This webinar will introduce delegates to County Lines, the illegal transport of drugs from one area to another, crossing local authority boundaries. County Lines is a term used within the UK to describe where organised crime networks and gangs recruit or coerce children or vulnerable adults into trafficking drugs across boundaries and into different areas. Providing an update on what we know about County Lines activity, delegates will be presented with information on how to identify possible County Lines dealing, recognise signs that young people or vulnerable adults may be involved, and what to do if you have concerns.

In the last year, in line with lockdown, we have seen a corresponding dip in County Lines activity during lockdown periods, but a notable increase when ‘routine’ travel and movement resumes. While County Lines may have seemed to drop off the safeguarding agenda, this is a short-sighted view, and related risks associated with County Lines are not stopping even in lockdown.

Audience:
This webinar is suitable for anyone working with children and young people in a professional capacity.

Training aims: 

• To understand what County Lines is, and what it covers
• How young people and vulnerable adults can be coerced into trafficking illegal drugs
• Related safeguarding risks
• Common language associated with County Lines activity
• To identify signs that County Lines may be occurring in your area
• To identify signs that young people or vulnerable adults may have been coerced into County Lines activity.

Cost:

• Member rate: £60
• Non-member rate: £120*

Webinar host: Nikki Holmes, Founder, Safer Together

After graduating with a degree in Criminology and Psychology, Nikki’ began her career as a police officer with West Midlands Police where she enjoyed a variety of different roles. This is where her passion for working with and supporting vulnerable young people began. In 2008, and in response to increases in youth violence in Coventry, she wrote and co-produced with young people “Get My Point” a piece of youth drama which successfully contributed to the reduction in weapon assisted crime. This work saw her presented with a Chief Constable’s Commendation.

However, it was Nikki became an Offender Manager working with some of the most prolific and complex young offenders that she identified that most, if not all of children and young people known to the Criminal Justice System, had a variety of vulnerabilities and unmet need. The recognition of the victim offender overlap resulted in a career change, moving from policing into the field of substance misuse.

As the service manager of a young person’s substance misuse service in Warwickshire, Nikki developed a number of pathways to improve service provision and support for children who were not actively misusing substances themselves, but were nonetheless impacted by substance misuse due to having a parent or sibling with a substance dependency. This work was recognised by the Care Quality Commission as being innovative practice which should be replicated nationally.

Nikki went on to work for the Care Quality Commission in 2017 as a Children’s Services Inspector. In this role, she contributed to and led a number of national reviews, such as Children Looked After and Safeguarding (CLAS) reviews, Joint Targeted Area Inspections (JTAI’s) and Local Area Special Educational Needs and Disability Inspections (LA SENDs). She also lent her expertise in the fields of Safeguarding and SEND to develop a number of thematic reviews such as the Control and Restraint in Children’s Home review which is awaiting publication. She remains a bank inspector for the commission.

In 2020 Nikki founded and launched Safer Together, her own training and consultancy enterprise. Safer Together was commissioned in September by Coventry and Warwickshire CCG and Coventry Local Authority Public Health to lead on a Child Exploitation Project on their behalf. Safer Together recognises the challenges associated with navigating the current complexities of the safeguarding landscape and is on hand to support statutory and non-statutory organisations with any aspect of training and consultancy related to child safeguarding and SEND.

*If you would like to become a member and access discounted rates for Sacpa CPD and events, please click here.