Nya grepp mot gängbrottsligheten - ny Birminghamrapport.

Av Gang Task Force beslagtaget vapen

I en ny rapport berättas om Birminghams aktiva, kriminella gäng. De heter sådant som The Hutton Boys, Unstoppable Terrorist Soldiers, Slash, Bang-Bang, B515s, Raiders och Wolf Pack. I ett kapitel i min bok om Black Country skildrade jag gängens historia och hur deras framväxt hängde samman med industrialismens genombrott. Dagens gäng får man väl närmast betrakta som postmoderna, skapade av "behov" uppkomna i ett Black Country där arbetslöshet och etniska motsättningar är rekordhöga. Det är redaktören för undersökande journalistik vid Birmingham News, Jeanette Oldham, som skrivit den långa artikeln.

"Together with the more infamous and longer established Burger Bar Boys and Johnson Crew, they make up many of the gangs operating in Birmingham today. However, West Midlands Police is successfully disrupting and tackling the criminal groups with a gang of its own. The Gangs Task Force is 30 police officers strong and is led by Detective Chief Inspector Simon Wallis and Detective Inspector Andy Bannister. Through community liaison, intelligence-led operations and interventions, the team has reduced gang numbers in the city, as well as steering potential younger members away through education and mentoring."

Vad är det då dessa gäng sysslar med, och vad tror man sig kunna uppnå mot dem? Man har organiserat polisarbetet i två specifika grupper:

"The first is the Urban Street Gangs (USGs), whose often school-age members are more usually linked to anti-social behaviour and petty crime than serious offences. Yet it is these wayward and more visible youngsters who can graduate into Organised Crime Gangs (OCGs), like the Burgers and Johnsons who largely deal in drugs, guns and violence. Det Chief Insp Wallis said: “In the West Midlands at the moment there are about 20, what we call Urban Street Gangs. In Birmingham there are eight, which are currently mapped. “Within those eight gangs in Birmingham there are, from the last count, about 320 gang members. ‘‘But I should reassure you that if there are 320 gangsters or whatever you want to call them in Birmingham, at any one time a considerable number of those will be at Her Majesty’s Pleasure."

Det gängen främst sysslar med är alltså handel med droger, vapen och så är de beryktade för sin extrema våldsanvändning. De organiserade gängen gör det väl i det närmaste omöjligt att vara "frilansande" narkotikahandlare.

"Many gangs make their money through largely dealing in drugs, including cannabis. These include the Urban Terrorist Soldiers, to the east of the city, and the Hutton Boys. Not being in a gang can leave the ‘independent’ dealers vulnerable to intimidation. Det Insp Bannister said: “There are violent incidents. You will see incidents where a firearm’s been shown, where a firearm’s been discharged."

Därmed har det uppstått maffiakulturer i Birmingham. De kontrollerar var sina specifika områden och handelsvaror. Under ytan jäser hela tiden det våld som ibland får extrema utbrott, både i centrala staden och ute i de olika stadsdelarna.

"UTS and the Hutton Boys are fighting over the same territory to some degree. But the Hutton Boys are perhaps a little bit more business-like in the sense that they don’t bring the same amount of attention from the police.’’ But when violence does happen – as with all large UK cities – it can be horrific. Det Chief Insp Wallis said: ‘‘There have been some atrocious, awful crimes but fortunately less frequently now than in recent history. ‘‘In the last three years, I can certainly think of a number of really nasty incidents in the east. One sadly involved the near amputation of limbs by a sword and other weapons have been used in a small number of incidents."

Av vad som sägs här förstår man att det inte handlar om spontant och plötsligt uppflammande våld utan om planerat och välorganiserat våld riktat mot någon av specifika skäl. 

Senaste nytt i ämnet kom nu!