Gang culture must be stopped early, says Iain Duncan Smith

Work and pensions secretary says the problem must be tackled when children in problem families have not even been born

Patrick Wintour, political editor
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 20 October 2011

Britain's gang, gun and crime culture has to be tackled at the point when children in problem families are still in their mothers' wombs, Iain Duncan Smith, the work and pensions secretary, said on Thursday as he trailed what is likely to be a landmark report on youth violence drawn up after the summer riots.

The report, being prepared by Duncan Smith and the home secretary, Theresa May, will combine proposals for better parenting with tough measures to deglamorise gang membership, including increased sentences for specific offences if the perpetrator is a known gang member.

Duncan Smith was speaking at briefing given by Karyn McCluskey, joint head of the violence reduction unit of Scotland, set up within Strathclyde police, and Andrew Ward, head of the Merseyside Matrix unit, responsible for fighting gun and gang crime. Both forces have cut gang crime over the past four years by an approach that brings in health visitors, social services, schools and tough law enforcement. On Merseyside the approach has been so tough that car bombs have been put outside police stations in retaliation.

The work of the two forces in fighting gangs would form the kernel of the report, Duncan Smith said.

Duncan Smith said solutions lay in earlier intervention with identifiable problem families, more male role models in schools, a requirement by politicians to own up that they have a gang problem, and enforcement disrupting the lives of gang leaders. He is also pressing for the Department of Health to co-operate more with other agencies, since health visitors are often among the few state agents who can get through the doors of some of the most troubled families.

Duncan Smith said: "I am talking about intervening when the child is conceived, not even when born. The kids we are talking about – half of them are unable to speak, cannot form sentences, they have no sense of empathy, they cannot share toys at school, they watch their mums get beaten up regularly and sexually abused.

"It is about knowing which child is at risk and then matching the child to the programmes available that we know work.

Follow the link to read the full article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/oct/20/gang-culture-stopped-early