Adult Grooming, Exploitation, and Home Takeovers

In outlining the strategies and pathways that county lines operatives adopt to gain access to vulnerable people’s homes, this chapter applies Sinnamon’s (2017) seven-stage model of adult grooming to county-lines related cuckooing to construct a Cuckooing Grooming Model. The model presented details a systematic process that entails: identifying a vulnerable target; information gathering; creating a personal connection; meeting the target’s needs and cultivating dependence; priming the target; instigating the home takeover; and exploiting and controlling the victim. The model has important implications for law enforcement, safeguarding agencies, and housing providers, particularly in relation to the implementation of cuckooing prevention and disruption strategies.