Covid-19 and child criminal exploitation in the UK
Implications of the pandemic for county lines
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21647029 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Ben Brewster (0000-0003-3536-5862, University of Nottingham, corresponding author), Grace Robinson (0000-0002-0432-8738, University of Nottingham), Bernard W Silverman (0000-0002-4059-2376, University of Nottingham), David Walsh (0000-0003-4950-6830, De Montfort University) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 26 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 156-179 |
| Publication date | 2023-06-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Trends in Organized Crime (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1084-4791 • E-ISSN: 1936-4830 |
| Publisher | Springer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1007/s12117-021-09442-x |
| PMID | 34898976 |
| OpenAlex | W4200434797 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 9 |
| References cited | 33 |
In March 2020, the UK was placed in lockdown following the spread of the Covid-19 virus. Just as legitimate workplaces made changes to enable their employees to work from home, the illicit drugs trade also made alternative arrangements, adapting its supply models to ensure continuity of operations. Based upon qualitative interviews with 46 practitioners, this paper assesses how front-line professionals have experienced and perceived the impact of Covid-19 on child criminal exploitation and County Lines drug supply in the UK. Throughout the paper, we highlight perceived adaptations to the County Lines supply model, the impact of lockdown restrictions on detection and law enforcement activities aimed at County Lines, and on efforts to safeguard children and young people from criminal exploitation. Our participants generally believed that the pandemic had induced shifts to County Lines that reflected an ongoing evolution of the drug supply model and changes in understanding or attention because of Covid-19 restrictions, rather than a complete reconstitution of the model itself. Practitioners perceived that Covid-19 has had, and continues to have, a significant impact on some young people’s vulnerability to exploitation, on the way in which police and frontline practitioners respond to County Lines and child criminal exploitation, and on the way illegal drugs are being moved and sold
Business · Computer security · Criminology · Enforcement · Law enforcement · Pandemic · Political science · Public relations · Engineering · HIV, Drug Use, Sexual Risk · Homelessness and Social Issues · Law · Medicine · Psychology · Sex work and related issues
The unequal impact of Covid‐19 on the lives and rights of the children of modern slavery survivors, children in exploitation and children at risk of entering exploitation
Who seeks help in a crisis? Temporal analysis of anti-trafficking helpline contacts over the pandemic
The Shakespeare sessions
Governing at a distance
Covid-19 and child trafficking in India
Chaotic conceptualisation, hyper-chronocentrism and cautionary tales
How vulnerable are people to victimisation of County Lines drug dealing
Can education influence the public’s vulnerability to county lines
Emerging Victims in Contemporary Drugs Policing
Research design
‘There is no “war on drugs”’
Why we should all be more careful in drawing conclusions about how Covid-19 is changing drug markets
Covid-19 and the health of people who use drugs
The impact of Covid-19 restrictions on needle and syringe programme provision and coverage in England
Between gang talk and prohibition
The depths of the cuts
The policing task and the expansion (and contraction) of British policing
It’s like working away for two weeks’
Going solo
That’s their brand, their business’
Contested Vulnerability
The uneven impact of austerity on the voluntary and community sector
The policing of cuckooing in ‘County Lines’ drug dealing
Using thematic analysis in psychology
Interpreting Qualitative Data
Criminalising the Other
| Citations per year | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2023 - 2026 (4) |
| Highly cited | No |