Rethinking Crime and Punishment has urged the Government to work positively with those gang leaders who want to live in peaceful co-existence, renounce crime, and become a force for good in the community.
This is not a "spur of the moment" thing. Peaceful co-existence has been on the agenda ofsome leaders since the 1990s and there is a significant group of leaders who have been meeting regularly over the last decade, to see their vision become a reality.
No one ever thought it was going to be easy, but having made a public declaration of their intentions, the last thing they need is a negative response from the Minister of Police or her advisers. There is a prevailing view among gang leaders that the harder they work at gaining acceptance, the harder the Government works at keeping them at arm's length.
The minister seems to be saying that gang leaders will only get police support if they can get their members to stop offending. Gang leaders cannot be expected to take personal responsibility for the behaviour of 3500 gang members, any more than the Minister of Police can be expected to take personal responsibility for the individual behaviour of 8800 police officers. The most we can ask is that the leaders of both organisations will work to develop a culture in which criminal behaviour and sexual harassment becomes unacceptable.
What the gangs need more than anything is for the police and community to support their positive intentions, and encourage and empower them in their efforts to renounce crime and promote a peaceful co-existence.
Other government agencies can assist by refusing to buy into what gang expert Dr Jarrod Gilbert calls the "Blue Vision" - a grossly inflated police image of gangs as inherently criminal, evil and illegitimate - a view which becomes more pronounced as the general election approaches.
It is time to acknowledge the good intentions of this small group of gang leaders, and provide whatever support they need to bring about change.
Kim Workman is a spokesman for Rethinking Crime and Punishment. He was head of the Prison Service from 1989 to 1993.
