Following the Royal Assent of the Crime and Policing Act on 29th April 2026, the UK has now criminalised child criminal exploitation and cuckooing as standalone offences.
Child Criminal Exploitation (CCE)
Child criminal exploitation is now a specific offence in Part 4, Chapter 1 of the Act. According to the government’s Policy Paper, the new standalone offence is aimed to deal the inherent power imbalance that is exercised by an adult on a child. The offence is defined in the Act as a person, 18 or over, engaging in conduct in respect of a child with the intention of causing the child to commit an offence, both inside and outside the UK. Notably, the offence also extends to facilitating the causing of a child ‘in the future’ to commit an offence. The maximum penalty is 10 years imprisonment, a fine, or both.
It is clear that the Government’s intention in making CCE a standalone offence is to target County Lines operations. Indeed, the most recent National Referral Mechanism statistics (as at 14 May 2026) reported that 75% of all referrals which were flagged as county lines exploitation were for male children. Children in care, experiencing economic vulnerability or substance misuse issues are particularly vulnerable to being exploited in this way. Government statistics in 2025 reported that CCE was a factor for 16,250 children in their care assessments.
However, concerns have been raised that there is no legal definition of CCE included within the Act. Whilst an amendment to the Bill that would define CCE was not moved, the Government has pledged to include this in its guidance. Without a definition of CCE in the Act, this form of exploitation is open to interpretation amongst agencies, including the CPS and Police. This is most harmful when the response to victims of CCE is to prosecute not protect, and victims are not properly identified and safeguarded.
Cuckooing (Home Takeover)
Part 4, Chapter 2 of the Act has now criminalised cuckooing. A person will have committed this offence if they exercise control over another person’s dwelling for the purpose of enabling the dwelling to be used in connection with the commission of a relevant offence, and the person has not consented for the dwelling to be used for that purpose. The maximum penalty is 5 years imprisonment, a fine, or both.
Victims of cuckooing are targeted because of their vulnerabilities, for example alcohol or drug dependency or bereavement. This can also often overlap with County Lines operations, and other forms of exploitation. Data from the National County Lines Coordination Centre found more than a third of cuckooing victims reported drug use, and half reported mental health issues.
By specifically criminalising this hidden and often underreported crime, it is anticipated that this also provide the opportunity for both government and civil society organisations to assess the scale of this type of exploitation and direct more attention to combatting it.
Whilst the criminalisation of a standalone cuckooing offence is an important step forward in tackling exploitation of this kind, it is important to note that victims of cuckooing have historically been criminalised for their involvement. This is in contravention of the non-punishment principle under various international and domestic modern slavery legal frameworks. Professionals, including the CPS and Police, should be alive to this fact when investigating and prosecuting these types of cases.
Overall, the Crime and Policing Act has begun to fill a lacuna in the law that did not properly criminalise perpetrators of these historically unreported and often hidden forms of exploitation.
Southwell & Partners advises on both child criminal exploitation and cuckooing. Should you require advice in relation to these types of exploitation, please get in contact with us.
