Child criminal exploitation and ‘cuckooing’ to be outlawed in new legislation

Child criminal exploitation and “cuckooing” are set to be explicitly outlawed in new legislation set to be introduced to the UK Parliament next week.

The Crime and Policing Bill will also include measures that could see restriction orders put on people thought to be at risk of exploiting children for criminal means.

Cuckooing is when the home of a vulnerable person is taken over without consent for the conduct of illegal activities like drug dealing.

According to current CPS guidance, when dealing with a case of suspected cuckooing, prosecutors can look to offences such as assault, harassment and modern slavery offences – but these may not cover all examples.

County lines

The Home Office has said that the child criminal exploitation (CCE) offence is designed to target people who groom children into criminal activity such as county lines drug dealing or organised robbery.

The department says that around 14,500 children were identified as being at risk of CCE in 2023-24, but that is likely to be an underestimated figure.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has described exploitation of vulnerable people and children as “sickening” and said “it is vital we do everything in our power to eradicate if from our streets”.

She said that ministers are “introducing these two offences to properly punish those who prey on them, ensure victims are properly protected and prevent these often hidden crimes from occurring in the first place.

“These steps are vital in our efforts to stop the grooming and exploitation of children into criminal gangs, deliver on our pledge to halve knife crime in the next decade and work towards our overall mission to make our streets safer.”

Cuckooing

The cuckooing offence will carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison, while the standalone child criminal exploitation offence will carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

The legislation will also see the introduction of CCE prevention orders, which will mean that courts can put restrictions on people who they believe pose a risk of exploiting a child for criminal purposes.

Breaking these orders will also be a criminal offence, carrying a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

The Children’s Commissioner has said that the measures will provide “clarity that exploited children are victims”.

Dame Rachel de Souza said: “As Children’s Commissioner, I know the criminal exploitation of children is a complex type of abuse that causes harm to victims in a way that has for too long been undercounted and poorly understood.

“Many children targeted by adult criminals themselves face punishment instead of support. Like too many child victims, they are often ignored and overlooked. Their voices and experiences must be listened to, if we are to create a child-centric justice system that puts safeguarding at its heart.

“Introducing this new offence and new prevention orders will help create that much needed clarity that exploited children are victims. I hope this will enable professionals to intervene at far earlier stages of intervention, backed by plans to create a unique identifying number for every child that helps services identify those in need of support.”

The same Bill will also include plans to explicitly outlaw spiking, with a new offence that will carry a prison term of up to 10 years.