Professional Sessions

Child Criminal Exploitation Training

Our Child Criminal Exploitation professional sessions have been developed to help professionals increase their knowledge and understanding of all aspects of gang involvement, exploitation and violence.

This programme has already been successfully delivered to:

      • teachers
      • school support staff
      • safeguarding leads
      • police officers
      • social workers
      • children’s services teams
      • and more...

Understanding Child Criminal Exploitation and Gang Involvement

The aim is to improve understanding of all aspects of gang involvement, exploitation and violence including:

      • The signs and indicators; understanding young people as victims as well as perpetrators; the risks involved (e.g. confiscating drugs can cause drug debt); how to more effectively engage with and support young people.
      • Improved practice - Feel empowered and confident to put learning into practice.
      • Recognise the trauma that young people have faced and structure support that takes account of this; understand the issues from the perspective of preventing exploitation and exclusion; take a solution-focused approach rather than a punishment-based response.
      • Improved interpersonal skills: empathising with the young person; recognising and engaging with the issues; and being more confident to deal with them in the school setting.
      • Understand the value of and advocate for the involvement of people with lived experience in interventions.
A person pointing at a whiteboard

Spotting the signs of county lines

Professionals will leave the session with a clearer understanding of the following:

      • The operations involved in setting up and running a county line.
      • The methods used to groom, recruit and exploit young people.
      • The push and pull factors contributing to a young person becoming vulnerable and susceptible to county lines involvement.
      • The key signs and indicators that young people are being exploited or at risk of county lines involvement (and how to recognise them).
      • The relationship between county lines and other forms of criminal activity and exploitation.
      • The risks and consequences of county lines involvement.
      • The perspective of either a survivor or perpetrator after hearing from an expert witness, including a brief overview of how girls are used.
      • How to develop initial long-term and solution-based approaches to prevent and reduce the risks associated with each stage of the county lines process, including realistic exit strategies.

These sessions can be delivered online, however, we stand ready to conduct a face-to-face session at your workplace or a venue of your choosing.

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“The mixture between professional knowledge and those who have been directly involved. This does not always happen, as it is usually professional based. After 12 years in child protection, I did not think that I would be as moved, motivated, or well informed as I was after this. The training ultimately promoted empathy as this emotion enables us to be more effective in our understanding, so we can make the most appropriate, non-biased decisions”

- Police Officer