Haringey police chief defends armed police to deal with gang shootings (From Haringey Independent)

Haringey police chief defends armed police to deal with gang shootings

1:38pm Thursday 26th November 2009

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HARINGEY police's top boss defended the decision to bring armed police officers into Haringey to deal with the sharp rise in gun violence fuelled by gang wars.

Borough Commander Chief Superintendent Dave Grant said that in August 2009 gun crime in the borough was one of the worst in the capital following a spate of shootings in the area. Mr Grant attributed this to serious organised crime gangs within the Turkish Kurdish community and turf wars between young men in Edmonton and Tottenham.

Over the past twelve months, there has been 163 instances of gun-related crime, nearly triple the amount over the same period in 2008.

Mr Grant said: "Everytime I have to speak to a family whose loved one has been shot, my instant reaction is obviously sympathy. But as a borough commander, I have to ask myself what can I do to get guns and knives off Haringey's streets.

"In August, the figures were awful. We had shootings in West Green Road, The Roundway and in Muswell Hill. These were all gang-related. And though they are targeting each other, the way they shoot means it is innocent people who often get hurt or killed."

The relevation follows a second round of convictions between Edmonton Shankstars and NPK street gangs, who take their name from Northumberland Park.

And it is on this notorious estate, where armed officers conducted an "intelligence-led" arms sweep and successfully confiscated a gun. They were accompanied by a member of the Haringey Black Independent Advsiory Group to witness that procedures were being properly conducted.

Mr Grant said: "What I want people to remember is that gang members are a small percentage of the young people in Haringey who cause a lot of trouble. While we don't want to glorify gang violence, it's important people know that we are taking it seriously and give people the confidence to come forward with information and help us get more weapons off our street."

Last Monday, three teenage members of NPK were found guilty of attempting to murder a rival gang member.

St Alban's Crown Court heard how Samson Ogundipe, 19, of Princess Avenue, Enfield, Tion Miller, 18, and Jermaine Nimoh, 20, both of Tottenham, stabbed Jerome Bruce-de-Rouche, 21, six times outside Bar Ab, in Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire, last July.

He nearly died from the attack and his injuries left him with a lacerated liver and a collapsed lung. The St Albans Crown Court heard that Mr Bruce-de-Rouche, associated with the Edmonton Shankstarz, "shank" meaning knife or stab on the street, had been on the run from NPK following a violent clash in 2007, which the Haringey Independent reported earlier this year.

In early 2008, Bruce-de-Roche was target and assaulted three times by NPK forcing him to flee to Trinidad to stay with relatives to keep out of harm's way.

But on the same day he returned to Edmonton, on July 5, 2008, he was spotted drinking at the bar in Waltham Cross. Following a tip-off, NPL ordered two taxis to take 12 people to the bar.

A witness heard someone say: "There's some youths outside for Smallman" — the victim's nickname because he was short.

Prosecutor Brian O'Neill described how Mr Bruce-de-Rouche was cornered down a dead end road after escaping from the rear of the bar.

He said: "Two of them were holding knives in their hands. One was about the length and shape of a kitchen knife, the other he described as a flick knife.

"He also noticed that one of the group had on a purple bandana. Many of these groups have a particular colour associated with them. Purple is the colour of the NPK."

A baseball cap and a bandana were later found at the scene and tested for DNA. DNA on the bandana linked it to Ogundipe and a blood stain tested positive for the DNA of Timon Miller, Mr O'Neill said.

The trio, who were remanded in custody, will be sentenced on December 22 by Judge Michael Baker QC.

Shaun Edwards, 19, of Trulock Road, Tottenham, Reiko Miller, 19, of Avondale Crescent, Enfield and Dwayne Mattison, 18, of Curzon Avenue, Enfield, were all cleared by the jury of attempted murder and an alternative charge of wounding with intent.

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