Vandalism, asbos & gangs

Other names for vandalism include: graffiti, tag, prank, bombing, paint, spray, torching.

Can you think of any more?

Vandalism is damaging or destroying something that isn’t yours.

You don’t need to damage something to be found guilty of vandalism, for example:

• Carrying a brick to throw it through a window.
• Threatening to damage someone’s stuff.

Racial vandalism is more serious than vandalism. It means you’ve vandalised someone’s stuff because of their skin colour, culture, nationality or language.

Railway vandalism is also very serious, e.g. throwing stones at trains or putting things on the tracks. It could injure or kill the passengers on the train. 

Is when you scratch, paint or mark someone else’s stuff. It can make people feel unsafe and costs millions of pounds to clean up – money that could be spent on making your area better!

Arson is when you set fire to someone else’s stuff like bins, houses or schools. It’s really serious because it could put someone’s life at risk.

Many street gangs choose to represent a particular area or their ‘endz’ - tagging this area with their gang name, signs, symbols or colours. The gang see this as a way of marking their territory. They are breaking the law.

Take a look at this video – it explores the gang graffiti in Chicargo.

Wikipedia says that a gang  is –

 'A group of three or more people who, through the organization, formation, and establishment of an assemblage, share a common identity'

What do they mean by this? A gang can be a group of friends that all like doing the same things. The word takes on a new meaning when a group of friends gets involved in criminal activity.

Although it is not illegal to be a member of a gang much of the acitivity that criminal street gangs get caught up in is. Under the crime types on the site we explore the types of criminal activity that gangs are increasingly becoming involved in.

There many reasons that people join gangs, take a look at these ones;

• It’s exciting, give me something to do.
• My friends are already involved.
• I like the fact I belong to a group.
• I like having the power over people.
• I make money.
• I get protection from other gangs/people.
• I want to defend my territory – protecting my area/endz
• I get respect from other people.

There isn’t a law against being a member of a gang. This is because it would affect all of those people that are in gangs (groups of friends) that are not committing crime. There are however many laws that will affect the activity of criminal gangs – making it harder for them to operate. It is however import to recognize that if you are involved in a gang and are caught committing a criminal offence you could end up with a longer sentence just because you are part of a gang.

If you are involved with a criminal street gang you might find it very difficult to leave. Even if you start with very low levels of crime as you become more involved it is likely that this will increase. Under each crime type we have explored how gangs can become involved in each crime.

• Vandalism and ASBOs
• Fighting and Murder
• Sex Crime
• Drugs and alcohol

Although criminal street gangs are seen to be male only – this is not true. There are many girl street gangs operating in the UK too. A recent report by the Met Police stated that there were at least 3 girl only gangs operating in London.

Joint enterprise is a 300 year old law that has been brought back by the police to combat gang violence. You can now be arrested and charged if you are present while fellow gang members are committing a criminal offence. This includes murder.

If you have any information about criminal gangs, be fearless and let us know anonymously.

Other names for antisocial behaviour includes: noisy, drunk, threatening, aggressive, littering, vandalism.

Can you think of any more?

Antisocial behaviour is when you act without considering others, e.g. acting in an aggressive way that scares people.

Examples of antisocial behaviour include:

• Noisy behaviour in quiet streets.
• Being threatening or drunken.
• Vandalism or graffiti.
• Dealing or using drugs on the street.
• Dropping rubbish on the street.
• Aggressive begging.
• Drinking in the street.
• Setting off fireworks late at night.

If you behave in an antisocial way, you’ll upset people around you and will make your area feel unsafe. 

It can have other effects too, e.g. if you get a car/moped, antisocial behaviour in your area means you’ll pay more insurance. 

If you’re acting in an antisocial way, you’ll be asked to sign an Acceptable Behaviour Contract (ABC) by the police. You won’t get a criminal record or have to go to court but you have to agree to stop the antisocial behaviour.

If you carry on, you could get an Antisocial Behavioural Order, which most people call an ASBO. This means you can’t go to certain places or see certain people. You won’t get a criminal record unless you break the ASBO and go back to how you were acting before. 

If you have any information on ASBOs we might not be always be the appropriate people for you to contact.

If your information is to do with

• Abandoned cars
• Fly-tipping
• Graffiti cleaning
• Noisy neighbours

Our advice would be to contact your local council @ Direct Gov’s Council A-Z

However breaching an ASBO is a criminal offence and a punishment for this might be a fine or even imprisonment. Therefore, if you know anyone who is breaking the conditions of their ASBO and you don’t want to go to the police you can pass the information to us anonymously.

Also if you know someone who is responsible for graffiti or tagging and don’t want to go to the police you can pass on the information to us anonymously.