The act of seizing control of a vulnerable person’s home in order to deal drugs, known as ‘cuckooing’, is to become a specific criminal offence under the Crime and Policing Bill, the Home Office has announced. The offence will carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
The bill, which is set to be introduced in Parliament this week, will also create another new offence of using a child to commit criminal activity. The standalone child criminal exploitation (CCE) offence will target adults who ‘unscrupulously groom and exploit children into criminal activity’ – such as county lines gangs – says the Home Office, and carry a maximum ten-year prison term.
The new offence will also help to identify more children at risk, the government states. While current estimates show that around 14,500 children were identified as involved in – or at risk of – CCE in 2023-24, this is likely to be an underestimate as many exploited children will ‘not be known to the authorities’, it says.
A 2022 study by criminal justice consultancy Crest Advisory warned that agencies were frequently missing opportunities to respond to the ‘red flags’ indicating that young people were at risk of CCE, and called for better joint working and improved police training. A disturbing report from the University of Nottingham the previous year also found that county lines activity was becoming increasingly categorised by extreme violence and sexual exploitation of both boys and girls.
‘The exploitation of children and vulnerable people for criminal gain is sickening and it is vital we do everything in our power to eradicate it from our streets,’ said the home secretary, Yvette Cooper. ‘These bespoke orders will ensure that courts can impose restrictions and requirements on individuals who pose a risk of exploiting a child for criminal purposes, such as limiting their ability to work with children, contact specific people or go to a certain area.’
‘This new offence is a vital step forward that we have been campaigning for over the years,’ said Children’s Society chief executive Mark Russell. ‘A standalone crime of child criminal exploitation (CCE) will finally shift the focus onto perpetrators, not victims. For too long, adults who groom children into criminal activity – forcing them to hold drugs or launder money or commit theft – have evaded accountability. Charges such as drug possession ignore the core truth; these are child abusers exploiting vulnerable young people. To protect the 14,500 children identified at risk last year – and the thousands more unseen – these measures must be backed by three pillars; strong enforcement, training for safeguarding professionals and a statutory definition of CCE to help end the postcode lottery in victim support.’