Apps such as Snapchat and Telegram have become the “preferred” means of communication for gangs plotting murder and other violence, one person said. report by London’s Violence Reduction Unit (VRU), announced Tuesday.
Founded in 2019 by London Mayor Sadiq Khan, the VRU commissioned researchers from its Behavioral Insights team to analyze 50 murders in the capital.
Researchers found that one-fifth of the homicides were “gang-related,” but “rather than simply gang affiliation, the homicides appeared to be motivated by gangs.” I acknowledged that I only included the case.
In 4 out of 10 murders, the victims were gang members. Others suggest that they were either attacked because they had their identities wrong, or were chosen at random simply believing they were living in rival gang territory.
“Gang-related tensions, through shared threats or escalation of physical violence, may play a central role in the escalation to murder, leading to multiple ‘revenge’ killings,” the researchers said.
The report states: The deal was used as a decoy by the suspect with the implied purpose of robbing the victim. This included a case where the deal was a drug deal. ”
They said: These conversations appeared to be related to the organization of the murder itself (e.g., discussing when and where to meet) and to discussing the circumstances of the murder with others who were not present at the incident after the fact. I was. ”
Criminals believe they can ‘erase’ their messages
The report added: “In these cases, there is also evidence that the individuals involved believed that social media was a safer means of discussing the incident because they believed the messages had been erased or could not be accessed by others. I have.”
The researchers said that many gang murders involve “planning and planning” and that “every gangster case in our sample had multiple suspects and as many as seven people in one case.” A suspect has been identified,” he said.
In such cases, where multiple offenders are involved, the public prosecutor’s office uses the legal term “joint enterprise” to prosecute everyone involved in the murder.
The New York Times recently Investigation He argued that the joint venture unfairly targeted black youth in Britain.
VRU researchers also found that police and prosecutors often downplay or omit gang involvement from documents.
They said: We also found that there tends to be less information available about the background of suspects in gang-related cases, possibly due to the number of individuals involved in these types of murders. ”
The researchers plan to analyze another 300 murders with a view to using the same model routinely.
In 2018, Fatima Khan, 21, described as the ‘Snapchat Queen of Ilford’ by her own barrister, was accused of being a love rival for the murder of 18-year-old Khalid Safi. After conspiring, he was imprisoned for 14 years for manslaughter. The body of the app, along with the offensive message.
Detective Superintendent David Kennett of the London Metropolitan Police said: daily telegraph“This new framework shows great potential and means that, for the first time, we can have a real impact on the criminal justice system by identifying where the risks lie.”
A Snapchat spokesperson told The Telegraph: If we find violent content being shared on Snapchat, we will remove it immediately and possibly terminate your account. ”
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Chris Summers is a UK-based journalist with a wide range of national coverage, with a particular interest in crime, police and law.