In March 2020, the UK was placed in lockdown following the spread of the Covid-19 virus. Just as legitimate workplaces made changes to enable their employees to work from home, the illicit drugs trade also made alternative arrangements, adapting its supply models to ensure continuity of operations. Based upon qualitative interviews with 46 practitioners, this paper assesses how front-line professionals have experienced and perceived the impact of Covid-19 on child criminal exploitation and County Lines drug supply in the UK. Throughout the paper, we highlight perceived adaptations to the County Lines supply model, the impact of lockdown restrictions on detection and law enforcement activities aimed at County Lines, and on efforts to safeguard children and young people from criminal exploitation. Our participants generally believed that the pandemic had induced shifts to County Lines that reflected an ongoing evolution of the drug supply model and changes in understanding or attention because of Covid-19 restrictions, rather than a complete reconstitution of the model itself. Practitioners perceived that Covid-19 has had, and continues to have, a significant impact on some young people’s vulnerability to exploitation, on the way in which police and frontline practitioners respond to County Lines and child criminal exploitation, and on the way illegal drugs are being moved and sold.

2020 年 3 月，英国因 Covid-19 病毒传播而进入封锁状态。正如合法的工作场所做出改变以使其员工能够在家工作一样，非法毒品贸易也做出了替代安排，调整其供应模式以确保运营的连续性。基于对 46 名从业者的定性访谈，本文评估了一线专业人员如何体验和感知 Covid-19 对英国儿童犯罪剥削和 County Lines 毒品供应的影响。在整篇论文中，我们强调了对 County Lines 供应模型的感知适应、锁定限制对针对 County Lines 的检测和执法活动的影响，以及保护儿童和年轻人免受犯罪剥削的努力。我们的参与者普遍认为，由于 Covid-19 的限制，大流行导致了向县界的转变，这反映了药物供应模式的持续演变以及理解或关注的变化，而不是模式本身的完全重建。从业者认为，Covid-19 已经并将继续对一些年轻人易受剥削的脆弱性、警察和前线从业者应对 County Lines 和儿童犯罪剥削的方式以及非法毒品的方式产生重大影响。被移动和出售。