Together with the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner and Lancashire Constabulary’s Media & Engagement team, the county’s Youth Commission have come together to co-design the second phase of the county’s 'Eyes Open' county lines awareness campaign.

This collaborative approach enables the creation of a campaign that is for young people, with young people, by young people - harnessing their creativity, ideas, thoughts and feelings.

In doing so, young people are:

• Involved with the development of the campaign
• Listened to
• Supported in expressing their views, with these views taken seriously and considered
• Involved in the decision-making processes and;
• Given the opportunity to share the power and responsibility for decision-making

This style of working has so far resulted in the implementation of changes to the campaign, based on the Youth Commission’s suggestions. These updates have included:

• Updates to the strapline to better reflect the call to action
• Changes to the key messages to place emphasis on the helpline being free and confidential
• Steering the campaign communication channels towards the right platforms to target fellow young people
• Choosing the platforms used to get the messages to parents, carers and professionals
• Contributed to updates in the design and function of the dedicated campaign website

Youth Commission Panel member Connor, 17, added: “Being part of feedback sessions as a young person does feel great, because it shows we are being listened to! Young people are often not given an opportunity to give our ideas despite us being the future!”

Ben Speakman from Leaders Unlocked who is Project Coordinator for the Lancashire Youth Commission said: 'It's great to see the members of the Youth Commission working closely with Lancashire Police to inform this campaign. Hopefully, we can continue this type of collaboration to get better prevention outcomes in Lancashire and elsewhere going forward.”

Andrew Snowden, Police and Crime Commissioner for Lancashire, praised the Youth Commission saying: "It's fantastic to see the Youth Commission getting involved in and influencing our local campaigns.

"Cracking down on county lines criminals is an important step in tackling the exploitation of young people in Lancashire and by working with the Youth Commission we can make sure that our messages speak to them.

"We need to work together to tackle organised crime and the damage it causes to our communities and I am committed to bringing those criminals to justice."

Superintendent Becky Smith, County Lines lead at Lancashire Constabulary, talked of having the Youth Commission participating in the planning of the second phase of Eyes Open as being essential to developing the direction of travel: “As the campaign is for young people, it has been crucial to have the involvement of the Youth Commission to give their valuable insight into how to engage with other young people to enable them to have the tools to recognise that it doesn’t matter what it’s called, it amounts to the same thing. Child criminal exploitation = County Lines = child abuse.”

The second phase of the Eyes Open County Lines campaign aimed at young people is planned to launch in Autumn 2021.

For more information about County Lines, the warning signs and what to do if you have any concerns, visit www.eyes-open.co.uk