“A Gisborne school is fighting to save an 11-year-old boy from a life of crime after his mother bragged he had already passed Mongrel Mob* initiation tests.

 The boy is said to already be running his own gang which includes some 18-year-olds.

But Awapuni School principal David Langford says he is being hampered by a lack of early intervention support for pupils with severe behavioural problems.

The boy was excluded from his first primary school in 2006, aged eight, after a series of violent incidents including bringing a baseball bat to school, crushing a pupil’s hand with a chair leg, and assaulting and injuring children.

That principal, who did not want to be named, said the boy had been behaving violently since his first day at the school as a five-year-old.

The principal also said the boy’s mother had recently boasted to educational professionals that her son had passed gang prospect tests.

“This is a child we are talking about who was encouraged to complete criminal acts,” she said. The boy, whose father had been a Mongrel Mob leader, is known to police.

The boy was described by a psychiatrist as a predatory assailant several years ago and is now believed to be running his own gang, which Langford said included some members who were aged 18.” – http://www.stuff.co.nz/4739968a11.html

I think this is a disgrace. I think there should be more done to support this boy and lead him away from the path he is straying down. Such as counselling, or maybe his parents just need to be more strict and keep a better eye on him. This story just goes to show how gang culture is affecting New Zealand’s children- I don’t think it’s fair to be exposed to crime and violence at such a young age. Especially in this case- the boy was obviously exposed to the world of gangs through his father, who was apparently a Mongrel Mob member. My opinion is that all gangs need to be cracked down on. You know that it is getting out of control when younger and younger people are getting involved. I don’t know that this boy is the youngest child to ever be involved in a gang, but I do know that the last thing New Zealand needs is another one.

* Mongrel Mob-a New Zealand gang.