What are we going to do? 

We are creating a new standalone offence to prosecute adults committing child criminal exploitation and creating a new regime for child criminal exploitation civil preventative orders to prevent exploitative conduct committed by adults against children from occurring or re-occurring. 

We are also creating a new bespoke criminal offence to tackle the practice known as ‘cuckooing’ (home takeover), whereby criminals take control over the home of another person to use it for criminal activity. 

These measures will contribute to the government’s Safer Streets Mission. 

How are we going to do it? 

Child criminal exploitation 

The bill will make it an offence for an adult to use a child to commit any criminal activity. The offence will target the inherent imbalance of power that is unduly exercised by an adult who uses a child to commit crime and, as such, culpability will be restricted to adults aged 18 and over and victims will be limited to children under the age of 18. The new offence will carry a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment, a fine, or both. 

In addition to a new offence, new child criminal exploitation civil preventative orders will be available at the end of criminal proceedings (including both upon conviction and on acquittal)  for offences related to CCE and upon application (i.e. without a criminal trial), and will allow the court to impose prohibitions and requirements upon someone at risk of committing or recommitting child criminal exploitation conduct, where such an order is necessary to protect children from the risk of being criminally exploited. The court could, for example, impose restrictions on; contacting specific individuals (directly or indirectly), either personally or by any electronic means; or going to a specific place. Breach of an  order will be a criminal offence with a maximum penalty of five years’ imprisonment. 

The bill will also confer a power on the Secretary of State to issue statutory guidance to support implementation of the new child criminal exploitation offence and orders to ensure that they are used consistently and effectively. Relevant bodies, such as chief officers of police and the National Crime Agency, will have a duty to have due regard to the guidance. 

The child criminal exploitation offence will also be added to the list of ‘criminal lifestyle offences’ in Schedule 2 to the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. The practical effect of this is that a person found guilty of the new offence of child criminal exploitation will automatically be considered to have a criminal lifestyle and make a confiscation order accordingly under the Proceeds of Crime Act. Ultimately, all of their assets will potentially be seen as derived from crime and subject to confiscation, which reflects the serious nature of this type of offending. 

The bill will also ensure that victims are automatically eligible for “special measures” (for example, giving pre-recorded evidence or evidence in court from behind a screen) when giving evidence in court proceedings relating to the offences.  

Cuckooing (home takeover) 

The bill will make it an offence to exercise control over another person’s dwelling without their consent for the purpose of enabling the dwelling to be used in connection with the commission of specified criminal activity. 

The specified criminal activity includes the types of criminal activity that cuckooing is typically used to facilitate, for example, drugs offences, sexual offences and offensive weapons offences. The bill provides for a power for the Secretary of State to amend the list of specified offences to future-proof this new offence against exploitative criminals who might adapt cuckooing to other crime types. 

It will be an offence to control a person’s dwelling in connection with criminal activity without that person’s consent. A person cannot consent to control of their dwelling if: they are under 18 years old; do not have capacity to give consent; have not been given sufficient information to enable them to make an informed decision; have not given consent freely; or have withdrawn their consent. The consent of an occupant may not freely be given where it is obtained by coercion, deception or other forms of abusive behaviour. 

The offence will carry a maximum penalty on indictment of five years’ imprisonment or a fine (or both). 

To support implementation of the offence and strengthen the wider response to cuckooing, the government will publish guidance for police and other operational partners. The guidance will help improve identification of cuckooing and support professionals to take effective action against perpetrators and identify the best pathways to support and safeguard victims. 

As with the child criminal exploitation offence, the bill will also add the cuckooing offence to the list of ‘criminal lifestyle offences’ in Schedule 2 to the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, as well as ensuring that victims are automatically eligible for “special measures” when giving evidence in court proceedings relating to the cuckooing offence. 

Background 

Child criminal exploitation 

Child criminal exploitation is a form of child abuse where a child is exploited into taking part in criminal activity, often by criminal gangs. County lines exploitation is one of the most recognised forms of child criminal exploitation, whereby drug-dealing gangs manipulate and coerce children into drug running across the country, often exposing them to violence, threats and intimidation. It has a devastating impact on victims, subjecting them to a range of harms and reducing their life chances. 

Cuckooing (home takeover) 

Cuckooing refers to the practice whereby criminals take over a person’s dwelling (often the home of a vulnerable person, such as an individual living with substance addition or physical or mental disabilities) to use it for illegal activities and is often associated with anti-social behaviour and the exploitation of children by criminal gangs. 

A person’s home should be a place where they feel safe and secure and when a home is taken over and used for criminal activity this causes significant harm to the resident. The government therefore wants to ensure that those responsible for the practice of cuckooing are more effectively held responsible for the harm caused.  

Cuckooing is often linked to the county lines drug distribution model. Through the County Lines Programme, the Home Office funds the National County Lines Coordination Centre to coordinate the national response to county lines. The Home Office continues to work closely with the National County Lines Co-ordination Centre and wider partners to both raise awareness of cuckooing and share effective practice to tackle this abhorrent practice. 

