Campaign sees nearly 10,000 teens warned about county lines crime gangs

The Yorkshire and the Humber Regional Organised Crime Unit (ROCU) and Crimestoppers said they were delighted after nearly 10,000 13-17-year-olds, many of them females, clicked on and engaged with a County Lines crime awareness campaign.

Awareness messages and videos were shared on both Snapchat and TikTok in a four week Christmas blitz across the region.

Eighty three per cent of responders to Snapchat were from the teenage audience targeted by authorities in the four-week campaign in partnership with Fearless, the youth service of the independent charity Crimestoppers.

Authorities said they were pleased that females made up about 87 per cent of those who reacted to the advice, as they could be particularly vulnerable to sexual exploitation.

Detective Inspector Mark Catney, Lead for County Lines Crime for the Regional Organised Crime Unit, said: “We are heartened to see that this campaign has been well received over the Christmas period and connected with its intended teenage audience.

“Young people aged between 13-17 are those we most wished to reach as we know this is an age range which is particularly vulnerable to county lines exploitation.

“Our research shows that social media is used by crime groups to target young people, so we are using it as the best way to reach those most at risk and counter those who seek to use these platforms to ruin young people’s lives.

“While criminals may try and entice teenagers into their ‘employment’ by dangling carrots such as expensive gifts the reality is that they are abusers seeking to exploit, dominate and abuse those who come into their orbit.

“Sadly, we know that this abuse can involve physical and sexual violence, setting their victims on a downward spiral.

“The Yorkshire and Humber ROCU has a number of active investigations ongoing with partners and the community into those involved in such activity but it is equally important we work with Crimestoppers to protect young people from falling victim to criminals seeking to exploit them.”

The messages directed users to the Fearless.org website, allowing people to find out more about county lines crime and highlighting the risks of potential predatory criminals approaching young people online.

The site also allowed visitors to anonymously provide information about crime and offending.

Gemma Gibbs, Regional Manager Yorkshire & Humberside of the Crimestoppers Trust, said: “We know that social media is becoming a primary platform used by criminal gangs to ensnare young girls and then expose them to crime and abuse which can be both physical and sexual.

“We are really pleased that so many girls have responded to our messages and are now aware of Crimestoppers and the Fearless platform which they can use to anonymously report abuse and any information they may have about exploitation.

“Crimestoppers is an independent charity which works to both detect and prevent crime by providing those at risk with a safe space they can use to report information and seek guidance and advice.”