‘£1,000 to stab each other’: UK teenagers paid by gang member ‘elders’ who want to avoid jail

Young people in Liverpool, England are reportedly having bounties placed on their heads by ‘elders’ and told to stab each other for as much as £1,000 ($1,255), so that older gang members can escape being caught themselves.

The claims made by teenagers speaking on the BBC’s Beyond Today podcast are said to relate to at least one recent stabbing in Merseyside. One of the youngsters said people would watch “straighteners” – an organized fight to resolve a dispute that sometimes involves knives.

Young kids are getting money put on their heads.

He added that senior gang members have said to fellow youngsters: “Here’s five ton [£500 or $628] each – go and do it. And they’ll go and do it because they’ll think, if I do this, then I’ll get more money and I’ll get more respect from the elders.”

Children have long been used in criminal exploitation activities by gangs, known as “county lines.” At its core, “gangs groom, threaten or trick children into trafficking their drugs for them,”according to charity, the Children’s Society.

In 2018, Merseyside Police saw one of the largest increases in recorded knife offenses with a 35 percent rise, according to official statistics.

In a statement, Merseyside Police did not directly respond to the bounty claims made by the teenagers.

However, the force insisted that it was aware that organized crime groups use violence to settle disputes. A spokesperson said gangs were known to exploit “young and vulnerable people to sell... drugs and even to use violence.”

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