As drug gangs increasingly move out of town by expanding into new areas, exploiting vulnerable people along the way, the charity Crimestoppers is working with all police forces across East and West Midlands in a joint campaign.
It’s the first time law enforcement has united with the charity to launch an initiative aimed at disrupting and stopping drug gangs operating across county.
County Lines gangs are expanding their networks quickly, with many choosing to move from larger cities to settle in rural areas in the Midlands.
Criminals often recruit children, young people and vulnerable adults through the promise of friendship, money, drugs and more, in return for couriering illegal drugs and money across cities, towns and villages, known as ‘County Lines’. Sadly, these relationships soon turn violent with victims being robbed, threatened, and abused.
CS CL campaign – Sept 22
The charity is encouraging anyone with information or suspicions about organised drug gangs – and victims who need safeguarding – to contact Crimestoppers 100% anonymously by calling freephone 0800 555 111 at any time or by completing a secure online form at Crimestoppers-uk.org or Fearless.org for young people, where more can also be learnt about the warning signs of County Lines activity.
Fearless.org also offers young people non-judgemental advice so they can make informed decisions about lifestyle choices and realise that they have an alternative option when reporting crime.
Anybody can get caught up in illegal, harmful drug activity. Signs to spot that something may not be right include:
– Changes in the way young people you know might dress and unexplained,
sometimes unaffordable, new clothes, jewellery, phones, cars etc
– Access to multiple phones/receiving excess phone calls or texts
– You witness them dealing drugs.
Criminals can take over a home or short term let as a drugs base, this is known as ‘Cuckooing’. Signs of this can include:
– Regular short stay visitors
– Residents or young people going missing, maybe for long periods of time
– Curtains often always closed during the day
– A change of resident’s mood/demeanour (e.g. secretive/withdrawn/
aggressive/ emotional)
– Unusual frequency of take away food
– Increase in rubbish/drug paraphernalia.
Alan Edwards, West Midlands Regional Manager at the charity Crimestoppers, said: “Crimestoppers is here to help by taking your information whilst never asking for or storing any of your personal details. We are proud to be a charity that works with communities and know that our independence from the police reassures those who might otherwise never come forward.
“We know that County Lines drug gangs are luring young and vulnerable people into getting involved by gaining their trust, only to trap them into exploitation through violence, blackmail and debt bondage.
“These gangs are expanding their networks quickly across the Midlands, with the levels of violence and exploitation also increasing. This joint campaign will remind people that we can all play our part in stopping organised crime from spreading and keeping people safe, including our loved ones.
“If you recognise any of the signs mentioned, do contact Crimestoppers 100% anonymously. No detail is too small and you could make a big difference in keeping your community safe. Things to tell our charity include: names and/or nicknames; descriptions of those involved and any distinguishing features such as tattoos; addresses, transport used, ie, a car – a car’s make, model and registration.
“Information can be passed to Crimestoppers at any time by calling our freephone number 0800 555 111 or by completing a safe and secure anonymous online form at Crimestoppers-uk.org. Young people can also give information via Fearless.org 100% anonymously without fear of any repercussions. Our charity has always kept its promise of anonymity to everyone who contacts us. We don’t want to know who you are, just what you know.”
Matt Morgan, Detective Inspector, Regional County Lines Coordinator, said: “How we tackle County Lines has changed dramatically, in relation to both our knowledge, safeguarding and enforcement activity. This success has only been possible due to the enormous efforts across policing and with partner agencies.
“Although we have made huge inroads in tackling this type of offending, we are far from solving this issue. We still have much to do to ensure that we create an environment where the County Lines offending model is high risk and as hostile as possible to phone line holders and their associates, to protect our communities.”
Please note: With Fearless.org and Crimestoppers-uk.org, computer IP addresses are never traced and no-one will ever know you contacted us. For telephone calls to Crimestoppers via freephone 0800 555 111, we have no caller line display, no 1471 facility and we have never traced a call. The charity is completely independent of the police and guarantees your personal identity will always been protected.
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