Bedfordshire Police use a 360-degree virtual reality film, Lost Boys, to help secondary school pupils recognise how county lines drug gangs groom and exploit young people. Officers equip pupils with VR headsets so they watch the story from inside the scene, with the aim of getting them to think "this could be happening to me" and seek help.
The film follows Rhys, a fictional 14-year-old from Bedfordshire who is drawn away from his friends by a gang and ends up behind bars after being exploited. It was produced by RIVR and the local Next Generation Youth Theatre, and the BBC reported it as believed to be the first VR film of its kind made by a police force.
Rollout
The BBC reported the launch on 5 June 2025, with Year 8 pupils in Luton and Leighton Buzzard among the first to watch. By November 2026 the force was still taking the technology into local classrooms, and an August 2026 post by the local MP showed the headsets in use at a Lost Boys session with the force's Education and Diversion team, which delivers the work across the county.
The VR programme runs alongside Not My Child community events for parents, which are designed to spot early grooming signs and counter toxic online influences. The Violence & Exploitation Prevention Partnership is also supporting the project.
Reported response
Chief Constable Trevor Rodenhurst said the force has had families come forward after the film, including the family of a 14-year-old boy who told officers it helped them recognise what was happening. This is the force's own account of the response rather than a measured result.
