An ASBO for violent gangsters or just continuing criminalisation of young people? Thinking about the value of “Gangbo”

This paper offers a consideration of the origins and rise of the civil ‘gang injunction’ (CGI) in England and Wales (often dubbed the ‘Gangbo’ in the news media). In contrast with other disposals which blur civil and criminal process (such as the Antisocial Behaviour Order) the Gangbo has received very little scrutiny. In examining recent cases of gang related violence, this paper raises questions about the purpose and efficacy of such disposals as currently used. Specifically, it asks: if the CGI is targeted at criminal activity, then why is a civil order being used, and how useful and purposeful will it be as one element of a wider anti-gang strategy? Additionally, it questions the potential negative consequences associated with the expansion in use of CGIs, especially given that ‘youth’, ‘crime’ and ‘gangs’ are increasingly being connected in official political narrative and the burdens of evidence for a CGI are not made under the higher threshold of the criminal standard.