Monday 06 January 2003
A street guide to gangs in Manchester | |
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Gangs and guns: on the increase in Manchester |
| | The rise in gun crime in South Manchester is closely connected with Manchester gangs.
We present a history of gangs in Manchester and the role of guns. |
| | |  In today's Manchester, 'gangs' are groups of youths, who are initially associated with each other because they went to the same school, grew up on the same estates and began committing minor crimes together at a relatively young age.
Typically, members of these gangs then progress to becoming involved in street level drug trafficking - often purchasing drugs from established gang members. As a result, they become affiliated to various gangs, gain status and street credibility with their peers and move through the ranks until they become 'active' gang members.
in Manchester the gangs are by and large home grown but in other cities the gangs have yardie origins.
The explosion in firearms violence in South Manchester is believed to reflect the rise in the supply and use of heroin in the late seventies and early eighties.
The drug trade in the city quickly became an extremely lucrative one and in the early 1980s a 'gang' war started between two groups vying for control of the market in Manchester city centre - the Cheetham Hill Gang and The Gooch Close Gang.
In 1996, an offshoot gang was identified (Young Gooch) which gained a frightening reputation for the violence and guns its members used. Five of its members were later arrested following Operation Eagle and were sentenced to more than 43 years in prison.
Around the same time as the Gooch Close gang was becoming known around the city, the Pepperhill Gang were also starting to emerge - taking their name from a pub in Moss Side. When the pub was closed down and the gang targeted by police, they reformed on another estate and took their name from the nearby Doddington Close.
In 1995, the head of the gang Raymond Pitt was shot dead and the gang started to splinter internally and new gang began to emerge under the leadership of Ray's brother Tommy - the Pitt Bull Crew. In January 2002, Operation Nile saw Tommy Pitt found guilty of one murder, three attempted murders, drugs and firearms offences.
As a result of the murder of Orville Bell in 1996, the police identified a gang who were calling themselves the Longsight Crew. It was further identified that members of the Young Gooch were responsible for the murder of Bell.
As a result of the clashes between the two gangs, the tit-for-tat shootings increased dramatically.
The gangs - whilst supplying to the street dealers - also try to ensure that the dealers are protected from other gangs by protecting their territory. Most of the problems occur when rival street dealers start to move into territory already controlled by a gang or when a gang 'taxes' a rival dealer - move seen as damaging street credibility and respect.
Numerous shootings - fatal and non-fatal - have taken place over the years as the gangs have clashed over drug territories and other disputes. Many of these were exchanges gun fire on public streets - some planned and some spontaneous.
In 1999, there were a total of 81 shooting incidents in Greater Manchester, 68 per cent of which were in South Manchester. In the second half of 1999, following a series of tit-for-tat shootings, there were six gang related murders in five months.
From April 2001 to March 2002, there were 11 fatal shootings; 84 serious woundings;
639 incidents of violence involving guns;
785 incidents of armed robbery;
50 burglaries where guns were used.
In the last ten years, the number of gangs operating in the city has increased threefold.
All the gangs operating in South Manchester are multi-ethnic. Although women are not normally used in an 'active' violent role, some are used to hide or carry drugs and are drawn into the gang culture by the lure of money and power.
In 2002, there were five gang-related firearms murder and 22 others injured in confirmed gang-related shooting incidents in the South Manchester area.
It is estimated the total cost of gun violence to agencies and the wider economy in Manchester was over £7m in 2002.
The youngest victim of gang-related gun violence to date has been a 14-year-old boy, the eldest a 70-year-old woman caught in the cross-fire of a gang shoot-out.
What's the answer to gun crime? Are the police doing enough? How do you stop young people in gangs carrrying guns?Have Your Say >>> | | | |
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