London Police target gangs across East London. With the 2012 Summer Olympics approaching London, Metro Police are ramping up efforts to target local gangs. Check it out....
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/feb/08/police-target-gangs-raids-london
Sunday, February 12, 2012
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I believe it's a great idea to do massive simultaneous raids against the gangs. I would think that this would possibly prevent certain gangs from "rising up' while one gets hard hit. I am not so sure that simply telling a potential gang member to "stop or else" is going to be sufficient. When young people are faced with the challenges of life and surrounded by gangs and violence, I do not see them simply choosing to stay on the right path. Sometimes the glamour of being "feared" is greater than the threat of police. We see this so much here in America when many of our youth end up in gangs. The fear of death and jail seems to elude so many because they know that they have a potential for life and notoriety if they can survive the initiation. This is truly very sad indeed. Much like a drug addict who continues to use even know they know death and jail are inevitable. The glamour and need to be loved and needed (although negative in nature) outweighs all the risks!
ReplyDeleteI believe that they're just doing this to ensure that the London games will go according to plan. The massive raids upon the gangs is only to get them off the street for a little while.and while the Yankees are present they will just recruit more and more harmful numbers. from what I know the only way to prevent somebody from joining a gang is to try to educate them to achieve a better way of life.there are 62 high harm gang in the city that causes two thirds of the crime and they're going after all the gangs they need to target 62. Because that will cut down on 50% of shootings in London. so I believe that the best way to handle a gang is to do what they're doing by putting people in jail but to also educate the young to where they can achieve a higher level of learning.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great idea and the approaches they are targeting are ideal but why didn't they expand or continue to enforce this when they established Trident in 2000? Now that the Olympics will be held in London, it seems like the enforcement is "stepping in" quick to clean up the mess that should have been carried out throughout these past years which may or may not have eliminated the growing numbers of gangs and the involvement of numerous members 12yrs later, but it would have probably showed a lesser rate and lower numbers in crimes and assaults. And who are we to kid, when has law officials stepped up to a gangster and said, 'we know who you are and your intentions and we want it to stop!!' and got rewarding results from it? If anything, that would just be fueling the fire to some gangs like the "high harm" gangs and responding with retaliation and saying, you know who we are and this is what we can do. The Mets will not arrest the whole gang and lock them away until they are rehabilitated, join society again and become a better person. We don't know that much into the future, but it's consequences we have to consider. Let me know those that it affects in a better outcome and we can definitely resolve a lot of gang activity from expanding throughout the world. Finally, how are they EXPECTING these gang bangers to stop what they are doing and get off the streets if resource/rehabilitation sources are not in enacted? How are the Mets or officials in Scotland Yard going to support these gang bangers if they do get off the streets? Just by giving them education opportunities? What about money to start living, a roof over their heads, food, clothing, how long are they willing to support them or are they even going to support them and for how long, will they be given job opportunities? These officials need to consider these options too because in a lot of these cases those resources will be more promising and rewarding factors to a long term "step change".
ReplyDeleteI pretty much agree with BenH except at first I believed they were just doing it to make people in London feel safe. Like they do in America if something seems to be getting out of hand the government comes out and takes a very hard stance against it and they develop some sort of organization to attack the situation and get it under control. And with the London games so many people and tourists will be on hand that they have to make everyone, not just London natives feel like it's a safe place to be. The Olympics will be a very lucrative event and any instance of gang violence could greatly discourage tourism and the amount of money they would be able to generate.
ReplyDelete“As young as 14.”! Has anyone interviewed the gang members in the London area? We are only getting one side of the story here. If people in the age group between 18 and 24 are committing crime, perhaps it’s not because they want to. The homeless and rebellious could be resorting to gang crimes because their new support system is the gang they are in. People have to eat; some choose to commit crime to nourish themselves. The gangs in London are rampant and crazy; there is no simmer time with them so it would be understandable why there have been no interviews. London police should start with the “high harm” gangs to extinguish the gang related crime element. From there, work on the smaller gangs until the area is diminished (if this were all possible). The U.S. should adopt some of these new policies they are using to combat the gang problems we have here.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with your perspective on this one Nick. These are not children like those seen in the streets of Rio running rampant just being violent for kicks and giggles. I'm sure some do get a sick and twisted kick out of gang violence or violence in general but there is something about the target age group that could possibly have an indirect link to a possible subsidiary reason for causes of crime. Of course I’m sure that we all can agree that as individuals move from the childhood to young adulthood phase in development, there are cognitive changes taking place that allow the intellect, reasoning, and rationalization of a person to become more concrete. Unlike those gangs that are compiled of members that start as low as 7 years old, this gang's mindset may have more legitimate reasoning and motive to commit crimes. I'm sure that some of the underlying issues that London face plays a major role for the impact of violence for this target group whether they are direct or indirect causal variable. As the old saying goes, "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." Proactive measures to attack crime sounds like the smartest way to suppress violence. I think that it would be difficult to bring this type of proactive approach to America simply because our laws. My belief is that there is not legit explanation to result to violence even if it is for a good resolution. “Violence is immoral because it thrives on hatred rather than love. It leaves society in monologue rather than dialogue. Violence ends by defeating itself. It creates bitterness in the survivors and brutality in the destroyers.”
