Offender Management Community Scoping of London Gang ...

The most significant differences in issues of concern are between Unpaid Work
and Community Supervision, although there are some common themes which
will be referred to later.
The single most common concern was the lack of knowledge about local groups
of serious offenders (“gangs”), who they were, how they could be recognized,
alliances and rivalries, and territories.
4.1.3 Unpaid Work
London Probation supervises 1400 young offenders (16 and 17 year olds) on
Unpaid Work, representing 10% of the caseload. These young offenders have
been sentenced on the basis of reports prepared by the Young Offender Teams.
A major criticism is the lack of prior information from the YOT‟s, including any
known association with serious group offending. This creates the risk of placing
young offenders from rival groups on the same project, or in a location which is
“enemy territory”. Sometimes the young offenders will volunteer information if
they feel vulnerable, but this is not necessarily reliable. Project managers try to
keep young offenders separate from adult “career” criminals, but this is not
always possible. Part of the induction process includes trying to identify if the
young offender is associated with serious group offending, by checking with
YOT‟s, Police and Offender Managers (if over 18 years old). Information and
intelligence is described as “patchy”.
The breach rate for young offenders is about 80%, much higher than for adult
offenders, which might reflect the level of exposure and vulnerability felt by this
group. Unpaid Work is intentionally highly visible to the public, and there have
been incidents of attacks taking place on projects, including a “drive by”
shooting.
There is a view among some practitioners that Unpaid Work is not appropriate
for serious group offenders because of the high visibility, risk of placing rival
group members together, lack of good information and intelligence and
vulnerability of non-group members to pressure and influence. One Unpaid
Work Manager has revoked some orders on a safety basis, rather than risk a
breach situation, but this reinforces the need for local Courts to recognise the
reality of the risk and not inadvertently escalate the sentencing “ladder”.
4.1.4 Community Supervision
There are many different areas of concern for practitioners working with
community orders. The rationalisation of London Probation premises with fewer
reporting centres can create a risky environment for some serious group
offenders. Where offenders are known to be part of a serious offending group
and the alliances and rivalries are known, office managers are trying to
schedule appointments to avoid confrontations. However, offenders do not
always report when requested. It was reported that one offender was seen
outside an office at his appointment time, but disappeared when a rival group
member appeared. The offender was breached for non-compliance for failing to
report to his supervising officer at the appointed time.
35