Gangs and exploitation during coronavirus: hidden in plain sight

Work with Offenders examines a new report from the National Youth Agency

While headline statistics show a fall in gang-activity and exploitation, a new report from the National Youth Agency (NYA) shows that gangs have adapted to COVID-19, changing locations and grooming new recruits – hidden in plain sight of those in authority.

Context

The NYA presents worrying data that 60,000 young people (aged 10-17) identify as a gang member or know a gang member who is a relative. This rises to over 300,000  young people who know someone in a gang, and up to 500,000 when including groups of young people in groups exposed to ‘risky behaviour’ associated with gangs.

For those most at risk of gang-associated activities and exploitation, over one million young people are from a ‘vulnerable family background’ of which nearly 450,000 are unknown to formal or statutory services but are likely to be known by youth workers.

The pandemic has amplified vulnerabilities and exposed more young people to gang-associated activities and exploitation. Over one million young people face risks from any of the so-called ‘toxic trio’ of living in households with addiction, poor mental health and domestic abuse. Moreover there are 83,000 young people living in temporary accommodation, while a further 380,000 are homeless or at risk of homelessness.

With schools, colleges and youth centres closed, many young people are now in potentially unsafe environments. This adds to the 700,000 young people (aged 8–19) who are persistently absent from school or not in education, employment or training and who will need sustained support post-lockdown.

Lockdown

Headline statistics do indeed indicate a drop in gang activity and exploitation; they show a reduction in drug-related arrests as a proxy for gang activity, and a drop in children ‘missing from home’ and, therefore, a reduction in county lines as a form of child criminal exploitation. However, the NYA has found a picture of gang activity which has adapted to coronavirus and the lockdown.

Youth workers in some areas report that gangs are also using lockdown as cover for a ‘recruitment drive’ from among young people with vulnerabilities heightened through lockdown, including through the use of social media and cyber grooming. With venues closed and not much else to do, the ‘glamour’ of gang culture appeals directly to some young people – the money, the music and the sense of belonging, safety and security that their family homes don’t fulfil.

Gangs have become active in grooming vulnerable young people outdoors in unsafe environments who have nowhere else to go. Many young people are still going out during lockdown when they are at risk from domestic abuse or strained family relationships at home or are simply bored, as they do not see going out as such a risk to their health.

For other young people, lockdown has given them a reason to step back from gang activity, but in some cases, diversionary projects have stopped or the lack of a youth worker to talk to has restricted opportunities to exit gangs safely. However, in some areas, local gang activity and violence has continued or is being stoked up through social media, with fears of a surge in gang violence post-lockdown.

Conclusions

The NYA has long argued that gangs and county lines drug dealing have thrived in the vacuum created by the big cuts in youth work and youth centres through the years of austerity. Indeed, the importance of youth services has been stressed by national police chiefs, the Children’s Commissioner for England and recent national inquiries. NYA concludes the report with a call for three key action points:

• Youth services to be classified as an essential service and youth workers given key worker status
• Clear Home Office guidance to embed youth services in Violence Reduction Units and other agencies now to meet immediate needs, and sustained over time
• A Youth Service Guarantee, recommended by the Home Affairs select committee, to secure long term funding and greatly increase the number of youth workers.

NYA Chief Executive Leigh Middleton stressed the importance of taking immediate action:

“More young people are in potentially unsafe environment with little or no contact and limited access to support services during lockdown. Young people still go missing and stay away from home, but often for shorter periods and are not reported missing. Some young people are not necessarily known by the police or other services, but most are likely to be known by youth workers.

Just at the time when they are needed the most, many youth work projects stopped or become severely restricted due to COVID-19. Now is the time for more youth work, not less.”

We must wait and see whether the government decides to re-invest in public services once the lockdown is lifted or whether it will make big cuts in public expenditure in order to tackle the massive borrowing debts incurred in fighting the pandemic.