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Frontline safeguarding

County Lines, Gang and Knife Crime Safeguarding Training

Practical safeguarding training for staff who may meet gang, county lines or knife crime risk in a tenancy, on a home visit, or in a youth session.

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At a glance

Audience
Housing, council, social care and charity staff working with young people or vulnerable adults.
Typical duration
Full day
Group size
15 delegates included in the rate. Additional charge per delegate above 15. Absolute maximum 20. Smaller groups keep everyone involved in the discussion and scenario practice, which is where most of the learning happens.

Why the course matters

For staff who may see exploitation in ordinary work

Criminal exploitation often shows up first where staff already work: a tenancy, a home visit or a youth session. This course is for teams in housing associations, local authorities, social care and charities. Staff who need a clear response when someone discloses harm can also use Safeguarding: Managing Disclosures and Maintaining Resilience. The Safety Hub guide Safeguarding: notice, record and refer sets out the same reporting method.

Who it is for

Built for the staff who face the risk

Frontline and supervisory staff who may come across exploitation in their work. That includes housing officers and tenancy teams, social workers, youth and community workers, support workers, community safety and anti-social behaviour officers, and charity staff.

The session can reflect your roles, your recording rules and the safeguarding route your staff are expected to use.

Practical outcomes

Practical outcomes for safer decisions

Delegates leave able to explain how gangs and county lines networks operate, why people are drawn in, and what criminal exploitation looks like in a tenancy, on a visit, or in a youth session.

Course content

What delegates will work through

  • Explain what a gang is, how county lines operate and what criminal exploitation looks like
  • Recognise the push and pull factors, including adverse childhood experiences, that draw young people in
  • Identify indicators of exploitation, including cuckooing (home takeover) in housing settings
  • Understand the current law on knives, offensive weapons and stop and search, and the child criminal exploitation offence in the Crime and Policing Act 2026
  • Recognise the role of social media and drill music, and the specific risks to girls and young women
  • Respond safely and report concerns through the right safeguarding routes
  • Understand the barriers that stop young people and families engaging, and how to work with them

Scenarios and practical application

Practical application

The day is usually delivered in three parts. Part one covers gangs and weapons. Part two covers county lines, grooming, debt bondage and cuckooing. Part three covers knife injuries, weapons law, warning signs, and how to respond.

Police recorded 48,774 offences involving a knife or sharp instrument in England and Wales in the year ending March 2026. That was 8% lower than 53,096 the year before, and 12% below the year ending March 2020. Most were assault with injury or with intent to cause serious harm (44%) and robbery (39%). Figures: Office for National Statistics, Crime in England and Wales, year ending March 2026.

England and Wales

This is general information for England and Wales. It is not legal advice. Where a team works under a different UK legal system, the session uses the law that applies there.

Offensive Weapons Act 2019

The Offensive Weapons Act 2019 covers corrosive products, the remote sale and delivery of bladed products, private possession of certain prohibited weapons, knife crime prevention orders, and threatening with a weapon. It is an offence to sell a corrosive product to a person under 18. It is also an offence to have a corrosive substance in a public place unless the person has a good reason or lawful authority. In England and Wales, the Act restricts delivery of a corrosive product to a residential premises, and delivery of a bladed product to a residential premises when that product was sold remotely. It makes it an offence to possess certain prohibited weapons in private, including flick knives and gravity knives, and weapons specified as offensive weapons. The Act creates knife crime prevention orders. A court can impose prohibitions or requirements to prevent knife crime. It also amends the offences of threatening another person with an offensive weapon, or with a bladed or pointed article.

Criminal Justice Act 1988 (Offensive Weapons) Order 1988

The Criminal Justice Act 1988 (Offensive Weapons) Order 1988 lists weapons treated as offensive weapons, and it has been amended since. The Criminal Justice Act 1988 (Offensive Weapons) (Amendment, Surrender & Compensation) (England and Wales) Order 2025 banned ninja swords in England and Wales from 1 August 2025. The Criminal Justice Act 1988 (Offensive Weapons) (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2026 (SI 2026/836) makes a technical correction to the ninja sword definition. It does not widen the ban.

Crime and Policing Act 2026

The Crime and Policing Act 2026 received Royal Assent on 29 April 2026. It includes a standalone child criminal exploitation offence at section 48, with a maximum sentence of 10 years, child criminal exploitation prevention orders, and a cuckooing offence. Section 48 was not in force at Royal Assent. It depends on commencement regulations.

Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012

Section 142 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 concerns sentencing for knife possession offences.

Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994

Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 is a police stop and search power used in defined circumstances.

Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984

The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 sets police powers and the safeguards that sit with them, including stop and search.

Misuse of Drugs Act 1971

The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 is the main drugs legislation. County lines offending often sits alongside drug supply offences under this Act.

The session explains these points in plain language so staff know what to look for, what to record and who to tell. It does not ask staff to investigate a crime or decide whether an offence has been committed.

Lead time

Up to five weeks

Allow up to five weeks from confirmation to the first session. That depends on trainer availability and your own staff availability. The window is used to review your policies, build your reporting routes into the material, and give teams time to attend. Where a programme runs across several sessions, the full schedule is agreed up front so you can plan cover.

Delivery

In person or live online

In-house at your premises, or live online with a trainer. Both formats are tutor-led and cover the same content, discussion and scenario work.

Coverage

UK and Ireland in person, international online

In person across England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Live online sessions can be delivered to teams anywhere in the world. Training is delivered in English, with live subtitles through Microsoft Teams or PowerPoint, which can translate captions into the delegate's own language. Where legislation differs across the UK and Ireland, we research the law that applies to you and build it into the material rather than delivering the England and Wales position by default.

Larger programmes

Rolled out across multiple sessions

Larger workforces are trained as a planned programme, not a single booking. The schedule is agreed at the start and worked around shift patterns and cover. Where travel is involved we will look at consecutive days. Half-day courses often run back to back, morning and afternoon on the same day, with a saving on the half-day rate. Sessions are delivered by associate trainers. We keep the same trainer where we can.

Cost

Quoted for each programme

We do not publish prices. Cost depends on group numbers, delivery format, travel, overnight accommodation where the location requires it, and how much bespoke design a programme needs. Any figure published here would be misleading.

Common questions about this course

Who should attend county lines and knife crime safeguarding training?

Housing officers, tenancy teams, social workers, youth and community workers, support workers, community safety and anti-social behaviour officers, and charity staff working with young people or vulnerable adults. Supervisors who need a shared approach can attend with their teams.

What will delegates work through on the day?

Delegates work through gangs and weapons, how county lines networks recruit and hold people through debt, and the signs of cuckooing in a home. They also look at social media, drill music, the risks to girls and young women, and the barriers that stop families engaging.

Which weapons law does the session explain?

It explains the Offensive Weapons Act 2019 and the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (Offensive Weapons) Order 1988, as amended, including the ninja sword ban in force in England and Wales from 1 August 2025. It also explains the Crime and Policing Act 2026. Section 48 of that Act creates a child criminal exploitation offence with a maximum of 10 years. Section 48 was not in force at Royal Assent on 29 April 2026. It depends on commencement regulations.

Can the examples reflect our safeguarding route?

Yes. The session can use your tenancy work, your youth work, your recording rules and the person staff should tell when they are concerned.

What do delegates receive?

Every delegate receives a certificate of attendance, a PDF copy of the certificate and PDF course handouts.

Course guidance

Free, maintained guidance from our Safety Hub on the subjects this course covers.

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Tell us what you need and we will quote for it.

Discuss this course

Safety Hub

Practical insight and resources built from thirty years at the frontline.

Conflict Management

Workplace violence and aggression

Practical controls for violence, aggression, conflict, reporting and review.

Lone Worker Safety

Lone Worker Safety Centre

Guidance for staff who work alone, visit, travel, or need check-in and escalation.

Dealing with Challenging Phone Calls

Managing challenging phone calls

Abusive calls, repeated contact, boundary setting, records and escalation.

Safeguarding Adults and Children

Notice, record and refer

What non-specialist staff should notice, record in fact, and refer.

Professional Boundaries

Recognising boundary drift

Gifts, over-familiarity, unofficial contact and pressure to bend the rules.

Dangerous Dogs Awareness

Dog risk for visiting staff

What to check before a visit, and what to do if a dog is present.

Scenario Based Frontline Training

Why live practice matters

How scenario practice tests real workplace decisions without theatrical conflict.

Violence Against Women and Girls

Personal safety away from the workplace

Travel, walking and public transport. Written for employers to share with staff.

Open the complete Safety Hub

Plan training around your staff and risks

Tell us about your staff roles, working environment and the situations your staff face. We will recommend the right training approach for your organisation.

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