Home Sec: Target Toddlers To Tackle Gangs

Troubled toddlers should be targeted in a bid to prevent them joining gangs later in life, the Home Secretary has suggested as part of plans to tackle inner-city violence.

Theresa May told the Sun newspaper early intervention is key to keeping young people on the right track.

"If you look at case studies of youngsters who got involved in gang violence, very often there are lots of points in time at which, if someone had done something, that young person's life could have been changed," she said.

"That goes for primary schools, hospitals, children's services, and even housing departments. This isn't just a problem for the police."

Mrs May added: "It might mean working with toddlers. It's at that age you sometimes identify a troubled youngster."

Stop and search powers can also be an effective way of letting gang members know the "police are on your case," she said.

The Home Secretary told Sky News there would be a three parts to her approach - preventing people joining gangs, helping those who are involved to leave and finally punishing those who choose to stay.

"This is having a disproportionate affect on too many of our communities," she said.

"The first thing to say is dealing with this issue is not just about the police, the police have a role to play but it's about a cross-government approach," she continued.

Councils, health services, the education system and job centres have to work together too, Mrs May said.

Her intervention comes after a Home Office conference on gangs that sought to learn lessons from other countries in the wake of the summer riots.

Although the majority of those who took part in the outbreak of disorder were not linked to gangs, membership peaked at 19% in London.

In a further attempt to clampdown on the problem, the Government could introduce a new offence of possessing an illegal firearm with intent to supply, she confirmed to MPs (BSE: MPSLTD.BO - news) in a statement.

Police chiefs suspect there are a small number of firearms linked to a number of attacks which are traded by middle men.

The sentence for illegally importing a weapon could also be increased from 10 years to 14.

A team of 100 will be tasked with implementing the anti-gang blueprint at a cost of £11m.