New rules to tackle gang culture

The measures include banning gang members from wearing distinctive colours or from entering rival territory.

Crime Prevention Minister James Brokenshire said the gang injunctions will curb the culture of gang membership – but while they tackle a “higher level of criminality” than anti-social behaviour orders (asbos), they will not lead to a criminal record if breached.

However former gang member Gwenton Sloley, who is now the Project Manager of London’s Shian Housing Association’s Makeda Weaver project, which works with young offenders, told Channel 4 News he was unsure the powers would make a difference.

“Until they come up with something to replace the excitement of going on the streets, it’s not going to work.” Gwenton Sloley, former gang member turned community worker

“I was once a gang member – and just because you are wearing yellow in a gang area does not mean you are in a gang. Young people should be allowed to express themselves and this is criminalising young people,” he said.

Alternatives needed

Mr Sloley, who has written a book about his journey from the streets to community work, said young people needed an alternative to the “excitement” of being in a gang.

“I don’t personally think it’s going to work. No one has come up with a solution to the problem – and we all know what the problem is. What is the alternative for young people to joining a gang?” he said.

“If I had the opportunity to offer six young people jobs, they would not be in gangs. Until they come up with something to replace the excitement of going on the streets, it’s not going to work.”

Root causes

In a statement, the Home Office said today that combining the new injunction powers with “early intervention work” would be the key to “empowering local communities to prevent the spread of violence”.

Anyone who breaches the new injunctions will be held in civil contempt of court and will face an unlimited fine or up to two years in jail, but the punishment will not form part of a criminal record. The Home Office plans to pilot gang injunctions for people aged 14-17 from this Spring.

However, some experts are not convinced that the Government has enough of a focus on engaging with people at risk of joining gangs – and are concerned that the new powers show they are too committed to enforcement instead.

Patrick Regan, Chief Executive and founder of urban youth charity XLP and author of Fighting Chance: Tackling Britain’s Gang Culture told Channel 4 News: “I think that the challenge is trying to deal with gang culture through enforcement.

“I think there is short term gain. There’s a lot of pressure on the criminal justice system and the police, and for some people, enforcement is the only way to deal with them. But for a lot of people, engagement is better, and more long term. The problem is – you need both, and going one way or the other will be lopsided. It does not deal with the root causes.”

“A better question is, if you are in a gang, how do you leave?” Patrick Regan, Chief Executive of charity XLP

He said when researching his book, he spent 14 months talking to young people and parents of those who have been hurt or even killed in gang-related violence, and all of them stressed that tackling the causes was key.

“It all comes back to root causes, like educational failure,” he said.

“When kids are kicked out of school they are supposed to go back into the mainstream system, but they don’t. And family: 63 per cent of kids whose dads have been convicted of crime go on to be convicted. We can identify who these kids are a lot sooner – things like 40 per cent have experienced domestic violence at home. And 73 per cent rate their educational achievement as ‘nil’.

“It’s not rocket science. A better question is, if you are in a gang, how do you leave? People don’t know the answer to that, and young people certainly don’t. And also – why do people join gangs? These are better questions.”