Today's leading story includes criticism from two police leaders on resources to combat county lines drugs gangs.
County lines
The Guardian reports two senior police figures say that they do not have enough resources to effectively combat county lines drugs gangs.
The article quotes a senior police officer who wanted to remain anonymous and a Labour Police and Crime Commissioner.
The report highlights the work of the St Giles Trust and the Government-funded £3.6 million National County Lines Centre in identifying and protecting the victims of around 2,000 drug supply chains.
However, the piece also notes that while the St Giles Trust is one of 30 projects that successfully bid for funding from the Early Intervention Youth Fund, another 80 bids endorsed by police chiefs were rejected.
A Home Office spokesperson said:
As a government we are determined to crack down on County Lines, disrupt the networks devastating communities and put an end to the violence and exploitation of children and vulnerable adults.
As part of our Serious Violence Strategy, we have invested over £3.6million to establish the new National County Lines Co-ordination Centre. It is vital we steer young people away from a life of crime, and our Early Intervention Youth Fund of £22 million is already supporting 29 projects in England and Wales.
Ending this kind of violence requires long-term thinking, and over ten years our £200 million Youth Endowment fund will support the public health approach to tackling serious violence by supporting at-risk children and young people.