The aim of the current study was to understand how gangs have changed in the past ten years since Pitts' (2008) study in the London Borough of Waltham Forest. The study undertook interviews with 21 practitioners working on gang-related issues and 10 young people affected by gangs or formerly embedded in them. Two focus groups involving 37 participants from key agencies then explored the preliminary findings and contributed to a conceptualisation of a new operating model of gangs. The study found that local gangs had evolved into more organized and profit-oriented entities than a decade earlier. The new operating model rejected visible signs of gang membership as "bad for business" because they attracted unwanted attention from law enforcement agencies. Faced with a saturated drugs market in London, gangs moved out to capture drugs markets in smaller UK towns in "county lines" activities. This more business-oriented ethos has changed the meaning of both territory and violence.

This article, based on a review of the literature both from Britain and North America and findings from the Approved Premises pathfinder, will explore the key issues in establishing a model regime for Approved Premises. It will suggest that face-to-face work with residents is an essential component for Approved Premises, and that there is a danger of this vital work being pushed into a secondary function by the need for surveillance and monitoring. The article will argue that working in a rehabilitative manner with residents assists in their risk management.

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