The “all out war on gangs” declared by Prime Minister David Cameron in the wake of last year’s riots has backfired and sparked a rise in violence, a report claimed on Sunday.
The study by the Centre for Social Justice, obtained by The Observer ahead of its publication on Monday, said the arrests of gang leaders had made some youths more violent after their “elders” were removed from the streets, leaving no one to impose a code of behaviour.
The crackdown, introduced as a response to the wave of violence, arson and lootings that swept across English cities last summer leaving five people dead, has created further “chaos, violence and anarchy”, the right-leaning think-tank claimed.
People in riot-hit areas reported a “marked increase” in violence by some gangs following the arrests of established gang leaders, its authors said.
“Many in Whitehall regard the riots as a random one-off, and mistake the quashing of the disorder as control of the streets. They could not be more wrong,” the CSJ said.
“The alarming fact is that many streets across the country are besieged by anarchy and violence. There is no control in such neighbourhoods.”
A government spokesman said £10 million ($16 million, 12 million euros) was being spent on helping to stop young people from turning to gangs.
“There are no quick fixes but we are seeing results,” he added. “The Crime Survey for England and Wales shows that crime is down by 6 percent, and police figures show knife crime is down by 9 percent.”
More than 4,500 people have been arrested for their role in the London riots and more than 2,900 prosecuted, according to police figures.
Cameron's war on gangs 'has boosted violence'
