Taskforce sets sights on helping prevent gang links
THE justice secretary has instructed an anti-organised crime taskforce to increase early intervention to prevent people joining gangs.
Chairing his first meeting of the Serious Organised Crime taskforce, Humza Yousaf said working with communities is key to diverting people from criminal gang membership.
He asked members of the group, which includes Police Scotland, councils, criminal justice agencies and charities such as Action for Children Scotland, to prioritise community engagement and renew their focus on prevention.
Mr Yousaf said: “This taskforce has a vital role to play in keeping our communities safe and we have seen high-profile convictions of individuals involved in organised crime and the increasing use of Serious Crime Prevention Orders to reduce the risk to the public.
“Early intervention to tackle root causes of organised crime is vital and I want to broaden our work with local authority services to help us develop resilient communities across Scotland.
“I look forward to building on the success of the taskforce so far and taking forward new action to harness the potential of our greatest asset in responding to and preventing serious organised crime – the community itself.”
His intervention follows a Scottish Government– commissioned report on community experiences of organised crime which recommended strengthening links between local services, particularly housing and social work, to help prevent the exploitation of vulnerable residents.
Further recommendations included developing community resources and local policing to support community intelligence gathering and developing legislation offering greater powers to respond to exploitation and a new criminal offence of “coercive control”.
The report, published in June, highlighted a survey which found one in 10 people have personally been affected by serious organised crime in the past three years and said there is a “growing awareness” everyone has a role in tackling the issue.