
Whether it is Victorian-era pick pockets, the "Peaky Blinders" organised crime groups of the early 20th century or post-war knife wielding "Teddy Boys", gangs of young people have long been seen as a social problem of the inner cities that policymakers have sought to contain. That is still the case today, with a recent spike in youth knife-related crime - both as perpetrator and victim - hitting the headlines and prompting a youth serious violence summit to be convened at 10 Downing Street.
A key feature of gangs - going back to when Charles Dickens wrote Oliver Twist - is how gang leaders, usually adults, first lure children into the lifestyle and then criminally exploit them once control has been gained. The methods exploiters use may have changed over time, but it is society's vulnerable children who remain most at risk today.
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