Police crack down on gang crime (From Ealing Times)

Police crack down on gang crime

11:53am Wednesday 8th November 2006

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"IT IS about kudos and status more than anything else and that is what we want to disrupt," says DCI Craig McKinlay of Ealing CID, the detective charged with cracking down on gang crime in the borough.

He is showing me footage of 30 members of the notorious MDP gang, (or "Murder Dem Pussies" to give it its full title), punching and kicking an unsuspecting member of the public to the floor on a bus in Ealing.

It is a terrifying sight: there is a surge of bodies straining to rain blows on the helpless victim, whose only crime, it appears, is to stand in the middle of the intimidating throng.

As he tries to defend himself by kicking out at his attackers, bottles are hurled at his head as wave after wave of violent teenagers try and assault him further.

"It is part of their ritual," says DCI McKinlay. "This is about credibility and elevation between peers in the gang.

"It is like a happy slapping concept. It was ferocious - it had to be seen to be believed. Robbery was just a by-product in this case."

The hapless victim was assaulted on the number 207 night bus just after 5.30am on September 17.

His nose was broken and he received a deep cut on his eyelid which required 9 stitches, plus a further eye operation.

His mobile phone and £70 from his wallet was also stolen.

Investigating officers say the teenagers, all aged between 14 and 17 and including a number of girls, had been out at an all-night rave, and were throwing sweets around the bus just before the 22-year-old victim from Hayes got on.

The gang had boarded the bus outside Sainsbury's, The Broadway, and attacked him between Ealing Broadway and Ealing Common.

Police have identified 15 of the assailants through the CCTV footage and arrested 13 suspects in dawn raids on addresses in Acton, Shepherds Bush and Hammersmith yesterday. (Thursday).

The gang, one of the biggest in the borough, is thought to have been involved in robberies and assaults throughout Ealing and Harrow, particularly targeting people on buses, filming their attacks on mobile phones or camcorders.

Seventy officers from four different boroughs were involved in yesterday's operation.

"When they get into a group this sort of thing happens," says DI Alexis Boon, head of Ealing's robbery unit. "It is very hard to say how long MDP have been operating in the borough but part of this operation is to alert the parents and make them realise what their kids are doing.

"This is just the start," he continues. "We hope these arrests will lead us to other members of the gang.

"We want to dent their sense of being infallible and send out the message to them that the police will catch you."

Frustration at the delays from the CPS in charging individuals in large suspect cases like this mean officers are pressing for more ingenious bail requirements to impact on gangs' movements. "We want to return some of the humiliation on to them," says DCI McKinlay. "Some youths are regarding things like Asbos as status symbols.

"Our tactics are that we want to turn it back on them: if some of the requirements are that they have to go out with their mother if they leave the house, for example, it will belittle them in front of other gang members, disrupt their movements and send out a message to their friends."

Some of the known gang members have used extreme violence in past attacks, including using acid sprays, imitation firearms and setting dangerous dogs on victims.

"It was a terrifying situation," continues DCI McKinlay. "But we suffer from a problem in this borough that many victims are unwilling to assist in prosecutions for whatever reason."

Six other passengers who witnessed the attack have so far refused to help police with their enquiries.

"In the mean time we are going to go in and arrest suspects even if the charge comes later," DCI McKinlay adds.

More raids are expected as police continue to search for the remaining gang members.

If convicted, the attackers could face a maximum of life imprisonment.

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