Glasgow gang project leads to cut in violent crime

Scheme sees 400 gang members sign up to a pledge of non-violence, with knife-carrying down by almost 60%.

Kirsty Scott
guardian.co.uk, Monday 4 July 2011

A project to combat gang culture in Glasgow has significantly reduced violence in parts of the city, according to police.

Since the Community Initiative to Reduce Violence (CIRV) was launched in the city's East End in 2008, 400 gang members have signed up and reduced their violent offending by 46%.

Those who have taken part in the most intensive programmes have cut their offending by 73%. Knife-carrying among participants has dropped by almost 60%, and there has been a 25% drop in violent offending among gang members in areas of the city where the CIRV does not yet operate.

The project is modelled on a scheme set up in Boston, USA, in 1996, and was launched by Strathclyde police's violence reduction unit. It targets the gang as a whole, not just individuals, and uses a combination of enforcement and engagement with the backing of various agencies, including social services and community groups.

Launching the latest report on the CIRV programme in Glasgow, Karyn McCluskey of Stratchlyde police said the figures were encouraging, but there was still a long way to go.

"Gang violence hasn't stopped," she said. "It's been a problem for Glasgow for years and it won't go away overnight. We've made inroads into tackling it, but the key now is keeping up momentum. If we can look back in 10, 20 years and still see a reduction, then we'll know this has worked."

The programme has been operating in the east and north of the city, and there are plans to expand it to other areas and to make it part of everyday business for Strathclyde police. Other forces are looking at the scheme.

To read more, click here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/jul/04/glasgow-gang-project-cuts-violence