The Minister for Civil Society, Nick Hurd, admits that the Government has failed to take seriously enough the problem of gang violence in London. This paper’s latest campaign has brought it into fresh focus.
In a frank interview with this paper, the Minister for Civil Society, Nick Hurd, admits that the Government has failed to take seriously enough the problem of gang violence in London. This paper’s latest campaign has brought it into fresh focus. “We have a significant number of young people in the capital who live very detached, dangerous, horrible lives,” says Mr Hurd. “Interventions to support them have not succeeded and we need to do better.”
The first step in addressing the problem is to realise its extent: a recent report from University College London has made clear that thousands of children in London grow up in areas dominated by gangs where violence is the norm. There are several areas of government policy, crucially education, where the problems of deprived areas can be tackled head-on: good academic and vocational qualifications are the best route out of criminality. Policing is obviously critical too.
But dealing squarely with gangs also means directly engaging with gang members. Ministers have made a start. The Government’s National Citizen Service, which costs £33?million a year and which last year gave 26,000 young people a three-week outward bound and community action experience, is well-intentioned. It is also almost certainly less effective than the work done by, for instance, Kids Company under the aegis of Camila Batmanghelidjh, our campaign partner. The charity receives government grants of £4.25?million a year but Ms Batmanghelidjh wants full statutory funding for its £20?million a year programme. It would be money well spent.
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