Met police arrest 158 gang suspects in dawn raids

HUNDREDS of raids on suspected gang members have been carried out in London since dawn this morning as Scotland Yard renews its crackdown on gang crime.

So far, the Met has made 158 arrests and executed 144 warrants. Officers have also seized "a significant amount" of cocaine and cannabis, two "pillow-sized" bags of skunk cannabis, 1kg of heroin and £10,000 cash, according to the force's Twitter feed.

The Met also revealed today that it had doubled the number of officers dealing with gangs, assigning 1,000 officers to its newly formed Trident gang crime command.

The command includes a central team as well as local teams based in 19 London boroughs to deal with crimes carried out by gang members such as assault, robbery and supplying drugs, The Guardian reports.

According to Met statistics, there are around 250 active criminal gangs in London, comprising about 4,800 people. The largest number of gangs are based in the boroughs of Hackney, Enfield, Lambeth and Merton.

While most gang members are aged between 18 and 24, some are as young as 14. Of these gangs, 62 are considered "high harm" and commit two-thirds of all gang-related crime.

Gangs are responsible for approximately 22 per cent of serious violence, 17 per cent of robbery, 50 per cent of shootings and 14 per cent of rape in London.

Speaking on BBC Breakfast, Met commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe (above) said the message to gang members was: "We know you're a gang member. We want you to stop that. We know you're involved in offending. If you don't then you can expect a knock on the door."

However, he insisted that it was not the force's aim to "criminalise young people" and that police would work with other agencies to divert young people away from a life of crime and keep them away from gangs. But if they are offending, they will be arrested. ·