County Lines Letter to Parents

Dear Parents and Guardians,

It is likely you will have heard the term ‘County Lines’ in the news recently.
This is a real and growing form of criminal activity that exists nationally,
regionally across the West Midlands and here in Solihull

To explain, it is a term used to describe gangs and organised criminal networks
involved in exporting illegal drugs from urban areas into rural areas. The leaders
of these gangs are likely to exploit children and vulnerable adults, often
without them realising it, to move (and store) drugs and money. They use
coercion, intimidation, violence (including sexual violence) and weapons.

There may be signs of a change in a young person’s behaviour such as:

Returning
home late, staying out all night or going missing
Being
found in areas away from home
Increasing
drug use, or being found to have large amounts of drugs on them
Being
secretive about who they are talking to and where they are going
Unexplained
absences from school, college, training or work
Unexplained
money, phone(s), clothes or jewellery
Increasingly
disruptive or aggressive behaviour
Using
sexual, drug-related or violent language you wouldn’t expect them to know
Coming
home with injuries or looking particularly dishevelled
Having
hotel cards or keys to unknown places.

Your school and local police are working together to spot signs of exploitation and
ensure young people are safe. We’re keen parents are aware and able to offer
support.

I would ask that you be aware of County Lines and if you have any concerns about
a young person or have any information regarding County Lines to contact West
Midlands Police on 101. There are some links overleaf that you may find useful
for more information.

With
kind regards

Solihull Partnership Team

https://www.fearless.org/professionals/resources/gangs

https://www.youandco.org.uk/crime-info/violent-crime-facts/gangs-and-street-violence

https://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/what-is-county-lines

https://www.spurgeons.org/