Study slams use of the word 'gangs'

The use of the word gangs to describe youths who hang around committing crime could make their activities worse, a study has claimed.

The Youth Justice Board conducted a major study on gangs and concluded that the term is "inappropriate". It also suggested replacing the phrase "gang-related" with "group-related".

The organisation, which believes some youngsters could view the gang image as "seductive", said: "Juvenile gangs do exist in some urban areas, but most young people involved in group offending do not belong to gangs - even if others label them in this way.

"Many young people interviewed for this study resented the way in which the term had come to be used to describe any group of young people involved in anti-social behaviour.

"They felt adults attached the label to them simply on the basis that they were young and met in a group, assuming that crime was their main purpose for meeting.

"In fact, the label conjured up an image with which they might not want to be associated, even where they were involved in offending - not least because in some cases they knew from their own local experience what real gangs were and several of the young women in particular had suffered at their hands."

Chris Stanley of crime reduction charity Nacro said: "The YJB is right to highlight the fact that although a lot of young people who offend do so in groups, that does not mean that they are part of a gang.

"The confusion over this distinction simply leads to the glamorisation of gang membership and increased fear amongst young people.

"Although there is clear evidence that gangs exist, they are still relatively rare and tend to be run by older people involved in the drugs trade.

"Young people need increased opportunities to get engaged with mainstream activities, alternative activities to keep them from offending, and intensive work for those who are offending."

What a load of politically correct bullshit!