Human trafficking explored in ‘County Lines’ crime in rural areas

Merseyside Police’s Head of Business Intelligence explores the problems and solutions through her PhD thesis

A KEY figure in the policing of one of the UK’s largest metropolitan areas is to carry out research at the University of Huddersfield, probing a disturbing development in organised crime in rural areas.

Louise Kane is Head of Business Intelligence for Merseyside Police.  She leads a 45-strong team that analyses a broad mix of data covering topics that include forensics, crime patterns and offender behaviour.  Findings from the research help the force’s chief officers develop crime-fighting strategies that make the best use of their resources – crucial at a time of cutbacks.

Now – while continuing in her post – Ms Kane has registered to carry out research for a doctorate at the University of Huddersfield.  Her PhD thesis will examine the emerging crime known as “County Lines”, which sees urban gangs spread their tentacles into rural areas.  She will probe the human trafficking dimension – the propensity of organised crime groups to traffic children across county lines with the purpose of exploiting them for sale of drugs and firearms. 

“There are a lot of things we need to know about child exploitation by criminal gangs so I aim to add to the research,” said Ms Kane, whose PhD supervisors are Dr Maria Ioannou and Dr John Synnott.

They are Director and Associate Director for the University’s MSc course in Investigative Psychology and have established an important relationship with Merseyside Police.  They are currently completing a research project on child sexual exploitation in Merseyside, and Louise Kane has visited the University of Huddersfield to deliver lectures on police data analysis.

Now, by working towards a PhD, she aims to broaden her knowledge and research skills.  Her chiefs at Merseyside Police are highly supportive of the project.

Ms Kane began to work for the force 18 years ago, starting as a 999 operator.  This led to control room experience before she moved into research and analysis, providing up-to-the-minute data and advice to the chief constable and senior officers.

She set up a knowledge and research hub that has played a key part in introducing evidence-based practice to policing in Merseyside, with the University of Huddersfield link being one of the outcomes.

The financial climate has made it vital that police work is based on research into practices that work the best, said Ms Kane.

“We have lost a large proportion of our budget since 2012, so it is more important than ever that we rely on research and analysis in order to target resources effectively.”