Understanding Child Criminal Exploitation

*This blog was last updated in March, 2026.

In November 2023, Action for Children commissioned the Jay Review of Criminally Exploited Children. We wanted to find out what lies behind the growing problem of exploitation, and what can be done to prevent it.

Criminal exploitation of a child or young person is when they are forced or pressured into committing criminal activities.

This could mean selling drugs (also known as county lines), carrying weapons, or participating in theft.

There’s no ‘one-type’ of child who can fall victim to exploitation. It can happen to children and young people of any gender, ethnicity, and from anywhere across the UK.

While boys are more likely to be criminally exploited, girls may be chosen for specific jobs as they tend to be less likely to be stopped by the police.

Children and young people who're groomed into exploitation often have particular vulnerabilities which exploiters look out for, particularly those that can be manipulated.

This includes:

• Children who’ve been excluded from school.
• Children who’ve been in care.
• Children with mental health problems.
• Children who're struggling with addiction.
• Neurodiverse children - this is especially true for those with ADHD or Autism Spectrum Disorder, who may be less able to navigate risky situations.

Exploiters may target places where children and young people spend their time. This could include residential children's homes, or Pupil Referral Units.

They may also target children online - particularly through social media and gaming platforms.

When targeting children and young people, exploiters will often provide them with something valuable.

They may give them gifts or money, offer a sense of protection and purpose, or even act as their friend.

After building trust, the exploiter will then ask for something in return, where they will control, manipulate and abuse their victim.

Both girls and boys can be sexually exploited, and it can be even harder for boys to seek support as victims of sexual abuse.

Sometimes, children and young people are made to believe that they're in a caring or romantic relationship with gang members, but end up being sexually abused instead.

We might assume that it's older teenagers who are often involved in gangs.

But children as young as 12 years-old are sometimes targeted because they can be easier to influence, and are less likely be noticed by others.

County lines is when a criminal gang sends a young person away from their hometown to sell drugs.

This activity is coordinated through mobile phones (burner phones), that is used to contact the young person to set up deals.

Young people may be recruited through social media, and be led to believe that they belong in the gang.

• Sudden changes in a child’s friendship groups.
• Changing patterns of behaviour, including being more aggressive or more secretive, or going missing.
• Problems in school - they might skip school or get into trouble more often.
• Unexplained money or gifts.
• Unexplained injuries.
• Being picked up in cars driven by unknown adults.

Our online support service, Parent Talk, has further advice on how you can spot the signs of exploitation and seek help.

Since 2012, we've been running intervention services across the UK to support and protect children and young people aged 11-18 at risk of criminal exploitation, and their families.

Through one-to-one peer mentoring, our services provide education, training and practical skills to help them move forward.

And most recently, thanks to the National Lottery players, Action for Children has received almost £5 million from The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest community funder in the UK.

This transformative grant that we'll receive across the next three years will allow us to open five new exploitation intervention services.

This transformative grant that we'll receive across the next three years will allow us to open five new exploitation intervention services, and expand activity at our three existing services.