Urgent probe launched after Birmingham gangs report outcry

Mar 25 2009 by Paul Dale, Birmingham Post

Mr Cade accepted that the report would probably be put back on the website shortly since the information was already in the public domain.

He said a “breathing space” was needed while discussions took place with senior education department officials about “a difficult judgment call” over the future of the report.

But experts from the council’s youth and offenders services could scarcely hide their anger at what had happened.

Chrissie Garrett, assistant director of Inclusion Support, said it was “most unfortunate” that the list of schools had been published on the website and in the Birmingham Mail and Birmingham Post.

She added: “This information was circulated as part of preventative work to a small group of head teachers.

“What we can’t have is head teachers lambasted and looking as if schools are at risk because of gang territory.”

However, support for the newspapers’ stance came from scrutiny committee chairman Coun Keith Barton (Con, Longbridge), who said the articles merely accurately reflected what was contained in the Street Influence document, that certain schools were “vulnerable to gangs”.

And Chris Dyer, the council’s neighbourhood management coordinator, said the message contained in the report would be “ignored at our peril”.

Mr Dyer said it was an accepted fact that certain schools were identified with individual gangs and that families connected with gangs used their membership as a “badge of honour” in the playground.