91Èȱ¬

A police chief superintendent, responsible for tackling Birmingham's street gang culture, has made "strangely naive" claims that the city's problem could be eradicated within two to three years, reports 91Èȱ¬ One's Inside Out (Monday 16 November, 91Èȱ¬ One, 7.30pm).

Chief Superintendent Tom Coughlan, who is also a member of the Birmingham Reducing Gang Violence (BRGV) organisation, made the claim while speaking to 91Èȱ¬ Inside Out about the strategy in place to work together with the local community to confront gang culture.

The strategy, in partnership with Birmingham City Council, aims to offer youngsters alternatives to gang lifestyle, but to also crack down on persistent offenders.

Mr Coughlan said: "The massive momentum that we've got in the city, I can see that situation [reduction in gang culture] being achieved in the next two to three years."

He adds: "We think we've got it [the strategy] right because we've had such a massive reduction in murders and serious incidents. And for the first time in the city for many years I think we've got control over a situation that really enables us to then penetrate further into some of the reasons individuals are drawn into gangs."

But talking to the 91Èȱ¬ last week (11 November) Dr Derrick Campbell, Government advisor on gang crime and Chief Executive of Race Equality Sandwell, called the claim "strangely naive": "Yes it's a positive aspiration, but unfortunately not grounded in reality.  We as the community, along with other partners, have been working on this agenda for many years and to date we have not come close to eliminating negative gang culture."

He continues: "This is because there are a lot of factors that are outside the control of the police and local authority which drive this agenda, such as: poverty, worklessness, alienation, poor housing and distrust between the statutory agencies and certain sections of the community, etc. Unless you start dealing with those issues, then there's no way you can eradicate negative gang culture as we know it within two to three years."

Gang culture in Birmingham for a time looked to be in decline. After the notorious New Year's Day killings of Charlene Ellis and Letitia Shakespeare in 2003, many key gang members were jailed, with the number of gang murders falling sharply.

However, Inside Out reveals that the power vacuum left behind has caused new problems. Today there are smaller gangs, spread out right across the city. Younger gangs have also sprouted up in recent years, whose loyalty to a postcode is enough to turn them to violence.

Dr Campbell says: "A lot of these bigger gangs over time have now fragmented... with some of the heads of the gangs now serving prison sentences, we've seen a splintering effect. So if you look at the map or the landscape, there seems to be a lot more gangs, but they’re all smaller."

The BRGV's strategy for reducing gang culture in Birmingham hopes to steer youngsters away from the streets into community projects and outlets that help them to channel their energies into something more worthwhile. However, critics claim that a lack of funding for these projects is hampering their effectiveness.

Dr Campbell adds: "I think the level of funding is very poor. Very, very weak. It is really distressing to see organisations flourishing, working, and then all of a sudden you have an almost miniscule amount of funding actually passed onto them."

Chief Superintendent Coughlan, claims money is available to these groups: "I'm happy to invest in any community group that understands the way Birmingham Reducing Gang Violence is working and is prepared to step forward and work with the agencies in a very open and transparent way."

91Èȱ¬ Inside Out is on Monday 16 November 2009, 91Èȱ¬ One (West Midlands), 7.30pm and can also be viewed nationally via the 91Èȱ¬ iPlayer.

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