Two community activists who work with at-risk youth and gang members have backed the new anti-gang legislation, while cautioning that safeguards must be in place to protect innocent residents living in communities often associated with criminal activity.

For former Chapman Lane block leader Winston Iston Bull Branch and Roger Husbands, a youth activist, criminologist and founder of Drug Education and Counselling Services (DECS), the new law represents an important step in addressing gang activity.

But they both insisted that enforcement alone will not solve the problem without addressing the social and economic conditions that continue to draw young people into gangs.