More than £7m will go towards helping the Met tackle drug-related violence, the Mayor of London has announced.
The announcement comes amid concerns that criminal gangs are exploiting the cost-of-living crisis to recruit young Londoners and expand their county lines networks across the UK.
The Met arrests and charges around 11 suspects linked to drugs lines every week. According to County Line Intelligence Collection Matrix (CLICM) data, London is the highest exporter area for county lines in the UK, accounting for over 25% of the national total.
The funding, proposed in the Mayor’s draft budget for 2023/4, aims to bring together partners including the police, local councils and health services to improve communication between treatment providers and courts, prisons, and hospitals with the aim of cutting drug-related crime.
Mayor Khan said: ‘There is an undeniable link between county lines drug gangs and violence and that’s why I’ve proposed additional funding that will enable the Met to accelerate its work targeting the most dangerous criminals while helping to break the cycle of reoffending and safeguarding our most vulnerable young Londoners from exploitation.
‘This is not just a London problem. Without in any way excusing criminality, the cost-of-living crisis is engulfing the entire country. Food and energy bills continue to soar. Too many young people are seeing their opportunities diminish. Without strong leadership, action and intervention I’m concerned that we are now at real risk of seeing the reductions of violent crime we’ve achieved in London being reversed and the menace of County Lines gangs growing nationally.’
