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This article reports on the primary research posted below

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This article reports on the primary research posted below

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There is increasing concern among police and youth justice workers over the growing sexual exploitation of women and girls by gangs and their use of young people to transport and sell drugs around the country, according to Home Office research.

The study of urban street gangs in England says gangs have become less visible in the last two years, spending less time on the streets to avoid policing measures and operating more covertly, often developing links with organised crime, particularly in drug dealing.

The research, based on interviews with gang members, police, probation and youth offending teams, suggests that while gang numbers have increased in London over the past two years, their numbers have declined outside the capital over the same period. The report also suggests the increasing involvement of young people under the age of 11, although this is still relatively rare.

Those involved in the youth justice system were concerned about the number of young people being recruited, particularly by gangs in London, to transport drugs around the country leading to them being away from home or from care for several days. They are often lured away from home with the promise of earning money, new trainers or tracksuits.

"Young people were said to be given targets for selling and punished if the targets were not met. Train tickets would be bought in advance by 'the elders', and the fact that young people had valid train tickets for these journeys, which they would not normally be able to afford, provided evidence that their trips were organised," say the report's authors, Emma Disley and Mark Liddle.

Those involved in tackling gang violence say sexual violence and the exploitation of women and girls inside gangs has got worse in the last two years. They say females are increasingly involved in gang criminal activities, including committing violence, moving money, drugs or guns, providing an alibi when needed and being used to set up "honey trap" attacks on rival gang members.

"I know guys that have actually died because girls have set them up. Girls are not always the victims in that sense. There was quite a big incident in a local pub ... the girl actually set them up. Once they got to the pub, the girls scouted out, let the people know that they was there, made that phone call," the study quotes one female gang associate saying.

The vast majority of those interviewed said sexual or physical violence against women and girls affiliated with gangs was widespread in gangs in their area. This includes examples of sexual violence, including rape, being used a a way of punishing other gangs and the use of sexual exploitation as a form of gang initiation.

This often raised serious concerns about male gang members' attitudes towards women and girls and their understanding of consent. As one interviewee put it:

"For instance, you could have a group of boys, and there might be maybe one or two girls within that group. That girl may sleep with maybe five within that group. Even though she may not see it - she may see it as it's her choice to sleep with these individuals - but the fact is, you could argue that maybe she's kind of cornered. Why would you sleep with maybe five boys within that same group? It's about how the females view it as well. If they're not aware, then they're not going to know it's happening."

The study also says that women and girls were reported to play senior roles in some gangs. The mother of a gang associate interviewed reported that women in gangs in the area "have power ... dress good, have big cars and men respect them" but the researchers say it is not possible to say whether this was widespread.

The publication of the study coincides with the extension of the Home Office's programme to tackle gang and youth violence to nine new areas of England as the police try to focus on gang members moving into drug markets outside their usual urban areas. Safeguarding vulnerable girls and women with gang links continues to be an important priority of the refreshed strategy.

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Fears grow over gangs' exploitation of women and young people

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There is increasing concern among police and youth justice workers over the growing sexual exploitation of women and girls by gangs and their use of young people to transport and sell drugs around the country, according to Home Office research.

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The key findings from this research suggest the nature of gangs appears to be changing, with 70% of practitioners perceiving some level of change in the years prior to the research being carried out. Areas of perceived changes were....

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The key findings from this research suggest the nature of gangs appears to be changing, with 70% of practitioners perceiving some level of change in the years prior to the research being carried out. Areas of perceived changes were....

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This should help- ;-)

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Research and analysis

This report examines the perceived changes in the nature of street gangs across the original 33 Ending Gang and Youth Violence areas.

Documents

Details

The key findings from this research suggest the nature of gangs appears to be changing, with 70% of practitioners perceiving some level of change in the years prior to the research being carried out. Areas of perceived changes were:

gangs were generally thought to be less visible (e.g. spending less time on the street and conducting criminal activities more covertly)

some gangs were becoming more like (or linked to) organised crime groups

practitioners were increasingly concerned about young people being used to transport and sell drugs, and the sexual exploitation of women and girls

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Local perspectives in Ending Gang and Youth Violence areas: perceptions of the nature of urban street gangs

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Research and analysis This report examines the perceived changes in the nature of street gangs across the original 33 Ending Gang and Youth Violence areas. The key findings from this research suggest the nature of gangs appears to be changing, with 70% of practitioners perceiving some level of change in the years prior to the research being carried out.

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I hope this helps? For statistical data/supporting evidence.

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I hope this helps? For statistical data/supporting evidence.

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Gangs in the UK - Office for National Statistics

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The Office for National Statistics publishes statistics taken from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) and crimes recorded by the police. ONS does not collect statistics relating to the number of active gangs.

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Thank you Tobi, I really enjoyed reading this, and look forward to helping you fine tune it- I hope the comments and ideas guide your second draft - happy to look at it at the tutorial.

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WHY DO THE TEEN YOUTH JOIN GANGS in the uk

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Have you interacted with/downloaded the full texts? e.g. made notes, summarising & paraphrasing? read these fully?

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Have you interacted with/downloaded the full texts? e.g. made notes, summarising & paraphrasing? read these fully?

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I think this shows that you can find relevant sources, so now you need to be  thorough in their evaluation - spotting which aren't relevant to the UK ;-)

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I think this shows that you can find relevant sources, so now you need to be  thorough in their evaluation - spotting which aren't relevant to the UK ;-)

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Why Young People Join Gangs and What You Can Do

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Download this page as a pdf click here As parents, teachers, school administrators and mentors, it's important we have as much insight as possible to understand why young people today might be interested in joining gangs so we can be better equipped to speak to our children.