The government has recently proposed extending the application of gang injunctions, introduced last year, to children aged 14 years and over. "Injunctions to prevent gang related violence", which were introduced in the Policing and Crime Act 2009, currently exclude children.
The Crime and Security Bill, which has just passed through Parliament, however, extends gang injunctions so that they can be applied to anyone aged 14 years and over. The extension of gang injunctions to children is worrying and, rather than tackling the root causes of gang-related violence, will only serve to further stigmatise and criminalise young people.
Gang injunctions
The use of gang injunctions on children follows a history of civil preventative orders used by the government against children. As with the anti-social behaviour order (Asbo), gang injunctions can prevent a person from, for example, going to a particular place or associating with particular people. However, gang injunctions are even more far reaching.
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