CRIMINAL gangs are infiltrating schools in Manchester and sometimes using very young children to run messages between members, ministers have warned.
Officials named the city as one of four where the problem of gangs in schools must be addressed.
Schools minister Jim Knight said he wanted to tackle the issue before it became "a genuine worry".
He told the Commons Education Select Committee: "There are problems of criminal gangs infiltrating schools."
Speaking to reporters, he went on: "It is an emerging issue that we want to nip in the bud now before it becomes something that is a genuine worry for parents and pupils. I accept that we are going to set hares running in the media but we have to be open about it."
Mr Knight a particular concern was that very young children in primary schools were being used to "run" messages between gang members.
Messages
"The relationship with criminal gangs would be that in secondary school settings you may have some of the dealing not necessarily in school but the communication would take place in school," he said.
"There is also a tiny amount of evidence, but some evidence, of some siblings of those older children in primary school just being used to pass messages, effectively to act as runners.
"Obviously, that is particularly worrying if you get infiltration into primary schools and that is one of the reasons why we want to do something about it."
Mr Knight said police were using intelligence on street gangs to help schools tackle the problem.
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how relaible is this tiny bit of evidence,its like the kettle calling the pot black , whose the most corrupt then them or us?
Well find out who the runners are eliminate them warn them that such actions will lead to exclusion,simple.
Get these thugs out. England was once proud of its educational system and probably still is but it we let these thugs in we can kiss our future generations good bye. CRIMINIAL GANGS OUT NOW!!!!
Thats correct Anthony eliminate these poor wretches and push them ever further into the clutches of the bigshot men who pimp and control them throughout their sad unfortunate lives .
I have to add that you Anthony are a sad ,frightened, well meaning man.
I thank the good lord that people like you have no power in the communty.
Anthony! I really do cringe at your ignorance! You really do seem to think that everything is so simple. When obviously its not. I think you should become prime minister seen as though you have everything worked out!!!!!!!!!!!1
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At least I would get tough Dan unlike YOU being a soft liberal freethinker who thinks kids should be allowed to do as they please without being smacked physically punished or locked up by parents teachers or police!
mary,these kids should say NO! Don't they have the right to do that? Are would you rather they be like sheep and follow these criminal scumsters?
brendan -whats it got to do with you?
this has been going on for a long time have they only just realised? where i live you see the young boys coming home from school coming out on there BMX bikes and going round various houses and then going on to other houses or meeting at the phoneboxes it is so obvious what they are doing even to a simpleton like me, they run things from A 2 B for the older gang members and get paid better than they would get for a paper round so they get stuck into a cycle of earning more money through a criminal lifestyle, i spoke to a young lad in the area a bit ago and he told me he was going for a job interview as he was sick of being 'dodgy' he got the job but soon left when he realised he would have to work for a pitance, this is a never ending circle and there is nothing you or i will be able to do about it
" CRIMINAL gangs are infiltrating schools " ... Yeah, they're called Teachers and government ministers, guilty of dragging the education system through the gutter.
been going on for years.
At least someone above those who work with kids on the crime level has reconised it's happening. First step towards tackling it can't be such a bad thing?
WHOW WEE - not a surprise. People in positions who shoud know about things like this turn a blind eye - this has been going on since the 80's.
Also when having to sign on at the job centre - you will find that youngsters of certain area will not do it as they are in fear of Gang members who may at times be outside or in the job centre. The system does not help as I know many who have asked for their job centre to be changed and it has been refused. The RESULT after that is that they do not go to sign on and they obviously will not get any benefit payments (therefore they do not exist) and they need money to live (fOOD AND RENT) so they have to raise the money by alternative means - its one big vicious circle. The help is not there to support them. There are a lot of kids who are not bad out there - but the system makes them bad as they need money to live. Nobody listens - they may as well not have voices.
Andy, spot on again! We have got to stop agreeing like this :)