Action group report 181 gang-related crimes in Haringey last year

A group set up to tackle the problem of gangs in Haringey has reported 181 gang-related crimes in the borough over the last year.

The multi-agency Gang Action Group, a sub-group of Haringey Council’s Community Safety Partnership, gave an overview of their work over the last 18 months during a meeting of the council’s Communities Scrutiny Panel last night.

During the meeting, the group revealed that in the last financial year the hotspot for gang crime was the Noel Park area, with GBH, ABH and robbery accounting for the vast majority of the 181 incidents.

It was also revealed that Haringey has a total of 11 gangs and one organised criminal network.

The group has received almost £250,000 in funding from the Mayor of London’s office, which defines Haringey as one of 16 “gang boroughs” in London.

In addition to carrying out a number of projects in local schools, the group work directly with young people involved in gangs who have been referred to them for intervention plans.

When asked what is being done to prevent youths entering gangs in the first place, Det Supt Stephen Clayman, chairman of the Gang Action Group, told the meeting: “I’m not saying it’s easy work because it’s not. There are a number of parents who don’t actually realise that there child is in a gang lifesyle.

“The earliest intervention has to be at primary school. There are some very good south London projects we are looking at.”