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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Police to hold talks with gangs | Police to hold talks with gangs |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| Police are to hold talks with the leaders of south London's most violent gangs in an attempt to cut gun crime. | Police are to hold talks with the leaders of south London's most violent gangs in an attempt to cut gun crime. |
| Leaders of seven gangs will be brought in one-by-one and told gun crime has to stop or police will come down hard on them, Scotland Yard said. | |
| A police spokesman said it was the first time the force has taken such an approach. | A police spokesman said it was the first time the force has taken such an approach. |
| The talks, modelled on a successful project in Boston, US, are scheduled to start in January. | The talks, modelled on a successful project in Boston, US, are scheduled to start in January. |
| Operation Alliance | Operation Alliance |
| The idea was devised following talks with council officials in five south London boroughs; Lambeth, Croydon, Southwark, Lewisham and Greenwich, which have been particularly affected by gun crime. | |
| Young people involved with guns have underlining emotional issues and they need to be targeted by more long-term prevention work Uanu SeshmiThe From Boyhood to Manhood Foundation | |
| The gangs have not been identified but a police spokesman said they were believed to be behind a majority of the shootings in the area, as well as other forms of violent crime. | The gangs have not been identified but a police spokesman said they were believed to be behind a majority of the shootings in the area, as well as other forms of violent crime. |
| Led by Commander Shaun Sawyer, Operation Alliance aims to dismantle and disrupt criminal gangs. | |
| "Communicating with those involved in violence is one part of a much broader programme of action that seemed to work in Boston at that time," the Metropolitan Police said in a statement. | |
| The success of Boston's Operation Ceasefire was down to the strong community support in working with the police to target the gangs. | The success of Boston's Operation Ceasefire was down to the strong community support in working with the police to target the gangs. |
| Long-term approach | |
| Uanu Seshmi, of the south London youth mentoring group The From Boyhood to Manhood Foundation, broadly supported the initiative. | |
| But he told the BBC News website said initiatives of the type proposed was best left to community organisations. | |
| Mr Seshmi, an emotional behavioural expert, said: "As a preventive method, it's okay but it's not the definitive answer to tackling gun crime. | |
| "Talking to gang leaders, telling them to 'put down their guns or else' may work in the short-term. | |
| "But young people involved with guns have underlying emotional issues and they need to be targeted by more long-term prevention work. | |
| "Community groups need to be given the support to carry out this work because they know the youths who are in the gangs better than anybody else." |