More money needed to tackle gangs

Following Kadeem's death Derbyshire Police prioritised tackling gang culture

A lack of funding is "hampering" efforts to tackle gang culture in Derby, a review has found.

The city council investigation was ordered after Kadeem Blackwood was murdered in a gang-related killing in the city.

The report said good work done since his death last year was at risk because funding will run out in 2011.

The review concluded there is a "significant gang culture" affecting many areas of Derby.

Councillors said progress has been made but more work was needed.

Gang-related gun and knife crimes in the city rose from one in 2004 to 13 in 2008.

Progress 'lost'

The murder of Kadeem, which was ordered by the leader of a rival gang, Michael-Paul Hamblett-Sewell, in November 2008, highlighted the extent of gang influence in the city.

Hamblett-Sewell was convicted of murder last week while gunman Callum Campbell had already admitted murdering the teenager.

Since then the police have held a successful weapons amnesty, a team was founded by local authorities to prevent the spread of gangs, and projects to identify young people at risk of being drawn into gangs have been set up.

But funding streams will dry up in 2011 and community safety is not classed as a budget priority in current projections by the council, the council's children's and young persons overview and scrutiny commission found.

The report states: "The Community Safety Partnership (CSP) and police are hampered by a lack of resources and capacity.

"Gains which have been made are likely to be lost if there is no funding provided to continue and expand youth work.

"Without appropriate funding the police and CSP will have to cut back on their work."

Gang hotline

It also found the anti-gang team was struggling to cope with the amount of work needed and recommended more initiatives should be set up to tackle the problem.

They include a dedicated gang advice hotline, events to make young people's voices heard, jobs fairs and more facilities to divert teenagers away from gangs.

Councillor Sara Bolton, commission chairman, said: "We need to get it into the process before we go into the budget talks before Christmas.

"There may well be a cost with the process.

"But we need to engage with young people, raise their self-esteem and make them feel involved in the community.

"We need to get into the schools and reach them at primary level to make them aware of the issues."