Award Title: County lines: a co-ordinated Welsh community response to child criminal exploitation
Funder: Health and Care Research Wales (Welsh Government)

Abstract: Background
Child criminal exploitation (CCE) has been described as a national priority (Children’s Commissioner, 2019). Much of what is known about CCE relates to county lines, a model of drug supply that has become widespread across the United Kingdom. County lines operate using a dedicated mobile phone number to sell drugs from larger cities to end users living in coastal, rural and market towns. While not all county lines use children, where children are targeted it can affect all ages and ethnicities. This project will contribute to the knowledge base regarding the nature and scale of the problem, what approaches and interventions are most effective and how contextual safeguarding approaches can be used in practice within the Welsh context.
Aims
The project will examine how children are targeted, recruited and involved in county lines in Wales and what services need to effectively identify, engage and safeguard these children. The research objectives are:
1. How does county lines manifest in Wales?
a)	How are children targeted and recruited?
b)	How are children involved in these activities?
c)        What are the similarities and differences in manifestation across high, medium and low CCE prevalence areas?
2.	What approaches and interventions are most effective in the identification and prevention of CCE?
a)	What are the current barriers services face in engaging with children?
b)	What changes in practice could facilitate their involvement?


3.	How can contextual safeguarding be used in practice across services?
a)	What factors facilitate contextual safeguarding in everyday practice?
b)	What are the current barriers to adopting a contextual lens to safeguarding?
Plan of investigation
An exploratory design is adopted to explore the nature, scale and current responses to CCE with findings used to inform the co-production of a toolkit for professionals.
Phase one: Interviews, focus groups and creative participatory methods with young people, parents (YPP) and professionals to obtain an ‘accurate and authentic analysis’ of [the] social reality (MacDonald, 2012) for those affected by CCE. Data will be analysed according to grounded theory principles.
Phase two: Drawing on action research principles, a toolkit will be created aimed at developing practice that responds to young people affected by CCE. The project advisory group (PAG) consisting of YPP and professionals from a range of agencies, will engage in collaborative critical reflection of project findings in an emergent process of toolkit design (Koshy et al, 2011).
Phase three: Interviews with YPP and professionals regarding toolkit content and delivery. These findings will be used to refine the toolkit and produce the final report.
Potential benefits
This project would make a significant contribution to what is known about county lines in Wales and what interventions and approaches are most effective. As county lines constantly adapts to evade detection, the exploratory design will enable new patterns and behaviours to be captured. Project outcomes will be informed by YPP affected by CCE and professionals from a range of organisations across all phases: defining the problem (phase one), creating a solution (phase two) and refining the solution (phase three). This follows the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act principles of co- production where professionals should work with those in need of care and support to identify solutions.

Lay Abstract: It is estimated that there are over 100 networks bringing crack cocaine and heroin into Welsh towns
(National Crime Agency, 2019). While particularly prevalent in Cardiff, Newport and Swansea, recent police raids have highlighted the presence of county lines in smaller Welsh towns (Evans, 2020).
There is evidence of children being exploited by single perpetrators (such as family members), children being brought into Wales by county lines based in England, and children being exploited by gangs in Wales (All-Wales Practice Guide, 2019). Some children may not realise they are being exploited and can present as both victims and perpetrators (Home Office, 2018). This means some children will not seek help, while others feel unable to access help for fear of repercussions from their exploiters (Hudek, 2018). For those that do come to the attention of services, county lines involvement can be perceived as a lifestyle choice which conceals their right to safeguarding until they are 18 years of age (The Children’s Society, 2018). The current lack of effective approaches and strategies means that children may only become known to services when they are at crisis point
(Violence and Vulnerability Unit, 2018).

The project will examine how children are targeted, recruited and involved in county lines in Wales and what services need to effectively identify, engage and safeguard these children. The research
objectives are:

1. How does county lines manifest in Wales?
a) How are children targeted and recruited?
b) How are children involved in these activities?
c) What are the similarities and differences in manifestation across high, medium and low CCE prevalence areas?

2. What approaches and interventions are most effective in the identification and prevention of CCE?
a) What are the current barriers services face in engaging with children?
b) What changes in practice could facilitate their involvement?
3. How can contextual safeguarding be used in practice across services?
a) What factors facilitate contextual safeguarding in everyday practice?
b) What are the current barriers to adopting a contextual lens to safeguarding?

The project aims to create a toolkit for an effective service response to improve the outcomes for children. The views and experiences of young people, parents and professionals gathered in phase  one, will be used to inform design of the toolkit. For phase two, a project advisory group will be assembled consisting of young people, parents and representatives from social care, health, education, police, housing and youth services. The group will advise on toolkit content, mode of delivery and intended audience. Once the toolkit is launched, feedback will be gleaned from young people, parents and professionals so that the toolkit can be refined in phase three. Such engagement across all aspects of the project will ensure that the toolkit is accessible, relevant and appropriate for developing professional skills in working with children and adolescents at risk or involved in child criminal exploitation.

It is anticipated that the toolkit may comprise training and/or an online resource. A range of
dissemination tools will be used, including newsletters, reports, articles and workshops in order to
reach policy makers, child welfare professionals and managers, young people and parents, and
academic audiences.

Research Activity Codes: 2.3 PSYCHOLOGICAL, SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC FACTORS
Health Categories: GENERIC HEALTH RELEVANCE