London declares war on its gangs

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The number of gang members in London has risen to almost 5000, Scotland Yard officers revealed yesterday as they announced a multimillion pound crackdown on the people responsible for a huge proportion of violent crime.

As raids throughout the capital brought in almost 160 suspected gang members yesterday, the head of the Metropolitan Police said 1000 officers would be assigned to combat the problem at a cost of more than £60 million ($113 million) a year.

Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe promised to relentlessly pursue the most violent members of gangs.

"Our gang of seven and a half million has got to be bigger and better than the gangs who roam the streets of London," he said. "The hard work now starts."

Police say as many as 4800 predominantly young men are involved in 435 gangs throughout London. Of these, 250 groups were deemed to be criminally active, and 62 responsible for two-thirds of related violence.

Police say gangs are responsible for a disproportionate amount of London's crime - half of all shootings, a fifth of stabbings and one in seven rapes.

A quarter of aggravated burglaries are also gang-related, as are 22 per cent of serious violence and almost a fifth of muggings.

The vast majority of gang members are men aged between 18 and 24.

An increasing number of women are involved, but they are still only 5 per cent of those charged with gang-related offences.

However, women are 20 per cent of the victims of gang crime, of whom 53 per cent are black and a fifth white.

Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley said the new unit - which includes officers working for Operation Trident, which investigates gun crime in the black community - would co-ordinate intelligence and operate a more "joined up consistent approach" across the capital.

While many gangs are territorial and stick to certain areas, others spread their tentacles wider. Task forces will be set up in 19 problem boroughs, co-ordinated by the central Trident command.

Yesterday, 1300 police officers and staff were involved in raids throughout London, in which 158 people were arrested.

A kilo and half of heroin and crack cocaine was seized, as well as firearms and thousands of pounds in cash.

- Independent