Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

County Lines Drug Dealing: Prosecutions

Thursday 18 November 2021 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • CPS provides early investigative advice to police on county lines, focusing on drug convictions and human trafficking.
  • Norfolk police arrested 12 county lines drug dealers in a week-long operation.
  • Operation Orochi in the east of England has led to significant prison terms for 42 offenders.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Duncan Baker
Crime & Law Enforcement
Context

The question arises from the need to assess the CPS's performance in tackling the specific issue of county lines drug dealing.

Question

What recent assessment has been made of the effectiveness of the CPS in prosecuting offences relating to county lines drug dealing?

Answer from Suella Braverman

The CPS's early investigative advice on county lines with the police is making a difference. The majority of county lines offending relates to drug convictions and human trafficking. This year—although these figures do not relate to county lines offending alone—the CPS has secured 36,000 drug convictions and 238 human-trafficking convictions.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The response provided general statistics on drug and human trafficking convictions but did not directly address the effectiveness of CPS in prosecuting county lines specifically.

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Q2 Duncan Baker
Crime & Law Enforcement Justice & Courts
Context

Acknowledging the efforts of Norfolk police in arresting county lines drug dealers, Duncan Baker seeks to ensure that both the police and CPS have adequate support and tools.

Question

I want to place on record my thanks to Norfolk police; last month, it arrested 12 county lines drug dealers in a week-long crackdown against drugs across Norfolk. That is to be hugely applauded. I just want to check: do the police have the right support and, more importantly, does the CPS have all the tools that it needs and the resources to prosecute drug-dealing across our country successfully?

Answer from Suella Braverman

My hon. Friend raises an important point. I applaud his police team in Norfolk for their great results. In the east of England, Operation Orochi has led to significant terms of imprisonment imposed on 42 offenders convicted. As of October 2021, the number of county lines operations covered by the operation has been more than halved. They work closely with the police, leading to a high volume of convictions since November 2019.

Partly answered

Not addressed: While praising the efforts and providing some details about Operation Orochi, the answer did not specifically confirm whether the CPS has all the necessary tools or resources.

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