UK gang policy needs to avoid heavy handed suppression tactics. It should focus on preventing violence, tackling societal inequalities and offering exit opportunities to gang members through job creation

In the aftermath of the riots in England last month, some politicians were quick to point fingers at gang ‘leaders’ as organisers of the riots. With gangs once again in the sights of policy-makers, Juanjo Medina argues rather than escalating increasingly suppressive tactics against gangs, more work needs to be done to understand why young people join gangs, and what might cause them to walk away from them.