A manually transcribed transcript of this podcast is available here.

Welcome to Learn on the go, the podcast from Community Care Inform, where we discuss the issues affecting social workers and social care practitioners.

This episode looks at county lines and child criminal exploitation. Discussing this is Adam Elliott, founder of The Long Game, a youth-led intervention to reduce young people’s risk of exposure to these forms of modern slavery.

Adam uses his lived experience to highlight how children and young people are groomed, exploited and manipulated into county lines.

At about 1 hour and 20 minutes, this is an extended edition of Learn on the go but we feel it is justified. Adam’s story is hard-hitting and, at times, difficult to listen to but it is full of information and tangible red flags that have to be heard to be understood.

We realise that it’s a commitment on your part to sit with his story to the end but you will find learning points all the way through. If you’re finding it difficult to listen to, you may want to take a break and come back to it. We’d like to remind you to practise self-care and use supervision and peer support if you’ve been affected by this episode.

Questions were asked by Natalie Valios, senior content editor, Community Care Inform Adults. 

00:01:45 – Life before county lines

00:03:44 – Stereotypes and vulnerabilities

00:06:52 – Being groomed

00:08:53 – Dropping off the first package

00:13:13 – Early warning signs

00:14:59 – How county lines operate

00:23:13 – A community problem

00:25:52 – Asking for help

00:27:52 – Trap houses

00:34:51 – Hope of escape

00:38:40 – Facing prison

00:42:57 – Knife and chemical attacks

00:48:53 – Victim of modern slavery

00:51:27 – Parents’ suspicions

00:54:39 – Arrest on 18th birthday

01:01:44 – Missing out on life

01:07:51 – Contextual safeguarding

01:10:07 – Family support

01:11:20 – Importance of knowing the slang

01:13:55 – Misconceptions

01:18:08 – Crime and Policing Bill

01:19:18 – Life now

<a href="https://markallenassets.blob.core.windows.net/ccinform/sites/3/2026/03/County-lines-podcast-transcript-final.pdf">A manually transcribed transcript of this podcast is available here</a>.
Welcome to Learn on the go, the podcast from Community Care Inform, where we discuss the issues affecting social workers and social care practitioners.
This episode looks at county lines and child criminal exploitation. Discussing this is Adam Elliott, founder of&nbsp;<a href="https://leaders-unlocked.org/projects/the-long-game/">The Long Game</a>, a youth-led intervention to reduce young people&rsquo;s risk of exposure to these forms of modern slavery.
Adam uses his lived experience to highlight how children and young people are groomed, exploited and manipulated into county lines.
At about 1 hour and 20 minutes, this is an extended edition of&nbsp;Learn on the go&nbsp;but we feel it is justified. Adam&rsquo;s story is hard-hitting and, at times, difficult to listen to but it is full of information and tangible red flags that have to be heard to be understood.
We realise that it&rsquo;s a commitment on your part to sit with his story to the end but you will find learning points all the way through. If you&rsquo;re finding it difficult to listen to, you may want to take a break and come back to it. We&rsquo;d like to remind you to practise self-care and use supervision and peer support if you&rsquo;ve been affected by this episode.
Questions were asked by Natalie Valios, senior content editor, Community Care Inform Adults.&nbsp;
00:01:45 &ndash; Life before county lines
00:03:44 &ndash; Stereotypes and vulnerabilities
00:06:52 &ndash; Being groomed
00:08:53 &ndash; Dropping off the first package
00:13:13 &ndash; Early warning signs
00:14:59 &ndash; How county lines operate
00:23:13 &ndash; A community problem
00:25:52 &ndash; Asking for help
00:27:52 &ndash; Trap houses
00:34:51 &ndash; Hope of escape
00:38:40 &ndash; Facing prison
00:42:57 &ndash; Knife and chemical attacks
00:48:53 &ndash; Victim of modern slavery
00:51:27 &ndash; Parents&rsquo; suspicions
00:54:39 &ndash; Arrest on 18th birthday
01:01:44 &ndash; Missing out on life
01:07:51 &ndash; Contextual safeguarding
01:10:07 &ndash; Family support
01:11:20 &ndash; Importance of knowing the slang
01:13:55 &ndash; Misconceptions
01:18:08 &ndash; Crime and Policing Bill
01:19:18 &ndash; Life now

Learn on the go is the Community Care Inform podcast where practitioners, trainers, consultants, academics and researchers discuss practice, research, and theories and what they mean for social workers. Listening to episodes is a convenient way to learn and refresh your knowledge when you don’t have much time to read or prefer other ways of getting information and reflecting on your practice.

We’ve been recording Learn on the go on an ad hoc basis since 2017. Over these eight years our podcast audience has grown, and in 2025 we made the decision to start recording Learn on the go in seasons. We launched Season 1 Episode 1 in January 2025.

During each season, episodes are released monthly on the last Friday of the month and all episodes appear on Inform Adults and Inform Children or you can subscribe to Learn on the go through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your podcasts.

Learn on the go is the Community Care Inform podcast where practitioners, trainers, consultants, academics and researchers discuss practice, research, and theories and what they mean for social workers. Listening to episodes is a convenient way to learn and refresh your knowledge when you don’t have much time to read or prefer other ways of getting information and reflecting on your practice.   We’ve been recording Learn on the go on an ad hoc basis since 2017. Over these eight years our podcast audience has grown, and in 2025 we made the decision to start recording Learn on the go in seasons. We launched Season 1 Episode 1 in January 2025.   During each season, episodes are released monthly on the last Friday of the month and all episodes appear on Inform Adults and Inform Children or you can <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/learn-on-the-go/id1268644821" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">subscribe to Learn on the go through Apple Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/17Hqmsd9mouCwMfXUpf4GD" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Spotify</a>, or wherever you listen to your podcasts.

We discuss the latest research, theories and practice issues, and look at what they mean for social workers.

Learn on the go: the Community Care podcast

This episode looks at county lines and child criminal exploitation. Discussing this is Adam Elliott, founder of The Long Game, a youth-led intervention to reduce young people’s risk of exposure to these forms of modern slavery.  Adam uses his lived experience to highlight how children and young people are groomed, exploited and manipulated into county lines.

Season 2 Episode 6 - county lines: playing the long game

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/14f60c17-0074-476d-8548-b3680082530f/clips/6eeded32-472d-4a16-9754-b3fc00e59b48/transcript