Offender Management Community Scoping of London Gang ...

Gangs in London in the mid to late 1990s were from areas suffering social
exclusion. These groups were to some extent territorial in that they identified
with particular localities with members being drawn from various deprived
estates in their towns and postal districts. People from Tottenham and
Edmonton were together, Wood Green and Hornsey, Harlesden and
Stonebridge and New Cross, Deptford and Lewisham tended to identify
themselves with one large group representative of their borough.
3.3. The development of gangs in London
In the mid-late 1990‟s many young people in areas with older gangs became
„youngers‟ of their local gang. After the olders had moved on, the youngers
became independent as their own gang and several years later would influence
a new set of youngers that contributed to a continued presence of gangs or
gang like groups in the area. The continued cycle of „youngers‟ growing into
olders and influencing the next cohort of „youngers‟ has meant that many
neighbourhoods have come to be identified as gang areas 6 . Some of the best
examples of this can be found in the Asian communities of Tower Hamlets,
Newham and Southall where certain gang names have been in existence for
decades, yet the current members often have little or no connection to those
originally involved nor any knowledge of where it began.
Violence between groups in different areas is nothing new. However, with this
1990s generation brought up on gangsta rap and American gang culture more
emphasis by the youngers was placed on the style, demeanour and argot of
their group and most distinctively a name for their group. Music is closely
intertwined with these group identities (as it has been historically for many
British youth subcultures). Many of the original gangs were also part of urban
music collectives who would face off lyrically and musically at garage and rave
events. The role of schools and college is important because students living in
areas previously unaffected by gangs were being exposed to this developing
sub-culture and as a result were being drawn into gangs, or into imitating this
culture and forming their own, or finally they grouped together to protect
themselves from victimisation by these gangs 7 .
3.3.1 Gang culture, schools and colleges
In London, children have increasingly had to travel out of their own boroughs
and localities to attend school. Because many of the areas where gangs are
present are high density and highly populated areas with a youthful age
structure the school provision is often inadequate for the surrounding population
and so it is common to have to travel elsewhere. If you are gang involved and
you are travelling to a school with no gangs you are likely to influence and
interest vulnerable youths who may become wannabes and create new groups or
6 All older gang members spoken to regardless of their location in London described this process of
youngers periodically replacing olders.
7 As described during numerous discussions with older gang members. Also, two topics of discussion
created at the England Gang Forum regarding gangs in London Secondary Schools.
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