This report is one of three site reports examining responses to County Line’s criminal exploitation. County Lines is a criminal business model which involves the ‘transportation of illegal drugs, by gangs and organised criminal networks, from one area to another within the UK, using dedicated mobile telephone lines (National Crime Agency, 2017). The decision to select Bedfordshire as a research site was the result of evidence uncovered in our early research that a significant amount of Child Criminal Exploitation (CCE) emanated from within the County and a realisation that the County was both an importer and exporter of illegal drugs via County Lines. Our findings suggest a clear need to formulate responses that do not underplay or overplay safeguarding and criminal justice interventions in and beyond Bedfordshire. The resulting recommendations detailed in this report seek to:
� Highlight the proximity of criminal exploitation to local organised crime
� Equip policymakers and practitioners to manage the risks arising from County Lines
� Identify how more local neighbourhood interventions combined with a County-wide strategic overview might build resilience to gangs and local organised crime groups and effectively disrupt County Lines activities.