Key statistics 

Child criminal exploitation 

There is limited data available on the prevalence of CCE and number of offenders, or on the total number of criminally exploited children. Where data are available, for example Children in Need (CiN) data, they are likely to be an underestimate of the true prevalence, as they exclude children not known to social services.    

In England, the latest Children in Need Census data (for assessments in the year ending 31 March 2024) recorded 15,750 episodes of need where child criminal exploitation was identified as a concern. There were 10,180 episodes of need where children being part of a street or organised crime gang was identified as a concern. ^{[footnote 1]}

In 2023, there were 3,123 referrals of child potential victims for criminal exploitation to the National Referral Mechanism (the system for identifying and supporting victims of modern slavery). ^{[footnote 2]} 

Police data published by the National County Lines Coordination Centre in its County Lines Strategic Threat Risk Assessment show that 22% of those individuals involved in County lines are children, equivalent to 2,888 children recorded as involved in County lines in 2023/24. The 2023/24 Risk Assessment also assesses that most children involved in County lines are aged 15 to 17 and that they are mainly recorded in the most dangerous ‘runner’ or ‘workforce’ roles within the drugs supply chain and linked to exploitation. ^{[footnote 3]}  

Cuckooing (home takeover) 

There is no centrally held data on the number of cuckooed properties but the National County Lines Co-ordination Centre regularly coordinates weeks of intensive action against county lines gangs that all police forces take part in. As reported by the National Police Chiefs’ Council, the week of intensification that took place between 25 November and 1 December 2024, saw 853 suspected cuckooed properties visited. 

Frequently asked questions 

Child criminal exploitation 

Exploiting a child to engage in criminal conduct is already addressed in law – isn’t the proposed new offence of child criminal exploitation just window dressing? 

While it is the case that existing offences, including under the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and inchoate offences under the Serious Crime Act 2007 (of encouraging or assisting crime), can be used to prosecute offenders, existing legislation does not address child criminal exploitation (i.e. using children, intending that they commit criminality) as a specific form of offending. 

Introducing a bespoke new offence to tackle child criminal exploitation will provide the police with an additional tool to tackle this offending which reflects more specifically the harm done to child victims and recognise offenders more clearly as exploiters of children. 

Why are you limiting culpability to adults aged over 18? What about children who exploit their peers, or younger children?  

The purpose of these measures is to stop adults exploiting children. By limiting culpability to adults aged 18 and over, we are targeting the inherent imbalance of power that is unduly exercised by an adult who uses a child to commit crime for their benefit. 

While we recognise that children can and do recruit their peers into criminality, it is not the government’s intention to capture that behaviour in a child exploitation offence.  

Why do we need more orders when there are already plenty available? 

It is true that there are a range of existing preventative orders (including modern slavery and human trafficking orders and serious crime prevention orders), however none specifically seek to prevent the criminal exploitation of children. 

Bespoke child criminal exploitation orders will ensure that courts have the ability  to focus prohibitions and requirements on those which are necessary to protect children from being criminally exploited. 

Other benefits include the deterrent effect of labelling someone as a child exploiter and further awareness raising of child criminal exploitation among practitioners. 

Cuckooing (home takeover) 

What support is available to victims of cuckooing? 

Victims of cuckooing are often targeted by perpetrators because they are vulnerable. These vulnerabilities may include disability, drug or alcohol dependency, age or social isolation. Having their home taken over and used for criminality can have a devastating impact on already vulnerable individuals and can be made worse by fear that they will not be believed or treated as a victim. 

Introducing a new offence of cuckooing will not only strengthen the response to perpetrators but will also support better identification of and support for victims. 

Currently, in most cases, the police will refer adult victims of cuckooing to Adult Social Care in order for them to be triaged and/or assessed for support from local authorities. Responsibility for safeguarding adult victims of cuckooing who have care and support needs would fall to the local authority.  

The government will publish guidance on cuckooing, including information on how police and partners can support and safeguard victims of cuckooing. 

Cuckooing is a form of adult criminal exploitation – you are introducing a child criminal exploitation offence, why are you not introducing a broader adult criminal exploitation offence? 

The child criminal exploitation offence recognises the particular harm associated with exploiting a child to take part in criminal activity. The government is clear that children cannot consent to their exploitation, however where adults are involved in criminal activity, there needs to be recognition that, adults may be in a position to make informed decisions about their involvement and therefore a more nuanced approach is needed. 

In some cases, exploitation of adults will be captured under the Modern Slavery Act 2015, by inchoate offences under the Serious Crime Act 2007 of assisting or encouraging another person to commit an offence, and/or by legislation that covers the means used to carry out the exploitation such as use of violence or threats.  

The section 45 defence of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 provides a statutory defence for victims of modern slavery. The defence is designed to protect both adults and children from prosecution for crimes they have been compelled or forced to commit as a result of their exploitation.  

The cuckooing offence seeks to recognise the harm caused by the take-over of a person’s home for criminal purposes. As such, cuckooing is a particularly insidious and harmful form of adult exploitation which not only causes harm to the victim but often facilitates violent and exploitative forms of drug dealing and drives anti-social behaviour in communities.

Footnotes