County lines: criminal exploitation of children and vulnerable adults
Brings together documents and promotional material related to the government’s work to end county lines drug supply and exploitation.
On this page you will find information about the government’s County Lines Programme and guidance for frontline workers and professionals. You can also find social media, images and posters that you can use to help raise awareness of county lines.
‘County lines’ is a violent and exploitative form of drug distribution. A common feature of county lines is the exploitation of children, young people and vulnerable adults who are instructed to deliver and / or store drugs, and associated money or weapons, to dealers or drug users, locally or in other counties.
The UK government defines county lines as: “… a term used to describe gangs and organised criminal networks involved in exporting illegal drugs into one or more importing areas within the UK, using dedicated mobile phone lines or other form of ‘deal line’. They are likely to exploit children and vulnerable adults to move and store the drugs and money and they will often use coercion, intimidation, violence (including sexual violence) and weapons.”
To deliver our pledge to halve knife crime in the next decade and take back our streets, it is crucial that we tackle these gangs that lure children and young people into crime and run county lines through violence and exploitation. That is why, as part of the Safer Streets Mission, the government has committed to £42 million investment in the County Lines Programme in 2025 to 2026 to continue to tackle county lines and its associated violence and exploitation.
County lines: Home Office programme
Guidance for practitioners
Promotional materials
Updates to this page
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Introductory text updated with information about the Safer Streets Mission.
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Added Home Office’s County Lines Programme data.
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Added a document that outlines the County Lines programme.
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Graphics for sharing on social media published.
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Added links to promotional posters for letting agents and landlords.
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Added links to promotional posters for taxi and private vehicle hire staff, rail and train operator staff, security industry staff, and bus and coach company staff.
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First published.