Youth violence: Tactics against gangs fatally flawed - report

Research challenges government plans to clamp down on knife crime The government's drive to curb street gangs and knife crime is challenged today by research suggesting official tactics are fundamentally misinformed, frequently failing, and sometimes actively strengthen the gangs they target. Based on two years' close work with members of six gangs in an English city, the research finds that schools, health services and prisons are "grossly unprepared to collaborate or respond adequately to the problems brought about by gangs". And police mistakenly target individuals who, though gang members or associates, are not themselves engaged in criminal action - thus cutting them off as potential sources of help, driving them into gang membership, and confirming the status of gangs. The research comes as ministers respond to demands... [read full story]