This is how organised crime gangs are exploiting children & young people in South Yorkshire
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00:00 Yeah, so I've been speaking to Detective Superintendent Jamie Henderson, who's South Yorkshire Police's head of civil and organised crime and also their firearms lead.
00:10 And what he said is that from what they can tell there are around 60 to 70 mapped organised crime groups or gangs that are currently operating across South Yorkshire.
00:22 What can you tell us about OCGs and the disruption they cause in South Yorkshire?
00:29 Well, Detective Superintendent Jamie Henderson said that the majority of shootings that you'll see carried out across the county are related to OCGs and disputes and turf wars that go on among the groups, with the vast majority revolving around the supply of drugs across the county.
00:49 Is there a particular area of Sheffield that's badly affected by these gangs?
00:54 Detective Superintendent Henderson said that an area that was of concern was what he described as the Abbeydale Road corridor.
01:01 And in addition to Abbeydale Road, that also includes Healy, Arthorn, Sharrow, Netheredge, those sorts of areas.
01:08 And he said following a spate of shootings in 2020, that area was of concern and they deployed a lot of resources, worked with the community, but following police work and also a number of prominent gang members being convicted, that area is no longer a concern to the force.
01:31 What is South Yorkshire Police doing to try to dismantle these gangs?
01:36 I think they're trying to get as many of the gang members through the courts as they can, through bringing charges.
01:46 Possession of a firearm carries a minimum sentence of five years, so if they are able to get hold of evidence relating to shootings or possession of firearms,
01:59 they are helping to bring quite substantial sentences upon the kind of people involved with armed criminality, which often does revolve around organised crime groups and gangs.
02:12 What do you know about South Yorkshire Police's armed crime team?
02:15 It was set up in 2020 in response to a rise in shootings in the area. I think in 2020 there were around 86 viable firearm discharges, 51 of which were carried out in Sheffield.
02:32 Does South Yorkshire Police feel that they're on top of this problem?
02:35 I think they certainly feel as though they're making some headway. For example, the number of viable firearm discharges in 2023 fell by over 50%, so I think we are seeing some quite substantial results coming through.
02:49 But Detective Superintendent Henson said that they're never complacent. What they don't want to see is fatal firearm discharges in 2024 and 2025.
02:59 Sadly, in 2023, despite the number of discharges coming down, there were two fatal shootings in Sheffield, and I think a true sign of progress would be that number being reduced to zero.