Gangs taskforce 'needs a tailored approach'

The government's gangs taskforce has been warned against developing a one-size-fits-all approach to tackling gang culture in England.

Ahead of a publication from the gangs taskforce, announced by Prime Minister David Cameron in the days after last month's riots, the chair of the Association of Youth Offending Team Managers (AYM) and the head of the gang's taskforce in Strathclyde, Scotland, have both warned that measures to stem gang violence must be tailored to individual areas.

Detective Sergeant Steven Kattenhorn, who leads Strathclyde's gangs taskforce, heralded by Prime Minister David Cameron in the aftermath of the riots, has warned against creating an exact copy of his project for England.

"I think the circumstances in England are very different to Scotland," he said. "I don't think you can take any initiative and transplant it from one area to another".

Cities have differences

His concerns were echoed by AYM chair Lorna Hadley, who said that success in tackling the problem of gangs will depend on tailoring the right approach to individual cities and areas of London.

"Talking to my colleagues, we all face different issues," she said. "In one borough it might be linked to the distribution of Class A drugs; in another it might be territorial.

"It is about knowing what is going on in each area and talking to third sector groups and other young people to see what the problem is and how you can dispel it.

"I don't think there will be one answer for all."

Another fear raised by Tony Sewell, director of Generating Genius, a charity that helps black and mixed-race boys achieve educational success, is that political correctness could derail attempts to address gang culture.

He said politicians must be brave enough to open a debate about black youth culture if they want to make a difference.

"My worry is that the government may have to have a balance between not offending certain communities and what is really needed," he said. "I feel sometimes with taskforces they don't go down routes that will make a difference. They will avoid any mention of race in this and try and come up with some fudges and notions, but I'm not sure they will tackle head-on some of the specific matters young men and communities are facing and put their hands up and say there are some serious problems."

Sewell said young black men are caught in a culture that "worships materialism" and is not concerned about the needs of the community and urged for these issues to be addressed in the forthcoming report.

"In that sense there needs to be some kind of cultural critique of where black culture is at the moment and politicians won't do that because they don't want to offend and suggest that there is something particularly wrong with black youth culture at the moment," he said.

A number of projects have previously been set up to tackle youth violence and gangs, including work by the London Serious Youth Violence Board, which was disbanded in March this year, after its two-year remit ended.

These included encouraging links between colleges and the police and trying to prevent rival groups congregating in certain areas, such as bus stops, at the same time.

In a speech in Oxfordshire a week after the riots last month, Cameron said he wanted "a concerted, all-out war on gangs and gang culture".

The gangs taskforce is being led by Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith and Home Secretary Theresa May and is expected to publish its report next month. The Home Office refused to comment on who the gangs taskforce will consult with and whether resources will be available to act on its recommendations that will be published next month.

EXPERT VIEW: Inspector Steven Kattenhorn, Stracthclyde gangs taskforce

"Our team was set up in 2008 due to a dawning realisation that we needed a specific unit to tackle these issues and provide a force-wide perspective.

There were somewhere in the region of 180 gangs and we found they were predominantly territorial, with members aged between 11 and 17. Past that age they would usually divert from the gang and sort themselves out - starting a family or getting a job.

We are principally about enforcement, but we work with other programmes that can help divert offenders by offering them a route out and support if they want it. If they don't accept that offer, we look for opportunities to say: "You're causing a lot of grief to the community and we are going to cause grief for you."

Methods include Operation Access, where we use the internet and sites such as YouTube and Bebo to identify gangs, either in public, or indoors, brandishing weapons. We were able to use this to prosecute for possession for an offensive weapon in public or antisocial behaviour, and had a number of successful results.

We also liaise with other agencies such as housing, and once we have identified gang members they can consider eviction proceedings if the behaviour continues.

If images of antisocial behaviour or gang fights are caught on camera, it is passed on to us and we look to take action against them and bring them to court. Whenever someone is in court we ask for curfew conditions between 7pm and 7am. Over the past three years we have arrested more than 1,000 people per year.

Things have improved and there has been a reduction in gang violence but it is difficult to say if that is purely down to us; there are a number of factors involved.

The circumstances [in England] are very different. The glue that holds our gangs together is different, there is a degree of profit and more serious criminality in the gangs down south whereas with ours it is more territorial and peer groups.

You look at [US police chief] Bill Bratton's philosophy and the fantastic results, but at the same time the amount of resources he had to use were incredible. I don't think you can take any initiative and transplant it from one area to another."