County Lines Programme leads to fall in use of weapons and thefts as drug charges rise, says new report

17th October 2025Sarah Gibbons, Contributing Editor, Policing Insight

A Home Office evaluation of the County Lines Programme targeting drug gangs using mobile phone networks to deal narcotics has found that the initiative has driven an overall decrease in serious violence in the four main ‘exporter’ forces – due mainly to a fall in knife attacks – as well as reductions in thefts from vehicles and drug overdoses, while recorded drug offences rise, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

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County Lines Programme leads to fall in use of weapons and thefts as drug charges rise, says new report

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