Local authority secures first gang injunction outside London

Gloucester City Council has teamed up with its local police force and its arm's length management organisation to obtain gang injunctions against two men.

It is thought to be only the third time that such injunctions have been put in place, and the first time they have been used outside London. The previous injunctions were obtained by Southwark and Enfield Councils.

A judge at Bristol County Court imposed conditions on Ashley Nicholls-Perry, 19 of Summer Street in Stroud, and Freeston Horsford, 26 and of Cophall Street in Tipton, banning them from involvement in gang activity for 24 months.

The conditions also included non association with each other, exclusion from certain areas within the city and restrictions on their association with others.

Gloucester City Council worked with Gloucestershire Constabulary and Gloucester City Homes to secure the injunctions.

The local authority’s chief executive, Julian Wain, said: “This is innovative partnership working at its best. We have taken this new legislation and used it to respond to the concerns of local residents. The outcome will be to help make their local communities safer and happier places to be.

“Let’s be clear. Gloucester is certainly not a ‘gang land’ capital. But there have been some problems and we are determined that as community leaders we work with the other agencies to stamp these activities out.”

Gloucester Superintendent Gary Thompson said: “While they are very few in number and the issue is nowhere near the scale of big cities, the impact these people are having on others shouldn’t be underestimated. We’ve had reports of people being too scared to come out of their houses because of what they think might happen to them and that is simply unacceptable.

“These injunctions give us greater power and control over gang members. If these two can’t hang around with fellow gang members, we have a greater chance of getting to the root of the problem and changing their mindset.

”The community have supported this action throughout and we hope this support continues in order for us to enforce the conditions of this injunction.”

In an interview with the BBC, Nicholls-Perry denied being a gang member and said he was unhappy to have been made the subject of the injunction. Nicholls-Perry said there were just three members of the group that was claimed to be a gang.

Gloucestershire Police had been running an anti-gang operation since July after a shooting incident in Beaufort Road and a stabbing incident in Coney Hill. It has since made a number of arrests of people suspected of offences including possessing weapons, assault and public disorder.