9-Feb-2012 - Police hold 120 in raids on gangs

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8 February 2012 Last updated at 11:01 GMT More than 120 held as Met Police cracks down on gangs More than 120 people have been arrested during raids across London by the Metropolitan Police's new dedicated unit tackling gang crime. The Trident Gang Crime Command, which consists of 1,000 officers, will monitor gang activity and work with London boroughs. The unit, thought to be the largest in the country, will have 19 dedicated gang crime task forces. More than 300 raids have been taking place across the capital since Authentic nfl jerseys dawn. The Met has executed 109 warrants and seized "significant amounts of crack cocaine, heroin and cash". The unit includes officers working for Operation Trident, which investigates gun crime in the black community. It will deal with shootings and work more closely with boroughs to proactively tackle gang crime. Metropolitan Police Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe said hundreds of officers would track down and arrest suspected gang members believed to be involved in crimes including assault, robbery and drugs supply during the raids. "The bottom line is, if they're offending, then we've got to arrest them," he added. BBC home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw said it was the most significant operational decision made by Mr Hogan-Howe since he became Met commissioner five months ago. Mr Bernard Hogan-Howe said: "This is a step-change in how we tackle gang crime in London. It will allow us to identify and relentlessly pursue the most harmful gangs and gang members. It will help us identify young people on the periphery of gangs and work with partners to divert them away. "Although we are now nearly doubling the number of officers dedicated to tackling gang crime, the police cannot do this alone. It is vital we work with the public, local authorities, charities and other agencies to prevent young people from joining gangs in the first place." He also told BBC Breakfast that the police have to deal with the consequences of gang crime. "So where they're hurting people, we've got to first of all stop them, or if they do we've got to make sure we arrest them. 'Good work' "It's not our aim to criminalise young people, our aim is to stop people getting hurt, and if you can get them out of gangs by working with partners then we will do that. "There is an awful lot of good work going on through mentoring, through giving professional skills and getting employment for young people where we can get them away from the gangs." According to the Met, there are an estimated 250 active criminal gangs in London, comprising of about 4,800 people. Of these gangs, 62 are considered as "high harm" and commit two thirds of all gang-related crime in the capital. These range from criminal networks involved in class A drugs supply and firearms to street gangs involved in violence and robbery. The Met said they were responsible for about 22% of serious violence, 17% of robbery, 50% of shootings and 14% of rape in London. Det Ch Supt Stuart Cundy, head of Trident Gang Crime Command, said: "Today sees the Met building on the proven successes of Trident and other units. "This new approach is a significant change for Trident as it now leads the Met's response to gang crime, but rest assured Trident will remain focused on preventing and investigating all shootings in London, regardless of the victim's or perpetrator's background." Mayor of London Boris Johnson said: "Now the Met has a concerted and determined push to take out the ring-leaders and tempt impressionable youngsters away from this destructive life. "They [gang members] face two options; either we will persecute cheap NFL jerseys them and get in their faces or they can take up a traineeship. This is the way to go." Liberal Democrat mayoral candidate Brian Paddick said: "There is a danger that this new Trident unit detracts from the serious problem of gun crime and gives gangs a status they don't deserve. "The growing problem of violent crime in London is much bigger than just gangs. "The mayor has already allowed police officer numbers to fall by 1,700, and this is another 1,000 officers taken off the streets." Abiola Adesina, 33, the brother of 16-year-old Agnes Sina-Inakoju who was shot dead in a takeaway in Hoxton in east London in April 2010, is backing the Met's new initiative. Agnes was a victim of gang fighting. Mr Adesina said: "If someone in a gang can talk to someone and if they can be convinced that what they're doing is wrong and if they can give up being in gang... at least we protect him from himself and protect other families from him because you never know what is going to happen. "Tell the police or your parents or tell people you know can protect you, and then you are at no risk of being killed or going to prison."

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