Cuckooing and county lines
This page explains these types of exploitation and what we can do to support you.
What are cuckooing and county lines?
Cuckooing and county lines are forms of exploitation. This means victims are groomed, or forced to do something they don’t want to do, for someone else’s gain.
People who are being exploited may experience abuse and violence and may be forced to take part in criminal activities.
Criminals will often target children and vulnerable adults.
Exploitation can happen anywhere in urban and rural areas and affects people of all ages, genders and ethnicities.
Cuckooing
Cuckooing is when others move into your home to use it as a place for criminal activity such as drug dealing or money laundering. They may threaten violence, refuse to leave or try to scare you.
County lines
County lines are where criminals move and sell drugs across the country.
If you are concerned about exploitation, please let us know.
Signs of cuckooing and county lines
Staff on estates and in communities are trained to look out for signs, which include:
- an increase in visitors, cars or people
- changes in residents’ mood or appearance or if they have not been seen recently
- increase in rubbish and litter around a home
- residents being unwilling to let staff to enter their homes
- young people seen on the estate who seem unfamiliar
- external doors being propped open or damaged on purpose
- curtains or blinds that are drawn closed for a long time
- ‘Mate crime’ is when someone befriends a resident to take advantage of them.
Stopping cuckooing and county lines
We want to stop cuckooing and county lines happening to our residents and in our communities. We take reports or suspicions of cuckooing, county lines and exploitation seriously and will be clear about what we can do to help and what steps we take.
We will:
- act quickly when we know about a problem, and agree an action plan with you within one working day
- ask you to report to the police on 101 and ask the police and other services to help us work out what’s happening
- keep in touch with you to let you know what is happening
- ask for help from the police and other professionals if we think someone is not safe or being exploited.
Supporting you
If you are a victim of cuckooing and/or county lines you may find it hard to report this to us or the police due to fear of the criminals in your home.
If you are concerned about cuckooing, county lines or exploitation, please let us know so we can support you.
You do not need to be the victim to report it.
We will:
- Listen to you and talk about what we can do to help stop the cuckooing and or county lines.
- make any adjustments we can make to help you manage during this process
- work with a range of agencies including the police to keep people safe
- ask other agencies to support you, if you want us to
- keep in touch with you, so you know what’s happening.
Reporting cuckooing, county lines or exploitation
You do not need to be the victim to report it.
If you suspect cuckooing, exploitation or county lines, we won’t share your name or that you’ve spoken to us, unless you say we can.
If you believe you might be the victim of cuckooing or county lines, we will agree an action plan to keep you safe and stop the exploitation.
