‘OUR CHILDREN SHOULDN’T BE IN CROSSFIRE’

Published: 27 August, 2010
by JAMIE WELHAM

A TURF war being waged between two postcode gangs could spill into a fresh wave of violence over the bank holiday weekend, police have been warned.

Community leaders including Labour MP Karen Buck believe rising tensions between gang members on the Mozart estate in Queen’s Park and a rival group from South Kilburn could could end in fights.

It comes after the MP was almost caught in the crossfire of a shooting on Tuesday evening as she walked through the estate in Bruckner Street – the latest episode in a summer of lawlessness that began when 22-year-old electrician Daniel Smith was murdered outside a Harrow Road takeaway in May.

It is understood Ms Buck has written to senior police officers urging them to reconsider plans to dismantle their high-profile presence in the area after the Notting Hill Carnival and has called for headteachers to be briefed about the danger of youngsters being recruited into gangs at the start of the new school year.

Last month, a police officer in charge of tackling north Westminster’s spiralling gang problem said she would support giving social services a greater role in preventing the grooming of children for gangs after it emerged 17 youngsters were being monitored by social services specifically because of the gang risk.

Police have been carrying out a four-week crackdown on gangs targeting the carnival and controversial Section 60 powers that allow police to stop and search without grounds of suspicion remain in place on the estate.

Operation Razorback has resulted in 101 arrests and the seizure of a number of knives, weapons and drugs.

Ms Buck, MP for Westminster North, said: “We are hearing that scores are going to be settled at Notting Hill.

What I am worried about is that it will go on and on.

The police do a great job, but we really should be trying to keep resources in place.

“What happened on Tuesday was frightening, but what was most shocking was seeing really young children standing outside on the street watching. We should be protecting children from this.”

The gravity of the situation could be magnified by a series of cuts to the council’s children’s services department which has resulted in the scrapping of outreach youth workers, as well as funding cuts to a number of projects involving working with young people in the area.

There are also fears critical information is not reaching senior staff at the council, resulting    in a confused and ineffective strategy on gangs.

Youth workers from the charity Brathay have recently returned from the Lake District on a Home Office-funded residential course, with 15 members of the SMG Blood Gang, one of the gangs based on the Mozart estate – a project it is understood Ms Buck wants the council to make permanent.

Jasna Badzak, who sits on North West­minster’s Community and Police Consultative Committee, said: “I heard about the shooting. The bottom line is this has to stop now. We need to stop talking about it and take action otherwise there will be more casualties.

“The only answer is to engage with the gangs. We need a mediator and we need the community to stop standing at the sidelines.

The council should be investing in youth services not taking them away. It just makes the police’s job impossible otherwise.”

A police spokes­woman said: “No decision has been taken to reduce the number of officers policing in the North Westminster area. 

We are constantly reviewing intelligence and listening to the concerns of the local community in order to ensure our officers are policing in the areas in which they are needed.”

Councillor Daniel Astaire, Westminster Council’s cabinet member for society and families, said: “We are working closely with both the police and local community to tackle the very genuine concerns over gang violence, and are already progressing plans to involve schools even more in identifying children at potential risk.

“Gang-related violence is a pan-London problem, and in Westminster we are still at a preventative stage as our issues, although serious, have not escalated to the levels seen elsewhere. 

We believe in early and targeted intervention to stop youth violence gaining any hold on our estates or across the city.

“The police have made some excellent inroads targeting the most serious offenders and providing a significant presence in the areas most affected.

Given the current risks it is vital this continues, and while we are in a challenging financial climate we do hope the Home Office will continue to fund further work such as the Brathay Project, early indications of which appear to show it can have a positive impact on giving gang members the opportunity to turn their back on crime.

“The police did not find any hard evidence to support of a recent claim regarding the discharging of a firearm on the Mozart estate, but we fully understand that people are concerned.

We have therefore arranged with City West Homes for one of their mobile cameras to be dispatched to the site.”