County Lines

Abstract

This work addresses what the National Crime Agency refer to as a 'significant threat' - county lines - the transportation of large volumes of drugs, mostly crack cocaine and heroin, from metro centres to more provincial or rural areas of the UK. This phenomenon has impacted local drug markets, increasing criminal activity. Harding explores how county lines evolve, and reveals an extensive network of criminal exploitation and control in the daily 'grind' to sell drugs. Harding uses a background in research, criminology and marketing to describe in details how county lines operate as a business , shifting product from a to B with a view to increasing professionalisation and market orientation. He accessess street dealers and county line managers alongside drug users, police and local stakeholders, to provide a indepth analysis of how county lines work.