Even though the police have succeeded effectively not only in investigating crimes committed by street gangs, but also in preventing new crimes, stopping the street gang phenomenon is not in the hands of the police alone, writes Deputy National Police Commissioner Sanna Heikinheimo in her blog.
In recent years, there has been a lot of public discussion about crimes committed by young people, and the concept of street gangs has become an established part of this discussion. Juvenile crime is not a consistent entity, so it is important to determine which phenomenon is being discussed at any given time in order to solve the problems.
The police consider that it is justified to use the expression “street gang” of a phenomenon in which groups mainly consisting of young adults, who identify themselves with specific neighbourhoods and symbols, commit crimes and violently clash with groups from other neighbourhoods.
The police do everything they can to stop the criminal activities of gangs, but from their point of view, stopping the street gang phenomenon itself requires taking action even before the criminal process. Many of those identified as gang members have been the target of multi-professional prevention measures by the authorities in their youth. However, the measures have failed to break the circle of marginalisation.
Link to the blog https://poliisi.fi/blogi/-/blogs/katujengikysymyksen-ratkaisu-ei-ole-yksin-poliisin-kasissa (In Finnish).
