Drug dealers who exploit children will face punishment under a new law as part of a crackdown on crime planned by the new Labour government.<\/p>\n
The king\u2019s speech, due on 17 July, is expected to outline measures including a new offence of child criminal exploitation, Labour sources confirmed, among a series of new laws and reforms across the policing and justice system.<\/p>\n
The new law is designed to help combat the use of children in \u201ccounty lines\u201d drugs running, in which they are used as mules and sometimes asked to hide illicit substances in their bodies<\/a>.<\/p>\n But despite Labour\u2019s pledge to prioritise law and order and clamp down on antisocial behaviour, police chiefs have been told there is no prospect of new money for at least the first two to three years of the new government, the Guardian understands. Law enforcement leaders, who collectively have a \u00a318bn budget, claim they face a shortfall of \u00a33.2bn<\/a>.<\/p>\n A new national police savings board will instead be crucial to finding the money to fund 13,000 extra promised constables, made up of warranted officers with full powers, police community support officers and volunteer specials.<\/p>\n Among its aims is to end differences in the cost of equipment among the 43 police forces in England and Wales \u2013 for example, a baton costs the taxpayer about \u00a320 in Leicestershire but over \u00a3120 in Northamptonshire.<\/p>\n Also included in the king\u2019s speech will be a neighbourhood policing guarantee; increased visibility of officers is seen as key to boosting confidence and improving the intelligence that helps detect crimes. Some chiefs would rather use any money to upgrade crumbling IT systems so that existing officers can work more effectively, however.<\/p>\n New powers will be given to the police inspectorate to order chiefs to correct failings following their inspections. The use of the new powers by His Majesty\u2019s Inspectorate of Constabulary will need sign-off by the home secretary, Yvette Cooper. The inspectorate has complained that some forces, especially the Metropolitan police, are repeating the same failures<\/a>.<\/p>\n Labour will also pass a new law making it mandatory for those under 18 caught with a knife to be assessed by a youth offending team.<\/p>\n One police source said the new law on the criminal exploitation of children would make it easier to prosecute such offences. Investigators currently have to use \u201cclunky\u201d laws on modern slavery to punish those coercing or forcing children to move drugs.<\/p>\n