West Midlands Police blamed for 'misleading' list in violent gangs report

Mar 26 2009 by Paul Dale, Birmingham Post

Most of the information, explaining how to recognise the signs of gang membership among young people, was a year old and had first been aired at a briefing session for head teachers, he said. But before the document was tabled at a council scrutiny inquiry into gangs the list of schools was added “from police intelligence”. Mr Howell said: “The decision to put the list in the report was clearly inappropriate. It should not have happened.”

Birmingham had taken great strides on gang infiltration in schools and was recognised as one of the most forward-thinking councils in the country. He added: “It is not surprising people are upset. The reality is these are schools where there is no evidence at all that children are engaged in gang activities. I was disappointed it was presented in this way... It could be implied that schools are turning a blind eye and ignoring this, but that is absolutely not the case.

“The vast majority of people in Birmingham are not in danger from gangs because gangs tend to focus on each other, not on the general public.”

A West Midlands Police spokesman said:  “We do not wish to lose sight of the important issues highlighted in the report, which was designed to prevent our young people from becoming exposed to gang culture.”