that have a troubled family life or no father at home. Response In 2018, a drug dealer was convicted of offences under the Modern Slavery Act relating to "county lines" activities. In 2018, The Children's Society, a British charity, criticised what it said was an inconsistent approach by professionals working with children, being concerned that, while some police and social workers viewed the practice as child exploitation, others treated vulnerable young people solely as criminals. In the same year Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, set up a "rescue and response" programme, which in its first year referred 568 young people to support channels. In 2019, he said that more than 4,000 children and young people had been found to have links with county lines activities. In October 2019, a nationwide police crackdown led to the arrests of 700 people alleged to be connected to county lines trafficking. In popular culture A 2019 episode of the UK TV series Vera entitled "Cuckoo" was based around a "county lines" storyline; as per the story title, that episode also included the related topic of cuckooing, which roughly translates as taking over another person's property for the purposes of drug supply. In November 2019, Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks announced that they would be featuring an issue-led storyline inspired by the county lines trafficking beginning in December of that year. The year-long storyline sees teenagers Juliet Nightingale (Niamh Blackshaw) and Sid Sumner (Billy Price) manipulated by Jordan Price (Connor Calland) and Victor Brothers (Benjamin O'Mahoney) into selling drugs in and near their village. See also Cuckooing Missing children Gangs in the United Kingdom References Child abuse in the United Kingdom Illegal drug trade in the United Kingdom Human trafficking in the United Kingdom Organized crime activity Modern slavery in the United Kingdom Organised crime in the United Kingdom