Researchers uncovered evidence that gangs are setting missing children up in flats for weeks at a time to sell drugs in provincial areas.
There was also evidence that young people in children’s homes, pupil referral units and schools, who do not have a criminal record, are targeted by gangs to set up so-called “county lines” because they are less likely to attract police attention.
The study – conducted by charities Catch 22 and Missing People – found that children are left in unsafe environments and, in some cases, have their phones taken away from them so they are completely isolated.
The findings feature in the report Running the Risks: The links between gang-involvement and young people going missing, which calls for gang-involved young people who go missing from home or care to be treated as victims rather than criminals.
Frances Flaxington, strategic director at Catch22, said similar to victims of child sexual exploitation, young people identified in this report are likely to be widely under-reported when missing and when they are reported, they often receive a criminal, rather than a safeguarding response.
“The reality is that these are exceptionally vulnerable children and young people. They need specialist support services including strong and long-lasting relationships that help them open up and improve their lives,” she said.
Labour MP for Stockport Ann Coffey, who is chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Missing Children, said young people being groomed to sell drugs is another example of how some of society’s most vulnerable children and young people face danger when they go missing from home or care.
“These children must be seen as victims, not criminals,” she said. “They are children being exploited by gangs to do their dirty work. It is minimal cost for maximum gain for the gangs.
“We must not fall into the same trap as we did in Rochdale, Rotherham and Oxford where the victims of sexual exploitation were wrongly seen as making a ‘lifestyle choice’.
“The most important thing professionals can do is learn how to listen to young people, not to judge them and to understand the harsh world that they live in.”
The report also provides practitioners and policy makers with recommendations on how to work more effectively to support this group.
It highlights areas such as Greenwich and Greater Manchester as leading the way in bringing together gang intervention and missing people services.
