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Fall in violence welcomed as campaigners say more to do Ministers hail gang violence work as report issued
(about 3 hours later)
The government has hailed progress in tackling gang crime in English cities.The government has hailed progress in tackling gang crime in English cities.
A Home Office report highlighted a fall in wounding with knives and attempted murder since the riots in England two years ago. Home Secretary Theresa May said a programme set-up in the wake of the riots in England in 2011 providing £10m funding in 33 areas was working.
But it said the drops could not be attributed to a government programme set-up in the wake of the riots, while campaigners and former gang members said more needed to be done. A Home Office report on the plan noted falls in the number of youths wounded with knives and attempted murders last year but said this could not be "directly attributed" to the programme.
Home Secretary Theresa May said the initiative was working. Campaigners and former gang members said more work was needed.
In the report, figures from the target areas suggested wounding with knives and attempted murders were down. The Ending Gang and Youth Violence initiative aims to offer support rather than "top-down direction" in the areas identified by the Home Office as facing the "biggest challenges in relation to youth violence and gangs".
However, there was one more gang-related homicide - which includes murder and manslaughter - recorded in 2012/13, than in a 2011/12 study.
Sense of belongingSense of belonging
Introducing the Ending Gang and Youth Violence report the home secretary said it was giving "effective leadership" against the problem. Of the areas covered, 20 are in Greater London, three in Greater Manchester, three in the West Midlands and two in Merseyside. The others are Leeds, Bradford, Sheffield, Derby and Nottingham.
But Sheldon Thomas, a former gang member and founder of the charity Gangsline, said: "The tension amongst gang members has never changed in the last seven to eight years." The report said in 2012-13, the number of knife-related wounding offences involving 10 to 19-year-olds in programme areas fell by about 25% - from 589 to 439 offences - compared with 2011-12.
He criticised "bureaucrats and public sector workers" who he said were driven by statistics and targets. However, across the 29 areas originally covered by the programme, the number of homicides rose by one to 15 in 2012-13, while the number of attempted murders fell by 15 to 18.
"It doesn't reflect the feelings of the community," he told the BBC. The report notes it "was not designed to evaluate the impact of the Ending Gang and Youth Violence programme on local crime levels".
The initiative - which aims to offer support rather than "top-down direction" - covers 33 priority areas where gang crime is considered a major problem. But it lists achievements over the last 12 months including:
Of these, 20 are in Greater London, three in Greater Manchester, three in the West Midlands and two in Merseyside. The others are Leeds, Bradford, Sheffield, Derby and Nottingham. Home Office minister Norman Baker told BBC Radio 5 live: "We're doing some of the right things that are helping. We're not going to say we're responsible for everything going right."
In 2012-13, the number of knife-related wounding offences involving 10 to 19-year-olds in programme areas fell by about 25% - from 589 to 439 offences - compared with 2011-12. But Shaun Bailey, a former adviser to the Conservatives on youth and race issues, told BBC News: "If you are close to the gang situation, then violence hasn't subsided. It's probably worse."
This followed a 9% drop in the previous 12 months. And Sheldon Thomas, a former gang member and founder of the charity Gangsline, said: "The tension amongst gang members has never changed in the last seven to eight years."
Across the 29 areas originally covered by the programme, the number of homicides rose by one to 15 in 2012-13, while the number of attempted murders fell by 15 to 18. He said "bureaucrats and public sector workers" were driven by statistics and targets.
But the report notes it "was not designed to evaluate the impact of the Ending Gang and Youth Violence programme on local crime levels," and it warns any changes in crime statistics can "not be directly attributed to the programme". Charlie Alcock, who heads the charity MAC-UK, suggested the solution had to be small, affordable changes.
And the BBC's Sima Kotecha said critics of the government said crime figures were going down anyway.
Home Office minister Norman Baker told BBC Radio 5 live: "We're doing some of the right things that are helping.
"We're not going to say we're responsible for everything going right."
Charlie Alcock, who heads the charity MAC-UK, said the solution had to be small, affordable changes.
"Changes like taking mental health workers out of the clinic and onto the streets, wrapping mental health interventions around the practical things that matter to young people - job seeking, housing and benefits.""Changes like taking mental health workers out of the clinic and onto the streets, wrapping mental health interventions around the practical things that matter to young people - job seeking, housing and benefits."
But campaigners said they were worried ministers had failed to see the whole picture because they did not have "knowledge and understanding of urban life". Patrick Regan from the London-based youth charity XLP said "things are still really, really tough" and young people were wearing stab-proof vests.
"People keep telling me things are getting better," said Patrick Regan from the youth charity XLP. He pointed to a report suggesting 16,500 young people were at risk of sexual exploitation by gangs.
"But I'm looking out my window and seeing that actually things are still really, really tough."
He said young people were coming to the charity wearing stab-proof vests and pointed to a report suggesting 16,500 young people were at risk of sexual exploitation by gangs.
Damian, a former member of a notorious London gang, told the Today programme: "It's a lot harder to make money now.
"You've got to be a lot more ruthless nowadays."
Shaun Bailey, a former adviser to the Conservatives on youth and race issues, told BBC News: "If you are close to the gang situation, then violence hasn't subsided. It's probably worse."
The report is the second annual update to the Ending Gang and Youth Violence report published in November 2011.The report is the second annual update to the Ending Gang and Youth Violence report published in November 2011.
It lists numerous achievements over the last 12 months including: The home secretary said a crucial part of the programme's work was offering gang members "viable alternatives to a self-destructive and violent way of life".
Mrs May said a crucial part of the programme's work was offering gang members "viable alternatives to a self-destructive and violent way of life". Mrs May said "everyone who participated in the review felt that they had made positive changes".
"The initiative is working, the crimes that the programme aims to tackle are diminishing," she said. It has led to "more effective leadership and a greater sense of strategic direction," she said.
"The programme has led to more effective leadership and a greater sense of strategic direction."