What leads girls to join gangs
Lorraine Khan, Helena Brice, Anna Saunders & Andrew Plumtree
Girls with links to gangs are, on average, three times more vulnerable than most other children in the Youth Justice system, according to this report. It follows the largest study of its kind, analysing risk factors related to offending from more than 8,000 young people screened as part of the newly developed youth point of arrest health screening initiative.
Encouragingly, the report found that the vast majority in girls involved in gangs responded to offers of support, with nine out of ten staying in touch with the services they were offered. The report presents the data and outlines a series of recommendations, including developing gender specific services, providing girls with positive female role models and parenting programmes to prevent problems.
Audience: All services in contact with young people, local authorities, commissioners, Safeguarding Boards, Youth Offending Teams.
