Northants gang culture

Being a member of a criminal gang ruins young people's lives.

It can often lead to a criminal record and time spent in prison. Both of which can impact their future job, education and travel opportunities.
 

Gang membership signs

Has someone you know started behaving differently?

• not hanging around with their usual friends
• coming home late or staying out more than usual
• being secretive and withdrawn
• hanging around with different people
• having unexplained injuries
• taking drugs and carrying weapons
• skipping school
• suddenly having lots of money and buys expensive things like clothes, phones and watches

 

Violence

Gangs maintain and expand their territories  through violence or the threat of violence.  And a high proportion of knife crimes and firearm incidents in the UK are gang related.
 

Child exploitation

Youger people are often exploited by criminal gangs. They are coerced or bribed into running drugs for them. For more information on this visit our County Lines page.

Or they can become victims of human trafficking or sexual abuse.
 

Illegal drugs

Selling illegal drugs is an important source of money for criminal gangs.

This money is often used to fund other criminal activities such as human trafficking, car crime, fraud and cyber-crimes.

 
For more information on the scale of serious and organised crime in the UK, visit our SOC page.