SPECIAL POLICE SQUAD HITTING BACK AT CITY GANGS
REVEALED: THE SCALE OF CITY’S CRIMINAL GANG PROBLEM, AND THE TEAM TACKLING IT
THE culture of gangs running the streets is something that is usually connected to major cities such as London and Birmingham.
But Coventry is no different and has its own fair share of gangs involved in serious crimes like drug dealing and child sexual exploitation.
Having weapons such as shotguns and deadly knives is nothing foreign to gang members across the city.
So what is being done to put a stop to their crimes and bring them to justice?
Coventry Police now has its own dedicated gangs team and the Telegraph has spoken exclusively to them about the battles they face.
They also told us about the types of gang members they come across, the vast wealth they have made through crime and the use of “extreme” violence in some cases.
Coventry Police’s gangs team is “constantly trying to stay one step ahead of the crime groups”. This is the description given by Inspector Steve Malone who oversees the city-wide operation. The team itself has one sergeant and five detectives constantly based in the city and also has access to a full team of two sergeants and 21 officers in
total. Their fight against gangs see them currently trying to get the best of ten recognised crime groups in the city. The police gangs team uses a ‘banding’ system to assess each gang’s level of criminality. One of the gangs is banded at the very top level – A1 – while a tenth is still awaiting its banding. Insp Malone said: “We will assess what threat an organised group possesses to the public, the community and to the state. “Then we draw up quickly a way to deal with the group as a whole or on an individual basis. That involves numerous partners and others to look at how best we can prevent what they are doing and how we can remove that wealth and power and get them in to prison.” In Coventry’s recognised gangs there are currently 74 known members who are also categorised into different levels. At the top of the pile of “principal” members who police say are “entrenched in gang activity” and are usually men in their 50s who have huge wealth from their criminal activities. After that there are those who are often involved in gangs due to debts or drugs and in some cases members “can’t read or write” so struggle to gain other opportunities in life away from crime. When people think of gangs, they often describe groups of hoodie-clad teenagers congregating on street corners or people threatening others with knives. However, the gangs at the forefront of the police’s attention are much more sophisticated than that and are involved in a large
Most are Coventry born and bred... gangs have geographical allegiances are based in the more deprived areas of the city. Inspector Steve Malone
number of criminal offences. These include drug dealing and trafficking, theft of high-value vehicles, child sexual exploitation and much more.
Insp Malone said: “There’s lot of drug trafficking and dealing. A member of the community might buy drugs, such as cocaine, which might to them appear quite harmless. But that drives the other activities [of the gangs] such as child sexual exploitation, modern slavery and revenue fraud, which can then lead to street violence and firearms issues.”
Insp Malone also said that the make-up of the city’s gang members “perfectly represent Coventry” with 75 per cent of gangsters being white British males, around 20 per cent Asian males and the rest being from a mix of ethinicities.
He says most are “Coventry born and bred” and the gangs have “geographical allegiances” and are usually based in the more deprived areas of the city.
With ten organised gangs currently operating in the city, there is bound to be some overlap from their crimes and territories. So do rivalries exist between the gangs?
Insp Malone said there are “disputes which occur” between the different groups, but “a lot of the time they work in harmony or with each other”.
Violence can often be a by-product of their criminal activities with weapons often seized by officers as they try to crack down on the gangs.
Knives, other blades and all manner of guns are often found, and Insp Malone says that violence is “not peripheral”.
He added: “It’s a tactic that groups will use, and we find that the higher banded the gang the less frequently violence is used but it’s more extreme, and the lower the group the more frequent the violence but less extreme.”
He also says that organised gangs try to stay away from public instances of violence as it’s “bad for business”.
While the officers will undertake a large amount of work researching the gangs, looking in to the background of members and planning how best to bring them to justice, they also execute warrants on a regular basis to disrupt the gangs’ activities. Recent actions for the team include: a number of people currently on bail for suspected drug cultivation in Tile Hill; a firearm was seized as part of that investigation recovery of a “significant number of stolen vehicles and parts” a shotgun being seized from a lock-up and an investigation in to a robbery involving an axe believed to be linked to a gang. Superintendent Phil Healy said: “I’m acutely aware of the impact that gangs can have on individuals, families and communities, and do not underestimate the effect this can have on them. “That’s why we have a gangs team and they are one part of our efforts, along with our work with other partners, as this isn’t just a police issue. “We know we have to deal with the day-to-day stuff and I’m aware of the angst and anxiety that causes.” He says a major part of trying to stop gangs from thriving is speaking to children who could potentially become future members – even those still in primary school. “This goes back to the youth element of it,” said Supt Healy. “They are in some difficult circumstances and come together as a group and that causes anti-social behaviour and crime. “There is that within the city and that’s why we work with schools and the youth offending service. “A lot of it comes down to the trust and confidence that the youth has in the police. There’s work there to bring back that trust and confidence from the youth. “We have school-based officers and we are looking to do more work in primary school. That’s where we need to get them first, as by 13 or 14 it can be too late.” Insp Malone said that the gangs team’s “ultimate aim is to control and minimise the risk to anyone. A low-level gang member is still a member of the public and we want to minimise the threat posed by gangs. “There’s a lot of prevention, but we are the police and while we’ll endeavour always to give every opportunity possible, if these people don’t desist in criminal activity then we will look to catch and convict.”
I am acutely aware of the impact that gangs can have on individuals, families and communities. Superintendant Phil Healy