Professor John Robertson OBA

From the National Police Chiefs Council published yesterday:

An annual review of the threat posed by County Lines to UK communities has today been published by the National Police Chiefs’ Council and the National County Lines Coordination Centre (NCLCC).

Covering the period from April 2024 to March 2025, the latest County Lines Strategic Threat Assessment found that there are over 6,500 County Lines in operation across England, Scotland and Wales. However, the rise in internal lines (drug lines operating exclusively in one county) that was evident the previous year, has now stabilised, as has the number of County Lines supplying crack cocaine and heroin – still considered amongst the most harmful drugs and most closely linked to violence.

The five key findings of the review are:

• The County Lines threat remains stable, with consistent numbers of lines and drug types.
• County Lines are a major driver of violent crime, with 73.5% of offenders known for violence or weapons offences.
• Exploitation of children continues, with 2,659 children recorded, though actual numbers are believed to be higher.

Boys aged 15-17 are most commonly coerced into drug distribution roles, and the review estimates some 11,600 children – of both sexes and ages – are going missing and are at risk of exploitation. Meanwhile, cuckooing continues to affect vulnerable adults, 44% of whom were women, and many of whom had mental health and/ or substance misuse issues.

Source: https://news.npcc.police.uk/releases/annual-county-lines-report-threat-remains-stable-but-business-model-used-by-perpetrators-continues-to-evolve

There is no national breakdown but following BBC Scotland standard practice for such reports, we can just divide by around 12 to get the Scottish figures in the headline above.

That there may be around 600 county lines in operation is a shock given Police Scotland‘s most recent estimate of only 55.

Other recent reports here ion this issue:

How Scotland’s schools are preventing the spread of County Lines gangs exploitation of children as young as 13

Police officer says county lines gang members who ‘have been through the justice system in England’ target vulnerable women in Highlands but BBC Scotland reporter does not or cannot hear that last word

Another ‘Scouse’ county lines gang keeping Scotland’s drug deaths artificially high

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