‘There is no “war on drugs”’: An investigation into county line drug networks from the perspective of a London borough
| Published date | 01 December 2021 |
| Author | Karen Cleaver,John Bonning |
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X20956682 |
| Date | 01 December 2021 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
2021, Vol. 94(4) 443 –461
Article
‘There is no “war on drugs”’:
An investigation into county
line drug networks from the
perspective of a London
borough
John Bonning
Metropolitan Police Service, London, UK
Karen Cleaver
School of Health Sciences, University of Greenwich, London, UK
Abstract
County Line Drug Networks involve the transportation of drugs from urban hubs to out
of city locations across the UK. County lines are a societal concern as they involve the
recruitment of vulnerable individuals (adults and children), who are used as runners,
exposing them to hazardous and often violent situations. This paper reports on a small
scale study which provides a snapshot of the characteristics of nominals involved in
county line drug network within a London Borough as well as the perspective of three
expert practitioners who have substantial and detailed operational knowledge of how
county line operatives work.
Keywords
County lines, gangs, drugs, young people, exploitation
Introduction
Tackling county lines is one of six key priorities within the UK Government’s approach
to Ending Gang Violence and Exploitation (Home Office Drugs Strategy, 2017). The UK
Government (2019) defines ‘county lines’ as:
Corresponding author:
Karen Cleaver, School of Health Sciences, Avery Hill Campus, University of Greenwich, London SE9 2UG, UK.
Email: K.P.Cleaver@greenwich.ac.uk
The Police Journal:
Theory, Practice and Principles
ªThe Author(s) 2020
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/0032258X20956682
journals.sagepub.com/home/pjx
444 The Police Journal: Theory, Practice and Principles 94(4)
gangs and organised criminal networks involved in exporting illegal drugs into one or more
importing areas within the UK, using dedicated mobile phone lines or other form of “deal
line”. They are likely to exploit children and vulnerable adults to move and store the drugs
and money and often use coercion, intimidation, violence (including sexual violence) and
weapons. (Rescue and Response Report Analysists, 2019: 7)
Although a relatively recent phenomenon the term ‘county lines’ is now firmly estab-
lished within police and public vernacular, with a growing understanding of how county
line drug networks operate emerging through nationally collated police data (NCA, 2015,
2017, 2019), with over 2,000 individual deal line numbers across the UK, linked to
approximately 1,000 branded county lines identified (National Cr ime Agency, 2019).
Explanations for this rapid rise include the transformation of local drug markets, demand
for product, the absence of an organised drug economy, the demise of traditional criminal
structures, a lesser police presence and a more diverse mix of younger, socially-based,
profit-driven, criminal groupings, competing for profits (Coomber and Moyle, 2017,
Robinson et al., 2018). Indeed Andell & Pitts propose that county lines are: an embedded,
national, drug distribution system, which has both fostered and become reliant upon local,
stratified, third generation street gangs (Andell and Pitts, 2018: 5).
Research that has examined the way in which drugs are moved and the role of gangs
within drug markets has and is continuing to evolve (Andell and Pitts, 2018; Densely
et al., 2018; Robinson et al., 2018; Windle and Briggs, 2015a, 2015b). There is some
evidence of an interchange between gang membership and individual gang members’
involvement in county lines (Windle and Briggs, 2015a, 2015b). The overlap/competi-
tion between gangs and county line drug networks (also referred to as CLDNs) and the
fundamental principle underpinning coun ty lines, the movement between urban and
county locations, results in violence which occurs when ‘business’ interests, specifically
those tied to the drug trade, are threatened (Storrod and Densely, 2016; Spicer, 2018),
this violence and conflict often played out on Youtube and other social media platforms
(Andelll and Pitts, 2018; Storrod and Densley, 2016).
Exploitation of vulnerable young people and adults is apparent in research which has
sought to understand how CLDNs operate. (Windle and Briggs, 2015b; Robinson et al.,
2018; Spicer, 2018). Windle and Briggs (2015b) observe that many young people
recruited in CDLNs have been in care and or, have been missing from home or care for
long periods; they describe how young people are left in out of town ‘crack houses’
(a base for problematic drug users to consume crack cocaine), becoming out of town front
line drug dealers. Studies undertaken to date reveal young people become entrapped into
working, with little remuneration, and the use of debt bondage to retain control (Robin-
son et al., 2018; Spicer, 2018). Harding (2020) observed that inexperience, naiveite and
propensity to be outmanoeuvred and controlled means that young people recruited to
county lines quickly fall into debt bondage; this in turn increases their vulnerability and
concomitantly their risk of further exploitation. Vulnerable drug dependent adults are
also exploited, recruited to sell drugs. These problematic drug users, who are socially
excluded and lacking in social capital, often sell from their ow n homes on behalf of
criminal gangs from major cities, unwilling to report victimisation to the police (Spicer,
2018; Robinson et al., 2018).
2The Police Journal: Theory, Practice and Principles XX(X)
To continue reading
Request your trial