Page 41 - JUSTICE Tackling Racial Injustice - Children and the Youth Justice System

dangerous gang members. 120 Moreover, we have heard of cases where children
identified as gang members were placed under surveillance, rather than
safeguarded, so as to allow further evidence to be gathered about a gang’s
activity. This betrays a lack of understanding of the vulnerability of children
and a lack of awareness that they are more likely to be exploited.

2.37 This myopic perception of dangerousness also leads to policy responses that
do not address a child’s welfare. For example, a common reason expressed by
children for carrying knives is due to a fear of being attacked, rather than to
carry out attacks. We therefore recommend that the police automatically
consider the possession of a knife by a child as a safeguarding concern
rather than as an indicator of potential violence. For instance, it is worth
noting the negative impact that knife possession can have on school
participation, with MoJ data indicating that 85% of those convicted of knife
possession have been temporarily excluded from school, with 21%
permanently excluded. 121 Effective and proportionate responses could be
designed that acknowledge that it is not normal for any child to carry a knife
and that, if they are, the starting point should be to consider whether it is
because they are either vulnerable and/or being exploited. A multi-agency
safeguarding response, including social care and education, as opposed to a
criminal response could help to protect children from becoming more
vulnerable to exploitation and offending. We consider that this would improve
outcomes and reduce violence.

120 This propensity can be seen through a comparison of two London boroughs, one majority BAME
and one majority White. In the census of 2011, in Hackney, 36% of respondents described themselves
as White British, while 74.4% in Bromley did so. In 2017, both boroughs experienced similar rates of
child violence. Despite this, Hackney recorded 285 gang-related crimes, as opposed to only 12 in
Bromley. This suggests that the gang label is more readily applied to BAME people than White people.
121 Ministry of Justice, ‘Examining the Educational Background of Young Knife Possession Offenders’
2018.

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