County lines: Police want review of 'criminal abuse' of pay-as-you go phones – Sky News, Sky.com

He said: “Officers have to resort to lengthy investigations to try to prove who had a phone.

” But clearly there is a wider debate to be had.

“We are not saying anonymity should no longer be available to everybody, but we are saying there needs to be a review of the criminal abuse of mobile phones.”

He added that this should look at whether regulations need “strengthening” – but this was “not the end of pay-as-you-go”.

Sir Thomas Winsor, chief inspector of constabulary, said: “People regard their Communications as a species of privacy that should not be intruded into.

“That’s why we say the matter should be considered.”

There was “little support” among officers for the use of court orders which block phones and numbers suspected of being used for drug dealing because dealers “obtain replacement phones and numbers quickly and anonymously”, the report found.

Officers told inspectors in one instance that a drug gang received and shared a new phone number within an hour of the service provider acting on an order.

A dedicated team proposed by the National Crime Agency to co-ordinate the use of such orders should be set up while the review is carried out, the report added.

Latest analysis suggests there are more than 2, 000 individual deal line phone numbers in the UK, linked to around 1, county lines.

London, Birmingham and Liverpool are the main exporting areas, with other county lines originating from af further forces, inspectors said.

        

                                      

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Inspectors also suggested in the report that children excluded from school were at a “heightened risk” of being drawn into county lines drug gangs, and also raised concerns about how those considered vulnerable who had been drawn into the gangs were handled by police.

They also said in the report that the current structure of forces could be hindering how successful police were at tackling county lines and said forces must work together more.

Mr Powell said the HMICFRS recommendations, if adopted, would result in “fewer individuals slipping through the net”.

Sir Thomas added: “It will save lives from being shattered by crime and exploitation.”

The Home Office said it is considering the report’s recommendations and the use of court orders to block mobile phones involved in drug d ealing is being reviewed.

A spokeswoman added: “We are investing £ 23 m to further disrupt county lines activity and established the National County Lines Co-ordination Center, which has so far resulted in more than 2, (arrests and the safeguarding of over 3, 000 vulnerable children and adults. “