Ketamine dealers grooming Burnley children 'from every background,' the Ivison Trust reveals

Organised crime gangs are hooking youngsters with ketamine and recruiting them to groom and supply drugs to their peers, according to a Leeds-based charity supporting numerous Burnley families of exploited youths. These children often experience or witness extreme levels of violence while on drug runs or at the hands of their abusers, and common signs seen among affected families include the child regularly going missing, the Ivison Trust has revealed.

But when police arrest a youth for drug dealing, the OCGs simply recruit other children in their place, leading to an endless cycle of exploitation.

An Ivison Trust spokesperson said: "When you see young people in the press who are 19 years old being arrested for drug offences related to county lines, in most cases, those children have been groomed and exploited themselves.

"Although this can be seen as a success in the criminal justice system, it can mask the grooming and exploitation that has taken place and the fact other children may be groomed to fill the gap in the lucrative drug business. This is a business albeit one that abuses and exploits within our communities.

“There is a misconception that exploitation only happens to children who are disadvantaged, but we support over 500 families across England and Wales and witness it happening to children from every background. It's a really important message because if safeguarding professionals and the community think it only happens to certain types of families, then we’re not looking in the right places and we miss those vital opportunities to intervene early.

"Offenders don't discriminate when they choose a child. OCGs will seek out and exploit any vulnerability to further their criminal ends and make money at the expense of our communities. We see loving parents doing everything they can to protect their kids, but they're up against sophisticated organised gangs trying to drive a wedge between them and their children.”

The Trust believes that it is critical to take a holistic approach and understand the context in which ketamine is being used by young people. Clear signs of exploitation can be masked by focusing on ketamine addiction, placing the blame on the children and failing to keep them safe from OCGs.

Instead, they believe the main focus should be on the individuals responsible for grooming children to take drugs, and how we can tackle OCGs. Without the exploiters, whatever the child's situation and vulnerabilities, the exploitation and abuse wouldn't happen.

What tactics do groomers use?

A common method amongst OCGs is profiling and targeting popular young people within groups. Dealers will lure them to forward sales messages to all their friendship groups on apps like Telegram or Snapchat in return for special offers on sales of ketamine. A child could be enticed to “send this to all your friends, and you can buy one get one free this weekend.” It seems like the message about trying a cool party drug is coming from the child. In reality, it starts with the OCG, which remains hidden but connected and building its control.

The OCG has significantly increased its potential audience using a marketing tactic many adults will be familiar with. Recommend this product to a friend for a discount. The product feels vouched for, and safe, but it is anything but.

Who are the groomers?

The groomer is often an already exploited peer, someone a child would respect or see as a potential friend, who targets youngsters online, within schools and their communities.

That's why: "You can't place the expectation on a child to recognise they're being groomed because we bring children up not to talk to strangers, but to trust their friends.”

What impact does child criminal exploitation have on teenager groomers, according to the Ivison Trust?

“What we see across the country is if children aren’t being viewed with a safeguarding lens by services, they can be charged with drug-related offences or in some cases when they reach 18, modern-day slavery, and they enter the criminal justice system. We know that this is recognised by the police and a child-centred approach is being taken but still more needs to be done across the whole criminal justice system to recognise exploitation earlier.

"The exploitation they endured as a child isn’t always recognised and can derail their lives. Re-entering education, employment, or training is challenging because of their criminal record. They are also living with the mental health impact of trauma, and there is societal stigma and prejudice about child criminal exploitation.

"There is a whole generation of young children who we are failing."

Some researchers have noted varying responses to CCE by police forces nationally, due in part to their level of resources, calling it "a postcode lottery" as to whether officers treat a young person as a victim or a perpetrator. The Government plans to recognise CCE as a specific criminal offence in the upcoming Crime and Policing Bill. But Ivison Trust also calls for funding for training for front-line responders, including social workers and educators, to help them respond to CCE effectively, as well as more mental health support for exploited children and their families.

Ivison Trust is supporting CCE survivors to safely share their lived experiences with the police and children’s services to challenge the stigma and inform and improve practice.

On sharing his experience with the police, one young person said: “I believe inspiring change within the police starts with real conversations. When officers engage with us, listen to our stories, and understand our fears, we can break down barriers, and create a community where everyone feels safe and heard. It’s about empowerment—both for us as young people and for the people who are there to protect us.”