In one of our recent EasySRE films Snagged we tackled online grooming, Child Sexual exploitation (CSE), County Lines* and extremism. We wanted to make the film engaging for a teenage audience but the truths underpinning the drama are often shocking. With an estimated 200,000+ young people in the UK ensnared in County Lines* activities alone, Julia Goldsmith (from Catcher Media) speaks to expert Andy Thompson about: noticing the signs, helping young people to find a way out, how schools/parents/carers can be informed and what they can do to deal with this growing issue.
Andy Thompson is Operations Manager of Street Teams in Walsall and Managing Director of CYP First, a national training company.
Available on EasySRE or LISTEN NOW. Please share this podcast with anyone that you think could benefit from listening.
Also available on Spotify, Google Podcasts , Breaker or as an RSS feed
* County Lines is where illegal drugs are transported from one area to another, often across police and local authority boundaries (although not exclusively), usually by children or vulnerable people who are coerced into it by gangs. The ‘County Line’ is the mobile phone line used to take the orders of drugs. Importing areas (areas where the drugs are taken to) are reporting increased levels of violence and weapons-related crimes as a result of this trend – National Crime Agency.
www.easysre.net In the Walsall area, teachers, youth workers and health professionals can stream films and download resources free of charge after becoming a member. Outside of Walsall, the Members Area can be accessed by signing up to the website and individual films can be purchased at low-cost.