Gangs

In recent years, serious youth violence and gangs have recieved high profile national attention by the media and politicians.  Gangs are not new to Britain, but the nature and scale of gang culture today is very different to that of previous generations.  London has been dealing with the challenges of serious youth violence for a number of years and each borough has its own unique situation.

Gangs in Westminster

In Westminster, gangs are considered a relatively new problem however, we know that youth related crime and disorder is a consistently high concern for you, and so we have developed a strategy to ensure that we prevent and reduce young people's involvement in serious youth violence and help to keep Westminster a safe place for residents, businesses and visitors.

The Westminster approach

We recognise that the best approach to prevent and reduce the number of young people actively involved in serious youth violence is a multi-pronged; combining enforcement, intervention and prevention.

Westminster's approach emphasises prevention and intervention as a long-term solution to serious youth violence.

The broad aims of the strategy are summarised as follows:-

• To reduce the number of serious violence crimes committed by young people
• To identify and disrupt specific gangs that operate in Westminster and reduce the number of young people 'associated' with gangs.
• To establish and maintain a longer term sustainable framework based on early intervention and prevention to ensure that young people involved in low level criminality are successfully diverted from more serious crime.

Key principles

a. Partnership approach

The council will work closely with partners in the Safer Westminster Partnership (police and other partners) as well as with the Youth Crime Prevention Partnership to ensure that the approach to gangs and serious youth violence spans across all involved agencies and partners.

b. Understanding the problem

We will undertake research in order to understand the nature of the gang problem and serious youth violence incidences in Westminster.  This will include police data as well as informal evidence and anecdotal reports.

c. Safeguarding

Gang activity affects that safety and well-being of those involved, as well as the safety of their families and communities, therefore we will focus our support not only on those directly involved with serious youth violence, but also those who are not, or who are displaying behaviours which indicate that they will be involved in the future, for example, children, siblings and girlfriends of gang members.  We will also focus on victims of gang-related violence and will seek to gain a greater understanding of the interchangeable role of victim and offender.

d. Preventing young people's involvement in serious youth violence and gangs

We will engage with young people at high risk of becoming involved in gangs through targeted activity and consultation via schools, voluntary and community sector organisations and wider services in the city.  We will:

• support and strengthen the family
• enable parents and people working with children to recognise the signs of potential gang involvement
• give young people access to support and guidance outside of the home, promoting positive behaviour
• mentor young people at risk

e. Helping young people out of involvement in gangs and/or serious violence

We will develop interventions to help vulnerable young people to exit gang life.  These will include:

• intensive one-to-one work, counselling and mentoring
• therapeutic interventions
• support re-entering the eduction system
• training and skill development and careers advice
• support finding and gaining employment
• resettlement and housing support
• mediation between gang members

f. Targeting gang members through enforcement

A clear message will be given to gang members that violence must stop.  Enforcement should include:

• key players within gangs identified and placed on a list
• all enforcement agencies should be engaged in targeting individuals identified as being involved in or associated with people who are involved with firearms.
• use to anti-social behaviour legislation, such as ABSOs and Group Dispersal Zones
• support to be given to young people who wish to exit gang life, with enhanced enforcement techniques being used against those who continue to engage in serious violence

Management of the strategy

All of our serious youth violence activity is managed by the Youth Crime Prevention Partnership which oversees and co-ordinates the delivery of all youth crime and disorder related to priorities and projects across Westminster.  The group is chaired on an annual rotation by the Operational Director of Children Youth People and Family Services and the Operational Director of Street Management.

Membership includes: Detective Chief Superintendant and the Chief Superintendent for Partnerships from the Metropolitan Police; Head of Young People's Services, Youth Offending Team Manager and representation from the Probation Service, the Primary Care Trust and City West Homes.

For further information please contact: Alice Murray, Crime Policy Adviser - amurray@westminster.gov.uk