A damning report has revealed that thousands upon thousands of young people have been groomed, abused, and even killed because their systems are failing.
According to the former children’s commissioner, elementary school students run drug gangs and teens run county-line operations.
Ann Longfield now calls for the government’s creation of a “certainstart plus” – a national plan that will prevent teens from engaging with gangs or violence.
Hidden in plain sight, her report warns of a crisis that is putting hundreds and thousands of children in danger in England.
Gangs are targeting both younger children and those from middle-class families. Social media is used to lure them in.
Russell Sachs/Children’s Commissar for England via PA Media
The report stated that Covid, the cost-of-living crisis, and any return of austerity would be a “gift to those who exploit children.”
“There are parts of our country where the state is completely failing in its duty to protect vulnerable children from the ongoing epidemic of county lines, criminal exploitation, and dangerous violence,” said Longfield, who chairs the Youth Life Commission.
She described a residential area where residents are “terrorized” by a gang 14-year-old drug dealers. They wear masks and “denounce violence.”
“They were carrying knives, and other weapons, which encouraged other young people in this area to carry knives for protection,” she stated in her introduction.
This estate is not unusual, although it may seem extreme.
“Talk to young workers in our towns and cities and they will tell you their horror stories: of young men being chased in broad daylight by other teens brandishing machetes, of homes where young people involved in the drug trade are the main breadwinner in the family, in communities where organized criminals look for Very vulnerable and fed children who have fallen into gaps in care, health or education systems, with almost impunity.”
She stated that there were areas of the country where the state was “completely failing to protect vulnerable children.”
“Often these are really the most marginalized families. They are often black, brown, or of minority ethnicity. Oftentimes they are poor.”
She stated that the epidemic of rural breeds was not restricted to inner cities. “I have heard numerous examples of suburban middle-class children in England being groomed and abused by criminals.”
According to government figures, there were 11,600 cases where gangs were involved and 10,140 cases when criminal exploitation was a factor in assessing children who are in need. The commission believes this is just the tip.
There could be as many 200,000 children in England between 11 and 17 who are exposed to serious violence.
The most at-risk adolescents are those who grew up in poverty or in disadvantaged areas and are disproportionately of black, brown, and minority ethnic backgrounds.
The commission warned that the systems of social welfare and education are failing thousands upon thousands of vulnerable adolescents, and are costing billions.
They suggested that Sure Start Plus could be partially funded by the millions of pounds each year recovered from crime proceeds.
They will be initially located in areas of greatest need.
They were named after New Labour’s “Sure Start”, which aims to give children the best possible start in life. However, it was eventually scrapped by the Conservative government.
The commission has proposed one £1 billion mental health recovery program for children and young people, to be funded in part through a tax on social media companies and mobile phone service providers.
They also urged the government to have regular meetings with Cobra to address the problem of serious violence.
Bridget Phillipson, Labour’s shadow education secretary, stated that the Conservatives were failing to educate children.
She said that 12 years of conservative neglect had eroded child safety systems that set young people on the path to achieving their future, destroying lives and costing taxpayers.
HuffPost UK reached out for comment to the Department of Education.
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