Anti-gang plan targets families

ng men in south London who say they have moved away from gang lifestyles talk about the new measures

The government is to renew attempts to intervene in the lives of ng people at risk of becoming gang members.

Its new strategy will also seek to help those already involved escape a culture of drug dealing, robbery and violence.

The Department for Work and Pensions aims to tackle 120,000 problem families in England and Wales, in some cases intervening before a child is born.

Labour says tackling gangs is vital but that government spending cuts could undermine the strategy.

The Home Office is promising tougher policing for those refusing to give up their gang lifestyles, with reports suggesting life sentences could be introduced for those convicted of supplying guns.

The police will also “flag up” convicted gang members who should be be facing deportation so the UK Border Agency can take action.

Girl gangs

The policy review was triggered by the summer riots but officials stress the strategy goes beyond the causes of that disorder, according to BBC home affairs correspondent Tom Symonds.

A Home Office source said the previous Labour government had “really tried” to deal with social issues through early intervention but that many projects had fallen by the wayside despite the large sums invested, our correspondent added.

The coalition aims to find the most effective ways to intervene in ng lives, putting extra money into supporting agencies which are attempting to deal with gangs.

Its strategy – to be published later – includes researching girl gangs, encouraging closer working between health professionals, th workers, police and schools.

The government defines gangs as loose groupings of ng people involved in criminality, defending their “territory” and fighting with other gangs.

Unlike their US counterparts, such as at the infamous Crips and Bloods, British gangs tend to be more fluid and have fewer defined rules and hierarchies.

Ministers have been influenced by a number of projects, including the successful efforts of police and agencies in Glasgow to dramatically cut gang-related violence.

Strathclyde police has focused on identifying the most active gang-members and tackling their crime.

Det Ch Supt John Carnochan, the head of its Violence Reduction Unit says gang members are told their access to additional opportunities is linked to behaviour.

“Some of them fall off the wagon. They’re OK for a couple of months and then we receive information that they were caught carrying a knife or they assaulted someone, then we deal with that,” he said.

“We will stop them playing football, we will take them off courses they were on. We’ve actually taken people out of jobs. They always get a second or third change, we never walk away. But they have to know: ‘ break r word, we make sure there are consequences’.”

Another successful scheme has been the Matrix strategy by pioneered Merseyside Police which combines high-profile law enforcement with schemes to find ways to allow gang members to escape.

However, Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “This government is making it harder, not easier, to take action against gangs by cutting 16,000 police officers and making 20% cuts to th services.

“Changing the law won’t work unless there are properly-funded partnerships in place to deliver the action we need.”

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