Why gangs are bad

It's the first of a number of chats we had with the teenager, as we spent six months last year inside an east London unit set up to tackle gang crime. As we knocked on doors with case workers and walked around Hackney estates with police who are on first name terms with gang members, we started to uncover what life is like for these young people. They told us about stabbings, fights over "inherited beef" and the meticulous planning that goes into journeys to avoid running into rivals.

Like Yusuf, he regularly wears a stab vest underneath his clothes. He tells us he's rarely in bed before and struggles to get up in the morning. He's recently been arrested over a murder, but he's been released. He speaks plainly about being knifed in the leg. Knife, blood. Couple of stitches. As we chat he constantly answers texts and calls on two phones.

We later hear he's been jailed for county lines drug dealing. I know how everything is gonna end up. I'm here in my yard, it's safe. It's not safe out there. Yusuf says most of the boys he started secondary school with are now in gangs. He once dreamed of being a footballer, but says he was let down by school and a government that "only cares about itself".

In the borough like, this is the life. You don't need to look for it, it's there. The idea behind the Hackney Integrated Gangs Unit- set up 10 years ago - was to bring all the people involved in working with gang crime together.

Information is shared between police, probation officers, youth offending workers and mentors, who are often ex-gang members and they all sit in the same office. There also someone from the Department for Work and Pensions, to help with jobs and benefits. Staff at the unit offer all kinds of support for young people in the community, from "holding their hand" at a doctor's appointment to booking taxis to take them to school. PC Jamie Preston says the teenagers who end up in gangs are often - not always - from poor backgrounds.

Rich people, flashy cars and all these kids want that," says PC Preston. They see these older males with thousands of pounds in their pocket and they ask them to do something and give them money for it.

Yusuf's mentor - part of the team at the unit - fills us in on some of his background. He's been run over by a rival gang, caught with a sword and found in a house where drugs were being sold in Devon. He's been arrested a number of times. Youth worker Damion Roberts says: "He's put himself in that limelight - he wants everyone to know he's a very aggressive young man.

He's putting fear in other people's minds. He's becoming very aggressive in this culture. Yusuf tells us he doesn't want to hurt people but wouldn't hesitate to stab someone if he felt he needed to. It's either me or them. Yusuf's gang is his family and he'd do anything to protect them.

When we met Yusuf he was on the Met Police's list of gang members and was number one on the Hackney unit's list. These include:. If you have concerns that your child is involved in a gang, it is important to discuss it with them. Confronting a child who is suspected of gang activity is not easy.

Parents and children may fear gang retaliation. They may worry about giving up protection or money that they receive because of their child's gang involvement. Parents may have to deal with the legal consequences of their child's past behavior. However it is important to be involved to protect your child from drugs, violence and criminal activity.

If you suspect your child is involved in gang activity, look to agencies in your community for help. You can involve your child in other activities and limit unstructured time. Many communities have local gang prevention task forces. This gang effect adds to the social and family risk factors that may be present prior to joining a gang. In addition to preventing youth from joining gangs, it is important to reduce membership duration for youth who belong to a gang and to provide appropriate services drug treatment, employment and educational opportunities once they leave the gang.

Strengthening protective factors plays an important role in reducing youth gang involvement. Protective factors are positive influences that mitigate the impact of risk factors and decrease the likelihood of problem behaviour. Drawing on evidence regarding gang prevention, the Community Solutions to Gang Violence project in Edmonton helps increase protective factors among youth by:.

This initiative is most concerned with young people who come together to engage in profit-driven criminal activity and violence. With a large number of partners in the fields of law enforcement, health, and child and social services, this project put together a community-wide action plan and network of support to find solutions to the gang violence problems in the Greater Edmonton Area.

This involved developing a comprehensive listing of risk and protective factors related to gang involvement. In addition, CSGV has launched a website www. Understanding why some young people join gangs while others do not is key to effective prevention efforts. Current research suggests the need to address specific risk factors that lead youth to violence and gangs.

It is also important to enhance protective factors that can play a role in keeping youth out of gangs.