'Gang spotter guide' for parents

by Paul Conneally | September 1, 2008 at 10:43 pm

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As teenage stabbing and gun crime rises the UK government is to launch a booklet that aims to help parents detect if their child is in a gang.
Some workers in this area of work feel that by the time the signs are there its already too late but anything that might help is to be welcomed.

Gang crime and culture is featured almost daily in the UK press but representing what is always by its very nature a very fluid gang culture structure in a government booklet is difficult. Shaun Bailey a youth worker whith eexperience in working with gang members says rather than waiting for the signs to show prevention is better:

"The best way to keep your kid out of a gang is to keep your child a child"

Parents are being given guidance on how to recognise signs their child may be in a gang.

The advice booklet coincides with the launch of a charity in Birmingham set up by the mothers of two teenagers who were killed in a drive-by shooting.

The home secretary said parents needed to know the signs of gang involvement and where to turn if they were worried.

But youth worker Shaun Bailey said by the time there were visible signs of membership it was "way, way too late".