Gangs: The Strathclyde Model

I suspect that the idea that opportunistic looting can be explained by organised gangs is, no matter what the Prime Minister said this morning, a questionable premise. Nevertheless, it was interesting and encouraging to see him reference the work done by the Violence Reduction Unit at Strathclyde Police. Interesting because their approach to gang-related violence demonstrates just how tricky the problem is and how “traditional” policing and criminal justice approaches fail to have much, if any, useful impact.

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Patrick O’Flynn

Can Reform survive the rift between Farage and Lowe?

Here’s a terrific and freshly-relevent Prospect piece that explains how the project has worked in Glasgow and, before that, in Boston. Karyn McCluskey is a very impressive person and, in my limited experience, someone worth listening to. And her experience, I think, has found that neither favoured “right-wing” or “left-wing” policies actually work. That is, neither “punishment” nor addressing “underlying causes” is enough.