Police to hold talks with gangs

[y2krog2000]

Police are to hold talks with the leaders of south London's most violent gangs in an attempt to cut gun crime.
Leaders of seven gangs will be brought in one-by-one and told gun crime has to stop or police will come down hard on them, Scotland Yard said.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said it was the first time the force had taken such an approach.

Gang violence was also the focus of a meeting between Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Manchester police officers.

Mr Brown met police officers of the Xcalibre Task Force at their headquarters in Moss Side, the area of south Manchester which has spawned violent gun gangs.

The trip aims to provide a boost to the forces taking on the brunt of gun and gang violence in London, Liverpool, Birmingham and Manchester.

Meanwhile, police in London have come up with the plan to hold talks with gang leaders after success in a similar project in Boston in the United States.

Spate of killings

The move comes days after London's streets claimed their latest gun crime victim, 17-year-old Etem Celebi from Stoke Newington.

The teenager, who was murdered in Stoke Newington on Wednesday, is the 22nd youth to die in a knife or gun killing in London this year.

The idea for talks was devised following talks with council officials in five south London boroughs; Lambeth, Croydon, Southwark, Lewisham and Greenwich, which have been particularly affected by gun crime.
The gangs have not been identified but a police spokesman said they were believed to be behind a majority of the shootings in the area, as well as other forms of violent crime.

Led by Commander Shaun Sawyer, Operation Alliance aims to dismantle and disrupt criminal gangs and wants to hold the meetings with gang leaders in January.

"Communicating with those involved in violence is one part of a much broader programme of action that seemed to work in Boston," the Metropolitan Police said in a statement.

The success of Boston's Operation Ceasefire was down to the strong community support in working with the police to target the gangs.

But Norman Brennan, of the Victims of Crime Trust, said the police should not be "negotiating with criminals".

"We should be tackling and challenging these individuals, using the most up-to-date technology," he told the BBC News website.
"The sad reality is that a considerable number of gang members have an arrogant contempt for anyone and everyone.

"Some have no regard for the value of life, they have an attitude of 'live by the gun, die by the gun'.

"Many are protecting their turf or involved in drugs - they have too much to lose by laying down their weapons.

"We should be in their faces not inviting them in for a cup of tea and a chat."

Long-term approach

Uanu Seshmi, of the south London youth mentoring group The From Boyhood to Manhood Foundation, broadly supported the initiative.

But he said initiatives of the type proposed were best left to community organisations.

Mr Seshmi, an emotional behavioural expert, said: "As a preventive method, it's okay but it's not the definitive answer to tackling gun crime.

"Talking to gang leaders, telling them to 'put down their guns or else' may work in the short-term.

"But young people involved with guns have underlying emotional issues and they need to be targeted by more long-term prevention work.

"Community groups need to be given the support to carry out this work because they know the youths who are in the gangs better than anybody else."

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