University of Sunderland students produce County Lines awareness films
By Kris Jepson
University of Sunderland students have produced five short films highlighting the impact County Lines drug gangs can have on young people in the North East.
Working with the police and other organisations, the students researched, scripted, filmed and edited the pieces themselves. They will also be used as a training tool for police.
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The films were produced as part of a University of Sunderland project which has been running for seven years covering subjects such as male rape, modern-day slavery, the capacity to consent, sexual exploitation, domestic violence, and cyber-crime.
The project was part-funded by the Police Crime Commissioner's community fund, to collaborate with Northumbria Police in raising awareness about an issue impacting on society.
Nicholas Glean, a lecturer at the university told ITV News "They’re not the end. They’re a beginning. They’re a beginning of a conversation, they’re the beginning of a dialogue between society, young people and the issues involved. What was really good about these particular films is we’re showing it’s not just metropolitan cities in terms of London or Manchester or Birmingham. It’s everywhere."
The students researched the issue of County Lines with the assistance of the Northumbria Police Sexual Assault Referral Centre and Edge North East, an organisation that supports young people caught up in County Lines.
Their work was showcased during an awards ceremony in January. The winning entry ‘The Lines’, follows the journey of a young girl who has been working in county lines for some time, and the scenarios she must face in navigating this dark world.
Student actress Abigail James, who played the lead character 'Fran', said "I think one of the key things that came out of the research was how difficult it is to get out of it and it very much being a choice of you do it or the other options are death or prison or something equally as awful, so it kind of puts those people in that position of not really having a choice."
Editor of the film, Joe Hair, said "before taking this module it was actually something I wasn’t really aware of. I didn’t realise that there was so much bad stuff happening within that kind of lifestyle so to be able to put my film making skills to the test and try to create a narrative story that really does that area justice and makes people aware of it, it was really good experience."
And producer, Joao Chambel said "when you talk about County Lines crime, murder and especially sexual abuse, it’s very difficult, but I think in the end we came out the other way, like as bigger people and more mature."