‘County lines’ gangs dealing drugs may be operating on and near the capital’s campuses, according to a report for London higher, a body that represents London colleges and universities. Given that London is the UK’s largest city by far, it’s a ‘sad inevitability’, as the report put in it, that alongside the culture and vibrancy of London, there’s also crime and risks of criminal exploitation.

The waring of a body-worn cameras was reported at some institutions, albeit with varying levels of actual use. Automatic Number Plate Recognition was seen as helpful for identifying vehicles that may be linked to county lines and exploitation of young dealers and carriers of drugs. CCTY use was deployed variably across institutions, according to the 21-page report; ‘while some used monitored CCTV and had good coverage, others used an unmonitored CCTV system as a post-hoc tool for investigating reported incidents’. The study also found ‘some issues with known blind-sports in CCTV coverage and cameras being obstructively unclean. This was reported at one institution to reduce feelings of general safety among staff and students.

you can download the document at: https://londonhigher.ac.uk/resource/county-lines-and-criminal-exploitation-in-london/