ReplyDelete-an excerpt M.L. King Jr. Nobel Peace Price Speech
I could agree with a little bit of what everyone has mentioned. I can see how they are only stepping in now to make sure the olympics go as planned or that the young people joining the gangs are doing it for survival. But I also can see that the police saying "stop that" isn't going to do much. The gangs want to be feared and seem as though they have power. I think the raids are a good thing but then again just saying stop is just going to make the illusion that much harder. For instance here in the states it is a common thing when telling someone not to do something they tend to do just because you recommended them not to. And if the police are asking gangs not to do that then that is just a better way of motivating. I'm sure we have all at some point in life done something someone told us not to do but since it was so "wrong" you just had to do it anyway! But, I think the police are on the right track as to do raids and try to put a stop to the violence and even trying to get kids on the straight and narrow is pretty admirable. BUt, I also think gangs will just continue to do what they want when they want to.
ReplyDeleteI like that fact that the police are being proactive in the fight against the gangs in London. I hope that the police are successful and that the gangs will cease to exist although I am doubtful that this will become a reality. I do like the fact that the police are offering aid to the young people who have chosen to become gang members. I think they should ask their youth the reasons for joining the gangs and act in the appropriate manner to eliminate the factors that encourage people to join. I agree with some of the other blogs, that the main reason for the current raid of gang members links to the upcoming Olympic gangs. This short-term solution is good for the tourists but bad for the citizens of London. The government needs to help and eliminate the problems such as high unemployment rates in order to aid with eliminating gangs since most people feel they have no other choice but to join a gang in order to obtain some sort of financial stability.
ReplyDeleteI like that the police are starting to look toward the community to help reform some of the youth. Many operations focus on eradicating gang but not on prevention programs or reforming programs. Youth supply the gangs with “soldiers” without them there is no one to do the dirt work. I am glad to see that the Trident unit is becoming more equipped and trained to deal with gangs. Specializing police officers increase their efficacy in dealing with gangs. One of the goals of the trident unit is to prevent and investigate shootings. In addition to the shooting, another goal should be to dismantle gangs from the inside out. Most groups do not function with out a leader. Taking out the leader could lead to a fall out of members.
ReplyDeleteWell here goes the city of London, committing 1,000 police and 19 task forces to deal with what they call a "gang problem" in local boroughs across the city. When I hear this, I just laugh. Why do you think the crime areas exist? They are areas of economic blight caused by prejudice, nonexistent opportunities, totally broken neighborhood schools, lack of area business, and an attitude of just "lock them all away" to fix the problems. Sweeping this current bunch under the rug will do nothing to stop the next bunch from doing the same thing. Joining the local gang is the only way of survival for many of the unfortunate in these poverty-ridden neighborhoods. The members need the gang for money, security, and some sense of meaning and existence in this cruel world. As long as people crave drugs, there will always be money to be made and gun-play to protect the gang's interests. One drawback to this situation that shouldn't be ignored is that sometimes innocents are killed; however, when someone messes with your turf, what alternative do gangs have but to shoot the intruder stone-cold dead, thereby sending a message to others who might think they can come into your hood. This is a war for survival caused by years of government neglect, and I think we should just stay the hell out of their way unless people quite doing drugs and governments start taking seriously the idea of neighborhood revitalization.
ReplyDeleteI like that the police of London is taking 19 task forces to deal with local gang crime in problem boroughs across London. Operation Trident was originally set up in 2000 to tackle gun crime in black community but y dose it realy have to be all in the black community who is to say that crime happens mostly in the black community? But using the help of the London citizens to help reduce the crime I think its a bad idea can you really trust local government community who is to say that they helping the community i don't realy no wat to make out of this I think its a waste of time in money truly the money could be used in other areas of london
ReplyDeleteIs this a desperate act to clean up before the Olympics this summer? Where are they going to house all the folks they arrest? Will this just become a court back log disaster or will they be shipped to other countries to house and maintain? At least they are being civilized and not going in and killing them all in the streets like the cleanup in Rio’s favelas. They need these young minds focusing on their future and coming together figuring out a way to fix their broken economy. One ripple can start a wave; it is up to the people starting the ripple whether it is for the greater good or destruction of their future.
ReplyDeleteIt’s good for the London police to get organized and tackle the gang problem that they have previously denied they had. I believe that the task forces that have been created to tackle the world of gangs is a great stepping stone, since this tactic has been commonly used in the United States and has been proven to work. An example of this would be Fort Worth gang unit, their main objective is to identify gang members, prevent and investigate gang crime. So I do believe that England is heading in the right direction of fixing their gang problems and it seems as they have asked their United States ally for advice on how to fix the gang problem, which they once hated to admit that they did have.
