Group Paid To Tackle Glasgow Gang Culture

A London-based organisation which specialises in tackling gang culture has been hired in Glasgow to help the city get a handle on its own problems of conflict and violence among young people.

The group, Leap Confronting Conflict, has experience of working with teenagers in the US, the Caribbean and across Europe and has now been hired by the Scottish Government and Strathclyde Police to focus on Glasgow’s deep-seated gang culture.

The organisation, which has been paid £10,000 for its work in the city, is training more than 70 professionals who have direct contact with young people, from police constables to youth workers, on how to effectively deal with those who are caught up in a territorial and violent lifestyle.

These young people will then attend sessions to examine the causes of their behaviour and the effect that it has on the communities around them. It is hoped to target the most high-risk offenders.

advertisementDetective Chief Inspector Andy McKay, Safer Scotland anti-violence co-ordinator, said: “What we are looking at is issues such as anger management, dealing with conflict, asking the kids who they think the enemy is and looking at this idea of revenge, which is something which can be a really strong emotion for these young people. Tit-for-tats can go on forever.

“The idea is to get the young people really thinking about the consequences of their actions, facing up to the disruption they are causing to the communities they live in and to make more informed choices about their behaviour.”

Workshops for gang members are seen as a bold step away from “diversionary” tactics – such as football tournaments and youth clubs – used widely by the authorities in the past to engage young people.

“The feedback we have had is excellent and I feel the work has perhaps filled a huge gap,” Mr McKay said. “One of the big issues with engaging with kids is that it is sometimes hard to reach out to those most at risk. Quite often kids who are excluded from school and so forth won’t turn up to these diversionary activities, so in a way you end up targeting the wrong people.

“With this, we will identify those most at risk and use every lever we can to get them to attend, whether that be their parents, their girlfriends, or through enforcement,” said DCI McKay.

He added that attendance could be made obligatory through bail conditions or antisocial behaviour contracts.

A recent report by the Centre for Social Justice concluded that there are, per capita, six times more teenage gangs in Glasgow than in London, although this figure is felt by some to be overestimated .

Kenny MacAskill, Justice Secretary, was in Govan with Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon yesterday to launch a £200,000 fund for police and local authorities to deal with gang problems.

Mr MacAskill said: “This violence has been going on for generations. Young people follow on from their fathers and their grandfathers. The level of violence and the problems of social alienation it causes are shameful.

“I hope we can persuade more of these youngsters involved in gangs – or on the cusp of gang membership – to think again about whether gang life is really a protection from harm.

“And I hope better-informed professional staff can work with these youngsters to help them resolve conflicts without violence, using banter more readily than a blade.”