Teenage Gang Shootings Blamed On Social Breakdown

Social breakdown is the strongest underlying factor behind the recent spate of shootings involving teenage gangs, according to the results of this month’s Guardian/ICM poll.

The survey, in the wake of the south London shootings that saw three teenagers killed in less than a fortnight, found that 80% of voters agreed with the statement that family breakdown and a lack of discipline in the home are partly responsible for the growth of a gun culture.

Almost as many, 78%, say that part of the problem lies in the failure of schools to set firm boundaries between right and wrong. There is also a clear belief that wider social changes outside the home play a role: 70% say stronger social networks would make a difference. A much smaller majority, 54%, think that the police could also have done more to stop guns being readily available.

The findings were echoed in the outcome of Tony Blair’s Downing Street gun summit yesterday, which regarded the involvement of young teenagers in gun crime as much a problem of child protection and community action as one that can be solved by new criminal justice laws.

Senior police officers told the prime minister and home secretary, John Reid, that there were now teenagers wearing body armour, while black community leaders warned ministers that more legislation was not the answer to the danger of a new generation of “urban child soldiers”. They needed an “exit strategy”, not a new crackdown, warned the Rev Nims Obunge of the churches group, Peace Alliance.

Mr Reid agreed with police demands for a wide-ranging review of the laws on guns, gangs and knives but stressed that the government believed that prevention, including offering support to parents and empowering communities to take action themselves, was equally important.

“There is not a single, simple solution to keeping guns off our streets and our children out of harm’s way. Effective policing and tough penalties must go hand in hand with education, community action and the personal responsibility of young people themselves,” said Mr Reid.

He announced that the government was looking at making gang membership an aggravating factor when judges pass sentence in gun and knife crime cases. Steve House, Metropolitan police assistant commissioner, told the summit: “The nature of gangs in London is changing and we are starting to see more clearly definable gangs – only a couple or a handful at the moment.”

A parliamentary order is also to be introduced to ensure judges apply the five-year minimum sentence for carrying an illegal weapon to those aged 18 to 21. At the same time the introduction of a new offence of “minding a weapon”, which means under-18s could face a sentence of up to 10 years, will be brought forward from the summer to April.

Mike Todd, Manchester’s chief constable, told the summit that children as young as 13 were being discovered with guns hidden in their homes. “We have also got 14- and 15-year-olds walking around wearing body armour.” He said these were as much child protection issues as criminal justice ones and should involve social services and education as well as the police.

The Conservatives claimed the government was failing to recognise the full impact of family breakdown on crime and suggested fathers should be given a mandatory requirement to support their children.

The detailed results of the Guardian/ICM poll published today suggests the police are struggling to maintain the public’s sense of security, with 79% saying that they think Britain is less safe, and only 18% disagreeing.

Most people no longer think the police would come to their aid quickly or catch and convict those responsible for serious crimes such as mugging. Only 27% of those questioned believe that if they were mugged the culprit would be found and sentenced, against 68% who think the person responsible would be likely to get away with the crime. A majority think the police would fail to attend an emergency quickly. Only 41% think that if they called out the police they would respond in a hurry, against 52% who think that they would not.

Many voters also say that they trust the police less than they did in the past. Although a narrow majority, 51%, say their trust in the police has not fallen, 44% say it has. Voters disagree strongly with the suggestion that gun crime is something that is largely an issue affecting young black males living in the inner cities: 76% think the impact is felt more widely.

• ICM interviewed a random sample of 1,000 adults aged over 18 by telephone between February 16 and 18 2007. Interviews were conducted across the country and the results have been weighted to the profile of all adults. ICM is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules.Further information at www.icmresearch.co.uk