'Gangs offer role models'

5:20pm Friday 22nd August 2008

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A LACK of role models is driving young people to join gangs, a new report claims.

The report, published by charity The Prince’s Trust, reveals that a third of young people in the north west does not consider either parent to be a role model. Similarly, 26 per cent of young people surveyed says that young people are looking for a role model when joining a gang.

“Our research suggests that young people are creating their own ‘youth communities’ and gangs in search of the influences that could once have been found in traditional communities,” said Martina Milburn, chief executive of the Prince’s Trust.

The report also reveals that only two per cent of children carry a knife and only nine per cent have spent time in a gang.

The Royal Bank of Scotland, in partnership with the Prince’s Trust, has funded a £1m project to help disadvantaged young people run community projects.