Page 40 - JUSTICE Tackling Racial Injustice - Children and the Youth Justice System

others as a group." 117 The GVM defines a gang as a ‘relatively durable,
predominantly street-based group of children and young adults who: 118

a) see themselves (and are seen by others) as a discernible group; and
b) engage in a range of criminal activity and violence.
c) They may also have a range of the following features:
i) Identify with or lay claim over territory
ii) Have some form of identifying structuring feature; and
iii) Are in conflict with other, similar ‘gangs’.

Both of these definitions have been criticised as allowing a ‘dragnet’ that can
sweep up Black boys and young adults. This is because they are wide enough
to be applied to any number of different groups, including friendship groups.
It has therefore been suggested that these definitions – particularly vague
references to colours, emblems and identifying features – really targets certain
groups of people, rather than a defined criminal activity. This can be seen in
the PACE Codes of Practice governing stop and search, which allow
reasonable suspicion to be satisfied for a stop if an individual is implicitly
identified through clothing or other means as a member of a gang that
habitually carries weapons. No suspicious behaviour is required. 119

2.36 The increased focus on gangs as dangerous groups who are at the root of
serious violence and disorder has led to two concerning outcomes. The first is
that children, their friendship groups and their culture have become
inextricably linked to perceptions of what a gang is. This means that fights
between individuals from different friendship groups may be labelled as ‘gang
violence’, or the loose associations of children be labelled as a ‘gang’.
Secondly, aspects of Black culture have started to become viewed through the
prism of gang activity. For instance, the creation and performance of Drill
music (Drill) is often used as evidence of gang association in joint enterprise
prosecutions (see below). Without a clear understanding of typical childhood
expressions of youth culture – whether it is creating music, hanging out in
groups in public places or even getting into disagreements with peers – current
actions against gangs will consistently label innocent children as inherently

117 Section 34(5), the Policing and Crime Act 2009.
118 ‘Gangs Violence Matrix’, Metropolitan Police.
119 PACE Code of Practice – Code A para 2.6

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