Waltham Forest has high levels of relative deprivation, with neighbourhoods housing communities of high aspiration but blocked opportunity, which is consequential for gang-related crime. Racialised communities are disproportionately represented as both victims and perpetrators of serious violence.
Embedded gangs remain active in the drug business and have endured several generations of disruption activity. Newer gangs involved in drug distribution and serious crime have evolved rapidly from neighbourhood peer groups.

After a brief period of a more localised focus during the Covid-19 pandemic, the County Line drug distribution model continues transporting drugs to ‘out of town’ locations. County Lines organisers continue to use coercion, intimidation and violence (including sexual violence) to control the workforce, and increasingly gangs groom and control vulnerable people utilising online technology.

Dominant gangs are said to operate a near monopoly in drug supply in Waltham Forrest. The County Lines workforce is becoming younger, decreasing from an average age of 14-15 years to 12-13 years, with some as young as ten. More recent supply and demand for Vapes, Xanax, Nitrous Oxide, Cannabis Gummies and Lean for and by younger people is emergent in the Borough. The price and purity of Class A drugs remain relatively unchanged, indicating a stable supply.

Young women continue to be used in gang activities and are at risk of criminal and sexual exploitation. Fewer support interventions are reported for young women and girls.

More established gangs who operate the drug business are relatively unaffected by the imprisonment of gang elders. Succession and logistics are planned and communicated in and from the prison estate (see accompanying HMPPS report). A newer franchised distribution model of drug supply is beginning to emerge. Gang involvement in Dark web procurement of drugs and use of crypto-currencies is a concern.

There is evidence of diversification of gang criminal business in Waltham Forest, including extortion and money laundering. Embedded gangs are linked to Serious Organised Crime Groups and sometimes shade into the role of middle-market drug brokers.

Waltham Forest has a highly skilled workforce based in statutory and voluntary sectors; individuals are committed to reducing gang-related harms and safeguarding vulnerable and young people. Many of the challenges encountered by practitioners relate to deficits in resources. However, some established working methods need to be more suitable to address group-influenced risks and harms occurring in communities.

The police sometimes struggle to maintain legitimacy with some communities but are considered valuable partners by other professionals in the Borough of Waltham Forest. However, intelligence cycles and regional capacity to assist specialist operations require improvement.

School and college exclusions continue to hinder inclusive preventative strategies for early help strategies. Retention of permanent social work staff was a particular problem. The lack of a specialist adolescent team needs redress. The voluntary sector provides a significant resource for outreach and detached work. However, policymakers only sometimes included voluntary sector partners when planning strategies or giving sustainable contracts for longer-term work.

Waltham Forest is developing more localised services, and Youth Hubs will be part of this strategy.
Youth Hubs could provide safe spaces for young people and co-locate dedicated multi-agency gang desistance teams seconded by different agencies to provide universal and targeted youth and community services. These services would be part of a strategic response characterised by suppression, social intervention, organisational development and the provision of social opportunities outlined in the following report.