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Camden New Journal - by ROISIN GADELRAB
Published: 31 May 2007

Cllr Ben Rawlings

Asbo ‘more effective’ dealing with youths

CAMDEN’S crime tsar had some harsh words for the criminal justice system after 10 teenage members of a Camden Town gang which dealt in drugs were banned from parts of the borough for two years.
Councillor Ben Rawlings said the boys were served with anti-social behaviour orders thanks to the work of Camden Council and police, who were able to work faster than the Crown Prosecution Service and magistrates courts.
Highbury Corner Magistrates Court heard last week how the boys, aged between 16 and 18, were caught up in a cycle of intimidation, cannabis dealing and aggressive behaviour, often centred on Inverness Street, Camden High Street and Camden Lock.
Cllr Rawlings said: “Residents and visitors to Camden shouldn’t have to suffer witness violence and intimidation, and the seriousness of these individuals’ behaviour meant the council had to take swift action.
“There are concerns over the capacity of the Crown Prosecution Service and magistrates courts to deal quickly and appropriately with people involved in dealing drugs and other anti-social behaviour, and this is an example of where the council and the police have had to work together to secure Asbos to protect residents in a faster and more effective way than the criminal justice system can offer.”
The court was shown CCTV evidence of the group taking part in a drug turf battle involving metal poles and other weapons. One 16-year-old was accused of cal- ling police homophobic names, stashing cannabis in his bedroom and was caught on CCTV punching a man in the face on Kentish Town Road last October. Police say he was also part of a crowd of youths who surrounded police in Inverness Street after the officers tried to break up a fight.
The boys were issued with anti-social behaviour orders banning them from parts of Camden, being verbally abusive, and from associating with no more than two of the group in public places in Camden except during events organised by the Somali Youth Development Project or Camden Youth Offending Team and Youth and Connexions Service.

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