On the streets with the Manchester gang squad
The headquarters of the Greater Manchester police force's X-Calibre squad could pass for any Baltimore police district station. Their second-floor office in center of the city's highest crime area, the Moss Side, was wallpapered with dozens and dozens of mug shots of young men identified as gang members, with names like "Tree Frog," "Baby Soldier," "Screwface" and "Dirt Star." Red and blue bandanas hanging over each group's section on the wall signaled their affiliation. Two of the major gangs even have started affiliating themselves with the Bloods and Crips.
"Many of these gangs are family members - it's almost as if you're born into that family, you're under that umbrella [of a gang]," said Detective Sgt. Rob Cousen. "It's difficult for lads to get out of that."
But Baltimore this is not. While Manchester's underbelly has drawn terrifying headlines in recent years and was compared by a British politician to inner city Baltimore, I drove around with officers for seven hours and saw clean streets and alleys, well-kept (and inhabited) homes and saw very few people out, on a Friday night no less. It rained intermittently, which could have been a factor, but the young men whose shocking crimes were explained to me in detail were nowhere to be found. I didn't even see a uniformed police presence, except for a few officers on foot patrol in the downtown nightlife hub (Literally. We didn't come across a uniformed officer until the end of the night when the officers kindly dropped me off at my downtown hotel).
It could have just been one of those slow nights, as there continue to be shootings and other gang-related activity (Cousen is due in court Monday to testify in an attempted murder trial for two men linked to a shooting inside a crowded club). But the city also went the entire month of August without a shooting - a feat that officials believed was a first, at least in recent memory.
That may be due to the work of the X-Calibre team, which has been targeting their efforts on intelligence gathering and intervention into gang activity. Gang-related firearms "discharges" were down 81 percent in the past fiscal year, something officials hope can help the city shed its nickname of "Gunchester."
I have much more to share about Manchester, but I've got to zip over to a ridealong in Brixton, an area of South London which over the years has been referred to as London's gun and drugs capital. More later.
Comments
Hopefully, you can catch a Manchester United game while you are there.
Ask the Hughes chap if he's a Man U or Citeh supporter.
Posted by: mdyoung | November 7, 2009 10:40 PM
Interesting to read about this area in London. Yeah your description sounds nothing like Baltimore . lol
Posted by: Tammy | November 8, 2009 9:08 AM
This whole series would have had more relevance if it compared similar cities where one has battled and won victory in the fight against crime vs Baltimore that is losing or gaining no ground against crime. London has very little in common with Baltimore, really. Demographics are different, economic climate is different (former industrial city vs. capital city of a nation), gun laws are different. Both writers in the series comment about the others' city, saying essentially, "Our problems are nothing alike." I could have told you that before the Sun spent the money on the plane tickets. Next year, there should be a comparison between Juarez, Mexico and Baltimore. Shootings, drugs, and illegal activites in a depressed economic environment: sounds like a pretty good match to me.
Again, we knew going in that the cities had little in common, but the trip was sort of based on the fact that despite that they were getting compared by politicians in the UK. Instead of underscoring that Baltimore has more murders than London - duh - I'm trying with this trip to examine things that we do have in common, or problems that we share, and how they are being dealt with. This blog is sort of a journal, and I will be writing articles upon my return. -Justin
Posted by: Anonymous | November 10, 2009 10:01 AM
Tammy and Anonymous, what does MANCHESTER have to do with LONDON?
Posted by: Anna | November 10, 2009 12:34 PM
It is really a shame that because of the Wire, Baltimore is in the spotlight for crime and is even known internationally.
Honestly I think without the Wire, these British cops would be using places like Detroit, Harlem, or Los Angeles as analogies.
But would the Los Angeles and Harlem references be any more appropriate? L.A. and NY has made tremendous strides in regards to crime and are right now two of the safest major cities in America. -Justin
Posted by: Eric | November 10, 2009 12:54 PM
I wonder if the London police kept you away from the worst parts of the city...I mean, the Baltimore police could drive you around "the good parts" of our city and you'd think it's clean and safe, too.
That's possible. In Manchester at least, we drove around quite a bit and didn't seem to be passing the same areas. In fact, I think they were eager to show me something that would validate their work. In London, I'm not so sure. That visit was more tighly controlled, as has been much of my interaction with the Met, though that is to be expected.
Posted by: Dave | November 10, 2009 1:35 PM