Gang and Knife Crime

Wednesday 7th July 2010, Grange Holborn Hotel - London, 09:00 - 15:45

Working in Partnership to Tackle Gang and Knife Crime

Overview

Gang and knife crime is a serious issue that threatens many communities. This has been highlighted by a number of recent, fatal stabbings in London and Liverpool. While gang related violence remains a rare and mainly localised problem in the United Kingdom, more must be done to rid the streets of weapons and the people that use them.

In the Policing and Crime Act 2009, new legislation was introduced, with gang injunctions for under 18s. The Act also outlined a number of key objectives:

Reducing the level of glamour associated with gang membership and the use of weapons;
Supporting families in making gang membership less attractive;
Transforming deprived neighbourhoods;
Increasing confidence in communities affected by gang related crime;
Increasing the sustainability of funding initiatives and projects that tackle gangs;

In The Coalition: Our Programme for Government, the new government showed their commitment to tackling gang and knife crime. They intend to make hospitals share non-confidential information with the police so they know where gun and knife crime is happening. This will help target stop-and-search in gun and knife crime hotspots. They also sight early intervention as the key to reducing violent behaviour. They will achieve this through more cross organisational working, through collaboration between schools and the criminal justice system.

They will also give the police, local authorities and communities more power to tackle gangs and knife crime, imposing stricter punishments for possessing a knife and the use of mobile knife scanners on public transport.

Agenda

With this in mind, this forum will debate the current thinking behind tackling gangs and knife crime. It will discuss future plans to meet the new government’s long term plan of creating safer streets and stronger communities.

09:00	Coffee and Registration
09:50	Chair’s Welcome Address Yasmin Batliwala JP (CONFIRMED)
10:00	Tackling Gangs and Knives, Making Streets and Communities Safer New legislation to tackle gangs and reduce knife crime: The Policing and Crime Act 2009 The role of social marketing in raising awareness Tackling Knives Action Programme: The Next Stage The Knife Prevention Programme A new specialist team led by ACPO to tackle gangs in local areas Prevention – Prevent homelessness among young people and their families affected by gang activity Mark Oaten, Former Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesman (CONFIRMED)
10:20	Taking a Gendered Approach to Serious Youth Violence How youth violence impacts on women and girls Enabling local areas to indentify and interven with gang-affected females Empowering girls on a local, national and international level to tkae the agenda forwards Carlene Firmin, FVV Coordinator ROTA (Race on the Agenda) & Executive Director, GAG Project (CONFIRMED)
10:40	Questions and Answers Session
10:55	Coffee and Networking
11:15	Case Study: Enthusiasm Working with Young People Associated with Gangs in Derby New funding from the Lloyds TSB Foundation to run projects to tackle gangs Reducing gang related crime including a reduction in the use of weapons Developing young people’s self awareness Providing appropriate mentoring to reduce participation in gang related offending Encouraging young people to reach their true potential Partnership working with the Community Safety Partnership and Multi Agency Gangs Team Joe Russo, Chief Executive, Enthusiasm (CONFIRMED)
11:45	Case Study: West Midlands Police Inspector Julie Marshall, TKAP,West Midlands Police and Sergeant Keeley Bevington, West Midlands Police(CONFIRMED)
12:05	Removing the Gang out of Culture A structured approach to tackling gangs Understanding the local problem and what is driving it The application of a standardised definition of a gang Ensuring police interact with young people from deprived areas in a meaningful way The need for long term investment Future policy directions Shaun Bailey, Founder, MyGeneration (CONFIRMED)
12:25	Questions and Answers Session
12:35	Lunch and Networking
13:35	Educating Young People of the Dangers of Knives The Be Safe Programme – Raising awareness and educating people against the dangers of carrying knives The project forms part of preventative, restorative and reparation measures in schools and youth groups Be Safe workshops – Allows young people to challenge ‘why they carry a knife’ ; the short and long term repercussions of carrying them; the medical implications when someone is stabbed Ann Oakes-Odger, Founder, KnifeCrimes.Org (CONFIRMED)
13:55	Knives Know no Boundaries - The Victims' Perspective A victim's proactive response to preventing knife crime in Scotland The Inverclyde Initiative: Working in partnership with the local authority, schools and community groups to raise awareness of the dangers of carrying and using knives The results - offences involving a bladed weapon are the lowest they have been in nine years Future work to drive the numbers down even further John Muir, Damian’s Law Campaign (CONFIRMED)
14:15	Coffee and Networking
14:35	Empowering Communities: Standing Up to Knife Crime Embedding local needs through strong partnerships between local, voluntary and community sectors Empowering local people and building social capital Cross borough communication to gather intelligence and ideas Winning the support community leaders from across ethnic groups The Count Me In Campaign – working in partnership with government and other victims charities Mike Jervis, Chief Executive, Damilola Taylor Trust (CONFIRMED)
14:55	Early Intervention – Reducing the Risk of Young People Turning to Serious Crime Youth Crime Action Plan Safer School Partnerships: Early crime prevention Developing positive relationships between young people and the police Inspiring young people to secure a good future for themselves Supporting schools in preventing young people getting involved in weapons and gangs The need for positive role models Graham Robb, Board Member, Youth Justice Board of England and Wales (CONFIRMED)
15:15	Questions and Answers Session
15:45	Close

*programme subject to change without notice

Audience

Delegates will include heads of community safety, anti-social behaviour officers, heads of enforcement, police officers, chief inspectors, superintendents, heads of neighbourhood services, YOT managers, safe guarding managers, gang coordinators, knife crime coordinators, social workers, youth workers. Delegates will come from a variety of organisations including police, local authorities, central government departments, CDRPS, CSPs local criminal justice boards, voluntary organisations, local education authorities, colleges, trade representatives, retail associations and the private sector.