Bristol is one of the top destinations for young drug dealers involved in London county lines gangs.
That’s according to a new report from City Hall, which details the reach and type of county lines activity going on in the capital.
The data shows that between January 2018 and April 2019, 51 individuals referred to the City Hall-funded ‘Rescue and Response’ programme had links to Bristol.
That makes it one of the most linked towns or cities to county lines.
The programme aims to provide support to young people in London involved in county lines gangs. County lines refers to gangs forcing vulnerable individuals – including children as young as 11 – into trafficking drugs from large cities to rural areas.
A 2018 National Crime Agency report found that the greatest number of county lines originate in London, followed by the West Midlands and Merseyside police force areas.
According to the report, the criminal networks exploit certain circumstances in a young person’s life, including poverty, family breakdown, exclusion from school, drug addiction and learning difficulties.
It’s not just Bristol – 153 individuals identified by the programme had a link to Avon and Somerset as a whole.
There were also 24 individuals linked to Yeovil.
The figures for our area are likely to be higher as only 71 per cent of individuals in the ‘Rescue and Response’ programme had a county name associated with them, and only 44 per cent had a town associated with them. The figures also only look at lines originating in the capital.
Nationally, the report revealed more than 4,000 young people involved in lines operating out of London across 41 counties in the UK.
The top county was Norfolk (416 linked individuals), followed by Hampshire (369) and Essex (336).
Commenting on the report, Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, blamed cuts to policing and social services.
He said: “We are supporting young people where we can, but we know we’re only scratching the surface of a major national issue that is driving violence in London and across the country.
“The Government has finally admitted that its cuts to policing have gone too far – but it also needs to follow City Hall’s lead by being tough on the causes of crime.
“That means proper investment to help us prevent and support more young people being exploited and reversing the damaging cuts to local services, such as social services, which are at the frontline in the battle to tackle this issue.”
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