Skip to main content
Skip to main navigation
Skip to talk navigation

Active discussions

Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Saved Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Flip

1 2 3 4

AIBU?

To wonder what the hell is going on?

99 replies

iamnotarobotot · 14/09/2019 22:48

We live in a small town in Kent, not much happens here. Drugs are everywhere in the country obviously but the area never particularly stuck out for that. It's gorgeous and very quiet. My teenagers (DS 16 DD 14) both go to the local secondary school, and it's fine. They have friends who they meet with in town etc.

DS recently told me that there's a lot of kids from inner London who some of the kids from his group have started hanging around with. The town is quite awkward for them to get to as it doesn't have a train station, so they have to get to our town from the train station in a big town, which takes quite a while. He says it really picked up during the Summer holidays. Apparently they've been coming and selling weed etc and then going home, but are trying to get friendly with certain members of the group. Apparently taking people for takeaways and stuff. DS says he has been added on Snapchat by some of them but he has blocked them as it all feels off to him. They have been sending people messages apparently advertising the fact that they'll have cocaine to sell soon. DS says his friendship group has really been taken in by this group but he doesn't want anything to do with it (we've had bad experiences with drugs in the extended family), so he doesn't know what to do. Why is this happening?

There has been quite a bit more youth violence here in recent months, Dsis works in an A&E in another part of Kent and says she is seeing a
lot more knife wounds etc (stuff that isn't even being reported in the news!) and teenagers who just won't talk. I am starting to feel very frightened for our kids. It's like they are all involved in a completely different world which we are not able to comprehend

OP posts:

Report

ChazsBrilliantAttitude · 14/09/2019 22:51

www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/what-we-do/crime-threats/drug-trafficking/county-lines

I suspect it might be linked to this

endofthelinefinally · 14/09/2019 22:51

Have you informed the police, school and the other parents?

RB68 · 14/09/2019 22:52

Sounds like County Lines stuff - ship kids out on trains and get them selling locally low key to start then ramping up. I would report to the police myself

endofthelinefinally · 14/09/2019 22:52

Yes. This is county lines.

iamnotarobotot · 14/09/2019 22:53

I have considered police but DS doesn't want me to, I think tbh he's scared shitless of them. May just put in an anonymous report.

We don't know any of their names as they use nicknames according to DS.

OP posts:

myidentitymycrisis · 14/09/2019 22:55

County lines

zxcvhjkl · 14/09/2019 22:56

County Lines without a doubt.

sheshootssheimplores · 14/09/2019 22:56

You don’t really need names. You just need information so the police can investigate if they want. It’s all part of a bigger picture and your info could help add to the chain.

NomDeQwerty · 14/09/2019 22:58

Extreme violence is a feature of county lines. You need to report it. Please.

CurlyhairedAssassin · 14/09/2019 22:59

Yep, county lines. I would report to police and not be letting my teens out of the house for a good while, and it sounds like they would be grateful for that firm boundary.

NomDeQwerty · 14/09/2019 23:00

And your DS might be better off spending time at home for a while.

Wilmalovescake · 14/09/2019 23:01

County Lines, absolutely. Your kids need to avoid those areas.

Notthebradybunch · 14/09/2019 23:04

County lines...no doubt about it, inform police on 101 or Crimestoppers

Thehop · 14/09/2019 23:05

Please report it. I’d give your kids an excuse to stay in too.

pookypup · 14/09/2019 23:05

We are on Kent Sussex borders and Hastings train line into Tonbridge is well known as a county lines route. Please report, this is serious stuff.

SuzieQ10 · 14/09/2019 23:06

If you really feel unable to speak to police directly, speak to the school. They should take this sort of thing seriously and may have their own police liaison.
It sounds like the drugs situation your son describes could escalate quite quickly..

WombatStewForTea · 14/09/2019 23:09

Agree county lines. Contact the police op. This is worth a watch. We were shown it on safeguarding training

Neolara · 14/09/2019 23:10

If you know the parents of your ds's friends, I would be tripping them off as well. As others have said, the county lines thing is really very dangerous and once kids are involved, it can be very difficult for them to escape. I would be keeping your ds very far away from all of this if you can.

MotherSpider · 14/09/2019 23:11

Explain it all to your son and why he absolutely MUST NOT get involved with them, nor accept any treats or favours. And go to the police, 100%.

bigmap · 14/09/2019 23:12

What does "county lines" mean?

FenellaVelour · 14/09/2019 23:12

County Lines was my first thought too, sorry.

banana64 · 14/09/2019 23:12

Fucking hell what kind of a society do ye have.

ThelmaDinkley · 14/09/2019 23:14

Contact police or crime stoppers.

unicorncupcake · 14/09/2019 23:16

Yes agree with all others. County lines is a hot topic in safeguarding training nationally at the moment so the kids school will be hot on it. I would report it to school on Monday - ask for a meeting with the safeguarding lead. They will have police liaison who they can refer to straightaway. Keep your teenagers away from all of this-it’s really nasty stuff, and great that your kids could tell you about it.

OhDear2200 · 14/09/2019 23:16

As others have said County Lines.

Please report - your local authority and police and health will be trained in it. Please report.

They will target those most vulnerable in your boys friendship group, which can be devastating for some who already have tough lives.

This is a shity shity trend and why I detest middle class Middle Aged coke users.

Flip

1 2 3 4

Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.