Perpetrators of exploitation
Anyone can be a perpetrator of CCE. However, it is important to understand the following groups because of the threat that they pose to children and young people, with varying levels of organisation and coordination.
Organised crime gangs
Organised crime encompasses a wide range of criminal activities, all driven by the pursuit of financial gain, often at significant human cost. While the economic impact is substantial, the personal harm to individuals and communities is far-reaching and often lifelong. In Northern Ireland, some organised crime groups (OCGs) operate with paramilitary links, using intimidation and violence, or the threat of it, to maintain control.
OCGs are structured and deliberate in their operations, which may include people trafficking, drug trafficking, cybercrime, modern slavery, counterfeiting, fuel laundering, tobacco smuggling, fraud, money laundering, and environmental crimes. These activities not only endanger public safety and health but also undermine public services through tax evasion and excise fraud.
Children and young people may be exploited by OCGs through grooming tactics that involve the use of drugs, alcohol, or promises of belonging and protection. Some are drawn in due to their environment, such as living in areas associated with gang activity or having family or peer connections, without recognising their involvement as exploitation. Others may be coerced through drug debt or manipulated into criminal behaviour. The impact can include isolation from family, mental ill-health, long-term vulnerability and trauma, due to their experiences
OCGs may operate locally, nationally, or across borders, forming complex networks that inflict harm on individuals, businesses, and communities. Victims of fraud, cybercrime, and counterfeit goods face financial loss, reputational damage, and health risks. Communities affected by organised crime often experience fear, coercive control, and reduced trust in public institutions.
Street Gangs
Street gangs typically consist of groups of children and young people who identify as part of a distinct peer group, often recognised by others in the community. Within these groups, criminality and violence may become central to their identity and activities. While some street gangs may evolve into more structured organised crime groups (OCGs), they are generally less coordinated and more focused on asserting dominance or control over specific geographical areas, often referred to as flashpoint zones.
These gangs may engage in serious criminal behaviour, including drug dealing, theft, intimidation, and public disorder, which can have a profound and lasting impact on local communities. The threat of violence is often used to maintain control and influence, both within the gang and over the wider area.
Exploitation Tactics
Street gangs may exploit young people through grooming, coercion, or manipulation. This can include offering protection, status, or material rewards in exchange for involvement in criminal activity. Some children and young people may be unaware they are being exploited, believing this is voluntary or necessary for survival.
Risk Factors
Children and young people may be particularly vulnerable to exploitation from gangs due to factors such as poverty, exclusion from education, family breakdown, or living in areas with high levels of gang activity.
Impact on Young People
The consequences can include trauma, criminalisation, isolation from family and support networks, and long-term mental health issues.
Paramilitary groups
Paramilitarism in Northern Ireland refers to the activities of armed groups, both Loyalist and Republican, that operate outside the formal military or policing structures. While many of these groups originated during the “Troubles/Conflict”, some continue to exert influence in communities today, often through intimidation, coercion, and criminal enterprise.
Key Characteristics of Paramilitary Influence
Violence and Intimidation
Paramilitary groups frequently use threats, physical violence, and paramilitary-style attacks to maintain control and enforce their authority within communities.
Coercive Control
These groups manipulate individuals, particularly children and young people who may experience vulnerability due to exploitation, through fear, debt, and grooming tactics. This control can be psychological, emotional, and physical. This is explored in The Influence of Paramilitarism on the Recognition of Child Sexual Exploitation in Young Males by Dr Jacqui Montgomery-Devlin.
Criminal Activity
Paramilitary organisations are often involved in serious criminal offences, including drug trafficking, extortion, smuggling, and illegal enforcement or “community policing”.
"These older ones would just talk to me when I was hanging about, asking how things were going, offering me a smoke. Then one day they asked me to hold on to a package for them - said it was no big deal, just for a few hours. I knew what it was about, but they made it sound like I had to do it. They knew where I lived, the way they said it wasn't even threatening really, but you could tell what they meant. After that first time, they kept coming back. Always 'just one more thing' - drop this off here, pick that up there, keep your mouth shut. I felt sick every time I saw them coming. My ma knew something was up, but I couldn't tell her. How do you explain that you're in with people like that? The worst part was feeling totally trapped, like there was no way out. If I went to the police, I'd be a tout and that would be it for me and my family. We'd be out or battered or shot. If I kept doing what they wanted, I was OK."
Community Impact
The presence of paramilitaries contributes to a culture of fear, mistrust, and silence. Communities affected by paramilitarism may experience economic stagnation, reduced access to services, and long-term trauma.
Impact of Paramilitarism on Children and Young People and their Families
Exposure to Violence
Children and young people may witness or be subjected to paramilitary violence, including attacks or threats against themselves or their families. Research from the Northern Ireland Executive Programme for Tackling Paramilitary Activity and Organised Crime highlights the persistence of these tactics post-conflict (DOJ NI). According to the NI Executive36, 25% of victims of paramilitary-style attacks were under the age of 19.
Exploitation
Some children and young people are coerced into criminal activity and made to e.g., distribute drugs, money launder, or participate in public disorder. Others may be coerced into becoming members of paramilitary groups under the guise of protection or belonging. These activities are documented in the Practitioner Awareness of Child Criminal Exploitation leaflet by SBNI.
