Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
13 arrested in Operation Connect dawn raids
A total of 13 individuals have been arrested in dawn raids in north London today (Thursday, 13 October) conducted by around 200 MPS officers under Operation Connect - the Metropolitan Police Service's (MPS) dedicated unit set up to crack down on violence driven by street gangs.
The officers from Haringey borough, Met specialist units and Safer Transport teams joined the Operation Connect team for the raids which saw Territorial Support Group officers force entry to 17 addresses in two waves of early morning raids. All the individuals targeted in today's operation were sent warning letters earlier this week offering them the chance to get help to divert from the gang lifestyle - or face today's tough enforcement consequences.
12 male and one female suspected gang members ranging in age from 17 to 26 were arrested for offences ranging from armed robbery, assault, affray, possession with intent to supply and violent disorder to non-residential burglary. They are currently being interviewed at a number of London police stations. Four of the 13 arrests related to offences committed in Tottenham in the recent London disorder.
Detective Chief Inspector Tim Champion, from Operation Connect, said: "This first major Connect operation in Haringey continues our focused approach of building on established good practice in the borough, working closely together with local officers and partner agencies to ensure we are identifying, tracking and targeting the most dangerous offenders linked to gang violence.
"The raids today send a clear message that we will relentlessly pursue the small minority of young people who are affiliated to gangs if they choose not to access the support being made available to aid them to leave that culture behind them for good."
MPS Haringey Borough Commander Det Chief Supt Sandra Looby, added: "We work in partnership with Haringey Council to make those involved in gang related activity aware that they can make a positive difference to their own lives and to the community by changing the path they are on.
"If people decide not to grasp the opportunities being provided we will continue to take robust enforcement action against them in order to ensure the safety of the wider community."
Operation Connect is in the process of analysing information from across the MPS intelligence systems, along with information from partners and communities, in order to produce a centralised MPS database, or matrix, of the most harmful gang members in London.
In Waltham Forest, where the Operation Connect approach was piloted with a view to establishing a blueprint for the capital, analysis identified around 100 individuals deemed to be at risk of causing 'high harm' who were placed on the matrix. Since establishing a team in Haringey last month, officers have added 80 Haringey-based individuals involved in gang fuelled violence to the matrix.
Since its launch six months ago, officers working under Operation Connect have made a total of 100 arrests, a significant number of which have led to charges - ranging from robbery and possession of offensive weapons to conspiracy to supply drugs and assault. They have also seized more than £50,000 in cash. Officers are encouraged to use a wide variety of enforcement tactics, from gang injunctions to seizing the vehicles of those gang members driving without legitimate insurance in order to disrupt their movements.
A key part of the Connect initiative focuses on intervention, with local policing teams working with their partner council, health, housing, and education and voluntary services to identify opportunities to intervene with those youngsters who want to exit gangs and divert those at risk of getting drawn into them, e.g. younger siblings of gang members.
To date, around 50 young people have so far taken up the offer of support to help them escape the gang lifestyle, including 22 individuals in Waltham Forest who are taking part, with their families, in an innovative, multi-agency scheme to help assess the impact of their gang-related activities on themselves, their parents and siblings.
They receive intensive support, including help to access employment, education and sporting opportunities and can even be relocated in a different area of London with their family if this is felt the most appropriate option.
In addition, under Operation Connect, crime areas linked to gang-related drug dealing are in the process of being assessed by a MPS Crime Prevention Design Adviser, who is currently preparing a report on measures that could be taken to alter the environment to help reduce the risk of offences occurring in the first place.
The officers from Haringey borough, Met specialist units and Safer Transport teams joined the Operation Connect team for the raids which saw Territorial Support Group officers force entry to 17 addresses in two waves of early morning raids. All the individuals targeted in today's operation were sent warning letters earlier this week offering them the chance to get help to divert from the gang lifestyle - or face today's tough enforcement consequences.
12 male and one female suspected gang members ranging in age from 17 to 26 were arrested for offences ranging from armed robbery, assault, affray, possession with intent to supply and violent disorder to non-residential burglary. They are currently being interviewed at a number of London police stations. Four of the 13 arrests related to offences committed in Tottenham in the recent London disorder.
Detective Chief Inspector Tim Champion, from Operation Connect, said: "This first major Connect operation in Haringey continues our focused approach of building on established good practice in the borough, working closely together with local officers and partner agencies to ensure we are identifying, tracking and targeting the most dangerous offenders linked to gang violence.
"The raids today send a clear message that we will relentlessly pursue the small minority of young people who are affiliated to gangs if they choose not to access the support being made available to aid them to leave that culture behind them for good."
MPS Haringey Borough Commander Det Chief Supt Sandra Looby, added: "We work in partnership with Haringey Council to make those involved in gang related activity aware that they can make a positive difference to their own lives and to the community by changing the path they are on.
"If people decide not to grasp the opportunities being provided we will continue to take robust enforcement action against them in order to ensure the safety of the wider community."
Operation Connect is in the process of analysing information from across the MPS intelligence systems, along with information from partners and communities, in order to produce a centralised MPS database, or matrix, of the most harmful gang members in London.
In Waltham Forest, where the Operation Connect approach was piloted with a view to establishing a blueprint for the capital, analysis identified around 100 individuals deemed to be at risk of causing 'high harm' who were placed on the matrix. Since establishing a team in Haringey last month, officers have added 80 Haringey-based individuals involved in gang fuelled violence to the matrix.
Since its launch six months ago, officers working under Operation Connect have made a total of 100 arrests, a significant number of which have led to charges - ranging from robbery and possession of offensive weapons to conspiracy to supply drugs and assault. They have also seized more than £50,000 in cash. Officers are encouraged to use a wide variety of enforcement tactics, from gang injunctions to seizing the vehicles of those gang members driving without legitimate insurance in order to disrupt their movements.
A key part of the Connect initiative focuses on intervention, with local policing teams working with their partner council, health, housing, and education and voluntary services to identify opportunities to intervene with those youngsters who want to exit gangs and divert those at risk of getting drawn into them, e.g. younger siblings of gang members.
To date, around 50 young people have so far taken up the offer of support to help them escape the gang lifestyle, including 22 individuals in Waltham Forest who are taking part, with their families, in an innovative, multi-agency scheme to help assess the impact of their gang-related activities on themselves, their parents and siblings.
They receive intensive support, including help to access employment, education and sporting opportunities and can even be relocated in a different area of London with their family if this is felt the most appropriate option.
In addition, under Operation Connect, crime areas linked to gang-related drug dealing are in the process of being assessed by a MPS Crime Prevention Design Adviser, who is currently preparing a report on measures that could be taken to alter the environment to help reduce the risk of offences occurring in the first place.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Protheroe O'Shea on
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Yes well done folks and well done the kids that want out!
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Permalink Reply by pamish on
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One person's gang is another person's group of friends. It must be all but impossible for a young man living in a densely populated area not to get included in such a group - for protection from the other young men in the group next door. We are living in barbaric times. I'd hate to be 16 and living on an inner-city estate, and am just grateful that my children survived intact. I would get tiny snippets of what life can be like in my teaching job - eg 'no I couldnt go home last night, it was too dodgy, I slept at my dad's and that's why I'm late.'
Good on the interventions. 'Omerta' works too effectively though. Some will indeed need to move away, but where do they go?
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