The Home Office has reported a record year for County Lines enforcement. Data published on 5 April 2026 show 2,740 lines closed, 1,657 line‑holders charged and 961 knives seized in 2025, reflecting stepped‑up activity across targeted transport hubs and exporting force areas. County Lines describes the movement of drugs from cities to towns via ‘deal lines’, with criminal groups routinely exploiting children and vulnerable adults. (gov.uk)
Since the General Election period, programme totals to December 2025 stand at 3,785 line closures, 2,175 alleged controllers charged and 1,229 knives seized, according to the Home Office’s updated programme overview. These figures illustrate sustained operational throughput across the Programme’s five exporting forces and British Transport Police. (gov.uk)
The latest intensification week, coordinated nationally between 2 and 8 March 2026, is described by the Home Office as the most successful to date, with 355 lines closed. National Police Chiefs’ Council reporting for the same period confirms 2,180 arrests and 1,348 people safeguarded, indicating both enforcement and victim‑support activity ran in tandem. (gov.uk)
Ministers link these results to reductions in serious violence. The Home Office reports a 25 percent fall in hospital admissions for stabbings in key exporter areas, equating to more than 800 potential stabbings prevented annually; a December 2025 update also referenced this trend alongside falling knife‑point robberies in the worst‑affected areas. (gov.uk)
Funding for 2026/27 has been set at more than £34 million for the County Lines Programme, with over £28 million specifically ring‑fenced to policing through the final Police Funding Settlement laid before the Commons on 28 January 2026. This supports taskforces, intelligence development and safeguarding referrals alongside transport‑network enforcement. (gov.uk)
Operationally, government guidance highlights that activity spans line targeting, warrants, seizures and safeguarding, and includes work to ensure deal‑line phones are disabled so they cannot be repurposed. Dedicated taskforces operate in Greater Manchester, the Metropolitan Police Service, Merseyside, West Midlands and West Yorkshire, alongside British Transport Police. (gov.uk)
Legislation now moving through Parliament would codify exploitation tactics used by County Lines gangs. The Crime and Policing Bill introduces new offences of child criminal exploitation, ‘cuckooing’ (home takeover) and coerced internal concealment, with government materials indicating maximum penalties of 10 years for child criminal exploitation, 10 years for coerced internal concealment and 5 years for cuckooing. (gov.uk)
The Bill also provides for civil prevention orders linked to child criminal exploitation and sets out that the child criminal exploitation and cuckooing offences will be treated as ‘criminal lifestyle offences’ under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, enabling confiscation. Victims of cuckooing would be automatically eligible for special measures when giving evidence. (gov.uk)
For local services, statutory guidance is planned to support consistent application of the new offences and orders, with duties on policing and partner bodies to have due regard to that guidance. Agencies should expect updates to referral, evidence‑gathering and case‑management protocols once commencement dates are confirmed following passage of the Bill. (gov.uk)
The enforcement pillar is being paired with youth interventions. On 11 February 2026, ministers confirmed that every child caught carrying a knife in England and Wales will receive a mandatory, tailored plan via Youth Justice Services, backed by a three‑year £320 million settlement, designed to address exploitation risk and reduce reoffending. (gov.uk)
Policy direction remains explicit: the government intends to halve knife crime within a decade and will launch its plan on Tuesday 7 April 2026 under the title ‘Protecting Lives, Building Hope’. Delivery will sit across policing, youth justice and local partnerships, with further operational detail expected as the plan is published. (gov.uk)
For practitioners, the immediate takeaways are clear: 2025 closed more lines and charged more controllers than any previous year; 2026/27 funding is confirmed; and the Crime and Policing Bill would, if enacted, create new charging routes and civil orders targeting the exploitation that underpins County Lines. Teams should track forthcoming guidance and commencement to align local practice. (gov.uk)