Drug dealers exploiting children will face new penalties under a law introduced in a sweeping crime crackdown by the Labour government. The King’s Speech on July 17 will unveil measures including a new offense of child criminal exploitation, Labour sources confirmed, marking a significant move in the fight against the use of children in “county lines” drug trafficking operations.
This new law aims to tackle the problem of children being used as drug mules and, in some cases, coerced into hiding illicit substances within their bodies. Despite Labour’s strong stance on law and order, police chiefs have been informed there will be no additional funding for the first two to three years of the new administration, according to information obtained by The Guardian. Currently, law enforcement agencies with a combined budget of £18 billion face a reported shortfall of £3.2 billion.
To address these financial challenges, a national police savings board will be established. Its goal is to fund 13,000 additional constables, including full-powered officers, police community support officers, and volunteer specials. This board will also work to standardize equipment costs across the 43 police forces in England and Wales, where prices can vary significantly. For example, a baton costs around £20 in Leicestershire but over £120 in Northamptonshire.
The King’s Speech will also include a neighbourhood policing guarantee aimed at increasing officer visibility to boost public confidence and improve crime detection through better intelligence gathering. However, some police chiefs argue that funds would be better spent upgrading outdated IT systems to enhance the effectiveness of current officers.
The police inspectorate will receive new powers to compel police chiefs to rectify issues identified during inspections. His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary will need approval from the Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, to use these powers. The inspectorate has noted that some forces, notably the Metropolitan Police, repeatedly fail to address the same issues.
As Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper intends to take a more hands-on approach, described as “mission control,” in contrast to the perceived hands-off and fragmented approach of previous administrations. This interventionist strategy is aimed at ensuring that law enforcement agencies address critical issues promptly and effectively.
Labour will also introduce a new law requiring mandatory assessment by a youth offending team for anyone under 18 caught with a knife. This law is expected to simplify the prosecution of crimes involving the exploitation of children by using a more direct legal framework than the current modern slavery laws, which are considered cumbersome.
A police source emphasized that the new law on child criminal exploitation would facilitate the prosecution of such offenses and help authorities recognize and address these issues more effectively. The law is expected to serve a similar function as existing legislation on child sexual exploitation, which has led to longer sentences and greater awareness of these crimes.
Additionally, the Labour government plans to expand police authority to charge suspects in certain lower-level domestic abuse cases without new legislation. A successful pilot program by West Yorkshire Police demonstrated that this approach speeds up the justice process, reducing the backlog faced by the overwhelmed prosecution service. West Yorkshire Police reported that their emergency charging powers have been used on 304 occasions over the past year, including in high-risk domestic abuse cases.