David Lammy: Get-tough gimmickry will never solve London’s gang problems

This year began with an awful statistic: nine young Londoners were murdered in the first nine days of 2015. The job of tackling youth violence is far from complete. But the Mayor’s latest “Shield” initiative, under which all members of a gang could be held responsible for the actions of one member, regardless of whether they were involved in an actual crime, shows a complete misunderstanding of the complex issues surrounding gang violence.

Rounding up and locking up young people who have done little more than hang around with the wrong crowd is a recipe for disaster. I have seen countless young men go to prison and come out far more dangerous than when they went in: misguided and vulnerable teenagers meet hardened criminals who lead them into a life of spiralling criminality.

A Mayor who cared more about getting results than getting headlines would instead look at how to address the serious underlying problems that tempt young men — and it is mostly men — to join gangs. Of course, sentencing has a role to play. Those convicted of carrying or using guns or knives should face tough penalties. But to punish young Londoners for crimes committed by others is heavy-handed, crass and counter-productive. And tougher enforcement, while one part of the mix, can never be the answer by itself.

The real solutions lie in communities, not in the criminal justice system. We have to look at what is driving some young people into the clutches of criminality. The answers are numerous: a lack of opportunity, no stake in society, low aspirations, absent parents, poor role models.

Tackling gang crime requires a committed Mayor who genuinely understands these issues. It means recognising that we must provide young people with a positive alternative, engaging them in society and giving them a much greater stake in their city. The irony of Boris Johnson making new pledges on knife crime just two months after leaked documents revealed his plans to cut youth services by 90 per cent cannot be exaggerated. And let’s not forget his utter failure to deliver on his big promises about mentors for gang members.

All this comes at a time when services used by young people are already in crisis. Careers advice services have been closed, FE colleges cut and all over London public sports facilities are disappearing: some Olympic legacy. Deprived of recreation, respect, opportunity and, all too often, of hope, the attraction of gaining status via the warped world of gangs becomes more appealing to some young people.

Other cities understand this. Johnson highlighted Los Angeles as an example of how tougher sentencing can have an impact. What he failed to mention was that in that city, enforcement goes hand-in-hand with a targeted programme of prevention and community policing that is lacking in London.

In LA, parks and youth centres stay open until 11pm to provide potential gang members with somewhere to go and something to do. The results are clear: a murder rate cut by nearly two- thirds and a year-on-year fall in violent crime rates for 12 years. In Boston, too, the renowned Boston Gun Project introduced a system of problem-solving, community-based deterrence, and resulted in a 63 per cent drop in the rate of youth murders.

Johnson should take note: solving gang crime in London requires more than another headline-grabbing gimmick.