Cameron calls for action to tackle gang culture
Neil Puffett
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Prime Minister David Cameron has called for action against those involved in gangs and greater discipline in schools in the wake of riots throughout England.
Speaking in parliament, Cameron said local authorities should work to evict those guilty of gang-related crimes from local authority homes.
He added that gangs have blighted a number of estates and proposed that anti-gang schemes such as a successful programme in Boston, in the US, should be emulated here.
"There is a major problem in our society with children growing up not knowing the difference between right and wrong," he said addressing MPs. "This isn’t about poverty, it’s about culture.
"In too many cases the parents of these children, if they are still around, don’t care where these children are or what they are doing.
"There is no one step that can be taken, we need a benefits system that rewards work, discipline in our schools, action to deal with the most disruptive in the system, and a criminal justice system that scores a clear line between right and wrong."
Cameron said that at the heart of the violence witnessed over the weekend was the problem of "street gangs".
"They are territorial, hierarchical, terribly violent and mainly made up of young boys," he said. "They have blighted life on estates with gang on gang murders and attacks on innocent bystanders.
"I want us to use the record of success against gangs from cities like Boston in the US and Strathclyde in Scotland. I want this to be a national priority."
He added that gang injunctions will, in the future, be used against children as well as adults.
Meanwhile a cross-government programme to deal with gang culture will be set up and will report to parliament in October, working closely with Bill Bratton, former police commissioner in Los Angeles.
Cameron’s words follow several days of unrest, sparked by the police shooting of a 29-year-old man, Mark Duggan, in Tottenham last week.
Unrest and rioting began to take hold in north London before spreading to other parts of London in the following days and later moving to other towns and cities in England.
Politicians and community leaders are split on the causes of the violence, blaming a number of different factors, from government cuts through to social exclusion, and opportunist criminality.
Communities Secretary Eric Pickles has confirmed he is proposing changes to legislation that could see tenants being evicted from social housing if they commit anti-social behaviour outside their local area.
During today’s parliamentary debate Labour's Kate Hoey, MP for Vauxhall in South London, said gangs in some areas are acting as "de facto parents" to impressionable children.
Cameron said there is "no one single answer" to the culture but promised to work to break it. He added that parents should be held responsible for the actions of their children.
"There are parenting orders that can be used and I hope they will be used on this occasion," he said.
Labour and Co-operative Party MP for Ilford South Mike Gapes, said the vast majority of young people are appalled by the way they have been stigmatised in the media stating that "many are just in fear at the moment".
Cameron said the rioting was "in no way representative" of brilliant young people across the country.
"There is a meeting of young people tomorrow saying very specifically that this was not done in their name and I applaud that," he said.
A large number of the rioters are thought to be young people, under the age of 18, posing a number of questions about how the youth justice system will cope with the situation.
John Drew, chief executive of the Youth Justice Board (YJB), told CYP Now on Tuesday that he is confident there is enough capacity in the youth secure estate to deal with any rise in remands or custodial sentences as a result of riots and looting.
However he said it is too soon to tell what the long-term implications of the violence on the youth justice system could be.