Last Wednesday the Metropolitan Police Service launched its new approach to tackling gangs in London. There’s no question that the capital faces the largest challenge when it comes to gangs, and the refocus on this issue by the Metropolitan Police Service Commissioner and the Mayor of London will provide a new impetus.
The need for further action was brought into sharp focus by the disorder last summer. In London, one-in-five of those arrested had links with gangs and gang members were arrested in many incidents linked to disorder elsewhere in the country.
That was not, of course, the whole story of the summer, but the renewed focus upon gangs is welcomed by the police.
In the autumn, ACPO worked to jointly host an International Conference on Gangs with the Home Office and supported the development of the Government’s Ending Gang and Youth Violence cross-Governmental report.
Success being recorded by police forces
The renewed focus does take place in an environment where there is much success occurring in police forces.
In 2006, I was the police commander in Moss Side in Manchester. The high levels of shootings had left a lasting scar on the area and gun crime involving young people was tragically too common. Today, the major work by Greater Manchester Police and its partners through XCalibre has driven down gun crime and is vital in allowing the area to flourish.
The same can be seen by the outstanding work through Matrix in Merseyside which has delivered international acclaim for its reduction in gun crime.
In my own force, the West Midlands, there has been some brilliant work carried out to make substantial inroads into gangs with partners and, despite spending reductions, we are investing more into tackling gangs.
The same great work can be seen in many other towns and cities across the country and, on gun crime, forces work together through the world class National Ballistics Intelligence Service (NABIS).
In many ways the challenges set out in the cross-Governmental approach are not about the police stepping up, though we always aspire to do even better. Much of the report concerns how other partners can meet the steps policing has taken.
The new funding streams now available for tackling gangs are being allocated and led by local authorities, in turn recognising the shift we need to make. Enforcement will not solve this problem, but it’s a vital ingredient. Safeguarding young people is critical.
Building on the Government’s report
Over the next few months there are some further steps needed to build upon the Government’s report. I see these as:
- Mapping gangs
We are working now to set a consistent methodology to help forces identify gangs using a common definition, and assess the threat posed by their own gangs using a common framework.
- Building a stronger understanding of local problems
Police data is not the whole picture. Schools, children’s services, youth offending teams, probation and particularly the community all feed into the local picture.
We have looked carefully at work conducted in other countries such as the US and built on the experiences of other cities. This way we can implement a stronger local assessment model using a wider range of data.
- Building effective local models of delivery
The Government has established an Ending Gang and Youth Violence Team with a wide network of advisors to help areas assess how well their partnerships are addressing gangs. This is a genuine attempt to support, not inspect, and provides a genuine opportunity for Government and local agencies to work together.
We need to make sure the reviews are put in place quickly to help the first 30 areas we are going to work with.
- Making sure communities are part of the solution
Gangs come from and affect a diverse range of communities. Black communities in particular have suffered a disproportionate number of deaths and serious injuries among young people through gun and knife crime.
Over the years I have seen local communities stand up and face this horror and begin to work with the police to turn things around: they serve as powerful examples.
To an extent, media coverage last summer played up links with ‘gangsta’ culture and Black Britain and, as such, some communities felt worried a step up in police action would disproportionately affect them. Worries some minority communities have about Stop and Search also feed these concerns.
I do not believe many of the popular characterisations accurately reflect the reality of gangs. A better evidenced understanding of their actual nature will address this. We all need to ensure communities feel part of the partnership working with the police service to solve this problem.
In some cases we will have to win their trust and support, but when the community are alongside an area’s agencies it is an unbeatable combination.
There are challenges ahead but the Metropolitan Police Service, and indeed the police service across the country, is ready to step up to it.
Dave Thompson is deputy chief constable at West Midlands Police and ACPO lead for gangs
This blog appears on the official ACPO website
Home Office announces new support for young victims of sexual violence and gangs
Organisations that support young people who have been the victims of sexual violence or exploitation are being invited to apply for funding amounting to GB pound 1.2 million.
The new money, announced in the Ending Gang and Youth Violence report, will be used to help support ‘young people’s advocates’. They will support victims of rape and sexual abuse, and work with vulnerable young people at risk of being targeted by gangs, as well as providing a vital link between existing services.
On a visit to Lilian Baylis School in Kennington, equalities minister Lynne Featherstone took part in a discussion about sex and gang violence with a group of year 10 girls run by the Growing against Gangs and Violence project.
The minister and students heard how girls can be used in gangs as casual sexual partners, or ‘links’, or be forced to carry weapons and drugs.
Speaking at the school, the minister said violence against girls in gangs had remained hidden for too long.
“We are determined to take action to raise awareness, provide skilled and sensitive support to victims and work to prevent it happening in the first place,” said Featherstone.
The Government has announced that 13 new young people’s advocates, working in areas most affected by gangs, will be in place by summer 2012.