ReplyDeleteI don’t believe this is a desperate act to clean up the city before the Olympics; at least it’s not the main reason. If you look back in the article operation trident was set up back in 2000. Since its start in 2000 Trident has developed its expertise on combating shootings in London. The only way you can change something you don’t like is if you take the initiative to change it. The London police are targeting these gangs because they harming the community rather than helping it. The fact that most of the gang members were under 14 is a problem. The London police are committed to decreasing gang activity and they are looking to the community for help as well. Even though it would look good to end this before the Olympics come, that probably won’t happen but if they continue to target the gangs before then they may see a slight decrease in gang activity.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Nick and RamKidd. These older gang members could be doing this for survival, not because they want to. The other members in the gang are their support system. Some of them may have started in the gangs very young, and depending on their situation, didn't have anyone else to depend on but themselves and other gang members, not saying it is right though. Crime is still wrong. But may be a good reason we are seeing older gang members. Its a way of life they have grown up doing, it could be all they know how to do to survive. The Olympics will be bringing in alot of money and alot of crime. I feel a strong police presence will help deter some of the milder criminals but not the harder, more seasoned. I do also agree with some of the remarks about how they are only stepping up because of the Olympics. Of course they want it to appear to everyone, local and abroad, that they have crime, or at least the gangs, under control, to give everyone a false sense of security and will feel safer coming to the Olympics, which in turn makes money.
ReplyDeleteThe raids are part of plan to clean up gangs on the streets of london, but to me it looks like a plan to clen up for the up comeing Olympic games .China did this when they had the games last time .Any time something major comes to a city they try to clean it up.
ReplyDeletePersonally I believe what the Met are doing is a great idea. It doesn't matter if its for the Olympics or not, these raids are going to help control the gang problems for a while. One thing I like about this article is how the reporter uses the word "gang" instead of "hoodie" to strike fear into a national problem in London that to many people don't want to acknowledge exists.They only problem I see is what constitutes a gang member according to them? I bring this up because in the article it says "anyone caught offending get arrested." Just because someone breaks into a car or because people are fighting, that doesn't make them a gang member.
ReplyDeleteIt is great that London is cleaning up the streets and trying to restore order in the city. What makes me mad is that they have to wait for the Olympics to come there to start changing things. Why can't they do that before? Don't get me wrong, it is good that the police are cracking down but I just wish they would not wait till a big event like the Olympics to do something. On the other hand it is good to see that the police is doing everything they can to clean up the city. With them working with the community, I personally think they will get a lot accomplished. They are going above and beyond for the raids. The article said that London had 1,000 officers contributing to these raids. It also said within one morning they will have about 300 raids. They might just have started but it is good to hear that the Olympics should be safe this year.
ReplyDeleteto me this just sounds like a cheesy way to try and stop the gang crime. \
ReplyDelete"The first thing is to know who you're looking for. The second thing is that we say to them very directly: 'We know you're a gang member. We want you to stop that. We know you're involved in offending. If you don't then you can expect a knock on the door.'
Honestly what gang/ gang member would even take that seriously or even care? This just doesnt sound very promising to me and is probably just a way for the police to seem like they are doing something bigger than they really are.
Even though it is not the greatest way to stop gang crime but at least the effort and determination to stop or prevent crime is there.But the tactics they are using could cause problem for officers so maybe or hopefully they will develop better tactics. But in my eyes this would only upset gangs even more cause in a way they would be disrespect them.
ReplyDeleteI do agree that it is a good idea to do drug raids at the same time to multiple gangs. I think that this would stop gangs from trying to take advantage of the authorities focusing on all of the other gangs. They are doing these raids to get the gangs and drugs off of the streets. They went from protecting the people in the area to making the area more safe for the olympic games in my opinion. Being told to “stop” is not threatening and it is not going to make the gangs stop what they are doing. In fact, it could make them want to rise up and use that as a challenge.
ReplyDeleteNot too shabby of an idea. I think its great to do massive raids, if you have the means to do so. By raiding multiple gangs at the same time, that will shut down any opportunity for a gang to take advantage of another gangs territory, which will domino effect causing war between the gangs. It will also be a failure in resolving the original problem, distribution of drugs. Yes, they are cracking down due to the Olympic games and I don’t think there is anything wrong with that, I actually think this is a necessity. This won’t be a bad thing as long as gang prevention stays a priority after the Olympics. I think its great that police are stepping in and offering aid and guidance to young gang members. Now, they just need to get to the core of the problem. If they found out why or how these young kids are becoming involved in gangs, it may be easier to prevent the upcoming generations from repeating this vicious cycle.
ReplyDeleteThe raids are a good idea in trying to deal with the gang problem in London. With these actions the police is not only trying to disband the big gangs but all of them all together. This stops the domino effect of other gangs coming to power. The main thing to do after is to still put pressure on the gangs and for the police not to back down. The gang members need to know that they will be punished for being involved in gangs. Another good thing that the police is doing is reaching out the young gang members and trying to get them back on the right track. Fourteen is a young age for people to give up on you. With these actions the police could see some real progress in the community.
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