London Gangs Expanding Across Uk

[anotheoldgit]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-25974360

It would seem that the London gangs are now stretching their tentacles across the UK.

If this is true should we be concerned, and what is the answer?

[jake-the-peg]

Clearly we need to bring back short trousers at school, the cane and National Service!

[naomi24]

^^ That might work.

[jim360]

I found it hard to take this story entirely seriously because when I listened to the item on the Today Programme I kept imagining board meetings of gang members discussing the idea of expanding into new territories, and then the comment about "are they moving in to replace local gangs...?" made me think of some old lady talking about "oh back in the day, you used to be able to trust your local drug dealer -- but now what with all these Super-gangs from London, they just aren't so friendly, no community spirit any more!"

[jake-the-peg]

Actually this sounds like a pretty unconcerning event

My ex-karate instructor was a policeman in Slough (I'll bet money that's the Thames Valley location referred to ) there has been a lot of drugs and violence there for a long time.

So it sounds to me that a few London gangs are muscleing in on some out of town action.

I'm pretty sure that's nothing new - the Krays had interests as far afield as Africa for goodness sake!


Of course our police forces are regional and this has come from a press release from the Met

//But there are questions over whether the UK's other police forces have the same expertise and resources as the Met to tackle to complexities of gang organisation and crime.//

Oh goodness - if only they could call on the Met's Operation Trident team eh?


To me this sounds like there are two turf wars going on

One between gangs
One between police forces!

[sp1814]

AOG

"If this is true should we be concerned"

Yes

"and what is the answer?"

- Increased funding for schools
- Increased funding for childcare projects
- Increased funding for community-based youth projects
- Targeted focus on sex education in schools...possibly starting earlier than we do at present.
- Help for single parents, both financially and practically.
- Introduction of a nationwide 'Big Brother/Sister' project
- Harsher sentences for drug offences

Some eloquently put ideas were in this article from the Telegraph three years ago:

"...the only way to diminish youth crime is to concentrate on prevention rather than punishment – and that means refocusing the state's resources on programmes designed to ensure that babies are properly cared for by their parents."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/7530902/The-only-way-to-stop-youth-crime-is-to-help-the-parents.html

[Booldawg]

It wont happen down here; everyone knows the Chiddingfold Amateur Operatic Society 'runs tings'.

[jake-the-peg]

There is a market for drugs and prostitution etc.

Someone will always fill it while it is illegal and profitable - and it's never going to be the girl guides

If we don't want to make it illegal we have to make it unprofitable

That's why attacking the supply is stupid - attacking the supply raises the price it doesn't stop it being profitable.

You have to reduce the demand

It's pretty damn obvious really

[Baldric]

Is this the Slough Massif causing problems again?

[FredPuli43]

It's natural and inevitable, but it should worry you, AOG; you might run out of things to worry about otherwise.Do you think this will increase drug taking or merely change the supplier? I think the drug taking will follow the same pattern.

[DrFilth]

aog the high train fares may put some of them off from coming up north if not we have our own gangs to sort them out

from 2009
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/guilty-the-men-who-turned-manchester-into-gunchester-1664444.html

from 2013
http://www.itv.com/news/granada/update/2013-12-17/police-target-crime-gangs-in-greater-manchester-raids/

[anotheoldgit]

FredPuli43

/// It's natural and inevitable, but it should worry you, AOG; you might run out of things to worry about otherwise. ///

How a person who is always setting himself up as a learned adult, is ignorant enough and child enough to regularly insult a fellow ABer.just for the joy of it.

This was a perfectly reasonable question to ask, and there was no need whatsoever for you to take that attitude.

Perhaps it was because I did not enter a Daily Mail link, and you had nothing else to have a dig at, but then you are even hypocritical regarding that, seeing that you also tend to use their web site when it suits you.

[anotheoldgit]

sp1814

Do you think that your suggested measures would have prevented this? after all you can't say that they came from a deprived area.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2549565/Five-thugs-stabbed-schoolboy-death-20-TIMES-lived-wrong-street-one-Britains-richest-postcodes-jailed-131-years.html

[EDDIE51]

Decriminalising NOT legalising ( there is a huge difference) drugs will solve most of these problems. Decriminalising means that users are helped to overcome their addiction , even down to supplying free 'clean'medical grade drugs under strict control, rather than being prosecuted.

[emmie]

perhaps they expand so far they will get out of the capital altogether and make other peoples lives a misery.

[FredPuli43]

No hypocrisy in my using the Daily Mail, AOG. As I explained in another thread, I scan the Daily Mail online, in the early hours, to see whether I can guess which stories you will find worthy of comment. Somebody else termed this 'AOG Bingo'. I hope you don't mind.

And sometimes I find a story which I regard as worthy of comment; unhappily, if there's a theme, it is that they show the Daily Mail in a bad light. I think my Bob Crow OP was in the early hours.

As to insultiing you, I never thought that fair comment, a defence to libel, was per se insulting. and the truth is a total defence to it.

[emmie]

with every opportunity at your feet, free schooling, free medical care and so on, you wonder that we have some who feel it necessary to join a gang, to make them feel special, one always has a choice, join a gang and go that route, knuckle down to some work, get decent grades, get a job, earn your money, i know which route is the most desirable, the trouble is that some who get involved in gangs are also involved in big monies made in the drug trade. I don't have any sympathy for those who buy and sell drugs, they can rot in prison for all i care.