity and since then it has worked to rescue young people who are vulnerable and caught up in county lines drug distribution networks. The programme is run in partnership with local authorities in Brent, Islington and Newham, and specialist services providers Abianda, St Giles and Safer London, to help coordinate intervention support across London for young people up to the age of 25.
The Rescue and Response programme involves investigative teams who are set up both in London and in the county area where the line runs into. This gives the ability to shut down the county lines at source and the impact of the line’s supply is dealt with in the importing area. Since November 2019 the Met has worked with 22 forces all the way from Police Scotland to Devon and Cornwall.
Rescue and Response has three delivery partners it runs with, Abianda, Safer London and St Giles. These three agencies are supported by analysts and partnership coordinators that help manage referrals, that identify and provide interventions and ongoing support for a vulnerable young people.
St Giles provides one-to-one support for young men, manage an out-of-hours support phone line and a rescue service to bring home young Londoners exploited in counties and begin supporting them as soon as possible, Abianda offers support for young women involved in county lines, while Safer London helps young people impacted or affected by gangs.
Here are further details on the two case studies outlined in release:
Case Study One: Young Woman rescued from exploitation by Mayor’s Rescue and Response scheme
Abianda identified was a young woman who suffered from exploitative relationships within her family, a history of harm and abuse, faced multiple criminal charges and often went missing. She was provided with a safe space and a support network who worked with her to understand the her needs. As a result, the young woman now regularly and proactively engages with her support network, has improved her emotional and mental wellbeing, she is taking her court proceedings seriously and is setting and achieving positive goals for herself.
Case Study Two: Teenage boy rescued from exploitation by Mayor’s Rescue and Response scheme
A 17-year old boy was referred to Safer London following a trip to hospital for a severe hand injury, directly linked to being exploited to engage in County Lines. The young person was at risk from criminal gangs, had no access to any other financial income, had fallen out of the education system and was showing signs of PTSD. Safer London provided temporary housing and a support network who put together a safety plan so the boy could return to his local borough. The agency also helped the boy establish coping strategies to tackle his PTSD and the boy now can differentiate between healthy and unhealthy relationships. As a result the boy is no longer offending, is working on building a career with the help of the Safer London ‘Hardship Fund’ and has attended job interviews.
[1] Referrals to the Mayor’s rescue and response scheme have increased, with nearly 600 in 2020-2021 compared to just over 550 in 2019-2020.