Psychological Harm
The fear of reprisals and the pressure to remain silent can lead to isolation, disengagement from education, and long-term mental health issues.
Barriers to Disclosure
Many young people fear speaking out due to potential retaliation, stigma, or lack of trust in authorities. This can prevent children and young people from accessing support or being identified as victims. The Experiencing Paramilitarism report by Queen’s University Belfast outlines these effects in detail.
Practitioner Considerations
- Recognise that paramilitary exploitation is a form of child criminal exploitation (CCE) and child abuse.
- Understand that a trauma-informed approach is needed to support children and young people affected by paramilitarism.
- Be aware of community dynamics that may mask or normalise coercive control and violence.
- Use multi-agency collaboration to ensure protection, intervention, and justice for exploited children and their families
- Use multi-agency collaboration to ensure protection for staff.
Peer groups
Peer groups are relatively small, informal, and often transient social groupings of children and young people. These groups may not self-identify as gangs, and their structure and purpose can vary depending on context. While some peer groups are formed around shared interests or social connections, others may become involved in risky or harmful behaviours, including criminal activity or exploitation.
Key Characteristics
Fluid identity
Peer groups may not have a fixed name, structure, or hierarchy. Their identity can shift depending on location, relationships, or external perceptions.
Social influence
Children and young people within peer groups may be influenced by group norms, peer pressure, or a desire for acceptance, which can lead to engagement in anti-social or criminal behaviour.
Pathway to exploitation
In some cases, peer groups can act as a gateway to more organised forms of exploitation. For example, a group may be targeted or infiltrated by older individuals or organised crime groups seeking to coerce or manipulate members.
Normalisation of harm
Harmful behaviours such as drug use, violence, or exploitation may be normalised within the group, making it harder for young people to recognise risk or seek help.
Practitioner Considerations
Context matters
Not all peer groups are harmful, but practitioners should assess the context, behaviours, and vulnerabilities of group members.
Early intervention
Identifying risky peer dynamics early can help prevent escalation into gang involvement or exploitation.
Relationship-based practice
Building trust with young people is key to understanding their peer relationships and offering support.
Multi-agency collaboration
Sharing information across education, youth services, and policing can help identify patterns and provide holistic support.
Family and extended family
While many perpetrators of CCE are associated with organised crime groups or gangs, exploitation can also occur within the family or extended family network. This form of exploitation is often hidden and complex, requiring practitioners to consider the child or young person’s immediate environment and relationships.
Paramilitary threats can compel families to facilitate CCE, with compliance driven by fear for their own or others’ safety rather than intent. Family members may face threats of serious harm or death, and such coercion can lead to involvement in CCE.
Family members may face threats of serious harm or death, and such coercion can lead to involvement in CCE, as outlined in Swaine’s (2024) research “When you know what they are capable of”: Paramilitary-related Gendered Coercive Control – Foyle Womens Aid offer Domestic Abuse, Domestic Violence Support in Derry / Londonderry, Strabane, Limavady & Dungiven
Key dynamics of family-based exploitation
Coercion and manipulation
Family members may pressure or manipulate children and young people into criminal activity for financial gain or other benefits. This can include drug trafficking, theft, or money laundering as highlighted in research undertaken by Ulster University and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) “Identifying Child Criminal Exploitation in Northern Ireland” (2025).
Normalisation of criminal behaviour
In some households, criminal behaviour is normalised or even encouraged. Children and young people raised in such environments may view illegal activity as acceptable or necessary, increasing their vulnerability to exploitation.
Exploitation of vulnerability
Families experiencing poverty, substance use, or domestic abuse may exploit their children’s vulnerabilities. Children and young people may be forced into criminal activity to support household income or a relative’s addiction. “The impact of coercive control on children and young people” (NSPCC, 2023).
Grooming and control
Similar to external perpetrators, family members may groom children and young people, using emotional manipulation, threats, or violence to maintain control. This can be particularly difficult to detect due to the perceived trust within familial relationships.
Intergenerational exploitation
Exploitation can be cyclical, with parents or carers who were themselves exploited as children continuing the pattern with their own children. This perpetuates a cycle of abuse and criminality within families, and more broadly on community and conflict dynamics, research on intergenerational transmission of offending behaviours supports this concept. The Executive Programme on Paramilitarism and Organised Crime (EPPOC) published three films in its video series which aims to highlight the impact of paramilitary harm on children and communities. EPPOC Case Study Series
Lack of Awareness
Some family members may not fully understand the harm they are causing. They may believe they are helping the child or young person, or acting in the family’s best interest, without recognising the exploitative nature of their actions.
Practitioner Considerations
Holistic assessment
Consider the child or young person’s family environment when assessing risk. Exploitation may be occurring within trusted relationships.
Trauma-informed practice
Children and young people exploited by family members may experience complex trauma and require sensitive, long-term support.
Multi-agency collaboration
Collaborate with education, health, social care, policing and community and voluntary sector to identify and respond to familial exploitation.
Safeguarding pathways
Ensure clear referral routes are available for children and young people at risk of intra-familial exploitation, including access to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM).