The report finds that during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic organised criminal gangs moved their exploitation of children into busier public places like supermarket carparks, where it was easier to conduct activity during lockdowns without arousing suspicion.
Youth workers and frontline child criminal exploitation practitioners also say that young people who had been coerced to carry drugs were forced to wear delivery driver uniforms or high vis jackets, allowing them to hide under the guise of legitimate activities.
Gangs used the promise of “easy money” to coerce children into carrying drugs as many vulnerable families struggled with increasing poverty due to the impact of the pandemic on the jobs market.
Barnardo’s warns that in 2020, more children than ever before were identified as potential victims of trafficking, with exploitation being the most prevalent cause.
Meanwhile, the number of children assessed by children’s social care of being at risk from gang involvement increased from 10,960 to 14,700 and the number of those involved in trafficking rose from 2,490 to 3,010.
During 2020, the number of children involved in drug misuse increased from 23,710 to 29,170, the report adds.
Barnardo’s is calling on the government to amend its Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill to include a legal definition of child criminal exploitation.
It also wants the Serious Violence Duty on local agencies, which is included in the bill, to ensure every local area develops a strategy to specifically tackle child criminal exploitation and serious youth violence.
The charity is also urging the government to increase specific funding for youth services, as part of a wider package of early intervention support in every community after pre-pandemic research published in May 2019 showed how areas experiencing the largest reduction in spending on young people have seen bigger increases in knife crime.
Michelle Lee-Izu, Barnardo’s interim co-chief executive, said: “Barnardo’s has long warned about the growing threat of child criminal exploitation, so it is alarming that agencies are still too often failing to identify victims, even when there are clear signs of harm.
“Our services are supporting children as young as nine who are being criminally exploited, and we’re deeply concerned that without government action the problem will spiral even further out of control. These children are victims and need the right support to help them recover, rather than being criminalised. Yet evidence from our frontline workers shows children and families can experience months of exploitation, fear and violence before help arrives.”
