The boy in court 9 could barely see over the dock and up to Judge Hale.

Just 13 years old, he shuffled in with his hands in his pockets, bespectacled and smartly-dressed in a jumper with an animal print on the front.

He was small, probably not yet 5ft tall, and could not have been less intimidating.

But during the course of the morning, Manchester Crown Court heard how the boy played a key role in a disturbing crime spree.

Over the summer holidays of 2018, a sixteen-strong gang of mostly 13 and 14-year-old boys effectively took over the area around Victoria station and the Urbis building in Manchester city centre and made it their patch.

The offending began with anti-social behaviour - the boys would knock somebody's hat off their head or swear at members of the public - and then petty theft. One man sleeping on the grass had a t-shirt snatched from under him.

(Image: Manchester Evening News)

But as the group gained in confidence they graduated to much more sinister crimes.

There were terrifying knifepoint robberies - victims as young as 10 years old threatened with a blade and told to hand over headphones or clothing.

One of the pint-sized ringleaders took to carrying around a 10-inch 'zombie' knife and making the threat that anyone on his 'strip' would 'get it in the neck'.

Chilling CCTV footage of one incident was played in court.

It shows another boy putting on a blue, latex glove and arming himself with a Stanley knife outside Selfridges, before leading the pack towards two victims who'd fled inside.

Fortunately, the gang ran off when they saw security guards.

There were also some shockingly violent attacks.

The boy in court 9 has a vicious temper and admitted stabbing another teen repeatedly in the head with an Afro comb at a Metrolink station.

He was rushed to Royal Manchester Children's Hospital where doctors were left removing bits of metal from his skull.

In another incident, one of the gang snatched a mobile phone from a young woman queuing to get into The Ritz music venue on Whitworth Street.

Her boyfriend chased after him, but was quickly set upon by the rest of the group.

Despite their size, the gang were able to kick and punch the victim to the ground, leaving him with whiplash, a broken nose that required reconstructive surgery, and a fractured rib.

Between June, July and August last year, the 'Urbis gang' were utterly out of control, committing crimes on an almost daily basis.

Lost boys of the PRU system

Under Operation Valiant, which tackles personal robberies, Greater Manchester Police launched a major investigation and gradually pieced together the trail of destruction which extended as far as Oldham and Chorlton.

After hours of painstaking work, trawling through CCTV and coaxing statements out of reluctant witnesses, the gang were arrested and charged with 107 offences in total.

It could have been four times as many, but eventually prosecutors had to draw a line.

Though almost all the defendants are young boys, the prosecution has in some regards played out like a gangland trial.

The boy in court 9 admitted witness intimidation after posting a picture of one of his victims on Snapchat offering a £100 bounty to 'anyone who catches this yute', adding that 'this man's a snitch'.

In response, the Crown Prosecution Service took the rare step of granting several witnesses complete anonymity, meaning they could never be named in court, even to the defence.

Physically, the 14-year-old boy who carried the zombie knife was among the smallest of the gang.

But during his sentencing hearing, the baby-faced thug acted like a seasoned gangster.

(Image: Manchester Evening News)

When court was adjourned for the day, he swaggered up to the two detectives in the public gallery, stared them in the face and let out a distinct whistle, a signal used on the streets to warn criminals of police approaching.

Due to their age, none of the offenders can be identified.

But as the M.E.N followed these youths through the justice system, a significant thread to the story emerged.

The Urbis gang all met through Manchester's Pupil Referral Unit (PRU) system.

This refers to a string of centres across the city for children excluded from mainstream education, either on a permanent basis or for a fixed period. The centres teach the same National Curriculum as mainstream schools but also try to tackle the pupils' emotional troubles and behaviour.

Clearly, being sent to a PRU centre was not a success for these lost boys, and in fact the system became a useful recruiting ground for new members of the gang.

The M.E.N understands that by the time they were arrested, many were barely attending school at all.

One was going to a PRU centre for only an hour a day, while another was simply told to go to a boxing gym instead of the classroom.

All had different circumstances at home.

(Image: Greater Manchester Police)

The oldest of the gang, now aged 17 but 16 at the time, was born addicted to heroin as his mother continued to use during pregnancy.

He has been in care all his life and his defence lawyer claimed his offending was set off when the foster carer he had been with for many years retired and he ended up 'living alone'.

But in most cases, each of the offenders has had at least one loving parent or guardian looking out for them.

For whatever reason, they were unable to curb their behaviour either.

'He thinks he's "The Boss"'

With so little in the way of structure or authority in their lives, the children no-one wanted to teach began to set their own rules.

Although too young to live a true 'gangster' lifestyle, they sought to emulate it.

If they saw another young teen in town with an expensive Canada Goose jacket or a new iPhone, they decided it was theirs for the taking.

The zombie knife boy committed seventeen offences in just five months, nine of them robberies.

That included an 11-year-old threatened and robbed of his mountain bike, and two teens robbed at knifepoint as they were on their way to watch a film at the Printworks.

(Image: Manchester Evening News)

In that incident, another of the ringleaders held a blade to the victim's leg when he initially refused to give up his belongings.

In an impact statement, the victim said this 13-year-old yob was a 'well-known robber' adding: "I know everyone is really scared of him in my area as he thinks he is 'The Boss'."

Most of the victims were young teens, often from the suburbs of Greater Manchester and perhaps not as streetwise as the pack of inner-city youths who stalked them.

A favourite tactic was to approach the victim and ask 'what school do you go to?' or 'do you know Kyle?', a fictitious but popular enough name to reel them in.

Then the gang leaders would threaten the victims - often at knifepoint - and demand they hand over cash, clothing or phones.

There were some adult victims, however.

One man was simply sitting on a bench in Piccadilly Gardens when he was approached by the gang and asked why he was in the area.

He was subsequently kicked and punched and robbed of his mobile phone.

The boy with the zombie knife even came back to demand what was in his pockets.

The man said it was only a passport and the 14-year-old replied: "Give me the passport or I will stab you through the neck."

(Image: Greater Manchester Police)

On another occasion, a student was approached by the gang in Sackville Gardens where they attempted to steal his drink and bag.

When he resisted, he was repeatedly hit with a belt.

After several of the Urbis gang were arrested in the city centre, they started to branch further afield, using the Metrolink to travel across Greater Manchester carrying out robberies.

At the KFC in Chorlton, a teenager had his phone stolen and was repeatedly punched and kicked to the ground for refusing to give up the passcode.

In West Didsbury, a boy was beaten to the ground by seven members of the gang and robbed of his phone.

The crime wave was relentless.

'The only way to get through the day is exclude'

Thanks to Operation Valiant, the schoolboy gang has now been dismantled.

Most are being spared time in youth custody, and are instead being put onto strict 'rehabilitation orders'.

This means they are subject to a curfew, cannot associate with certain individuals, and must comply with supervision requirements for up to three years.

But the Urbis gang case raises a number of serious questions for authorities.

The number of children being excluded from our schools is soaring.

Last year, the M.E.N revealed a 40 per cent rise in the number of children being expelled from secondaries in Manchester, while the number of fixed term exclusions from PRUs also jumped by 131 between 2016 and 2017.

At the time, education leaders said rising family poverty, new school performance measures and budget cuts were among the contributing factors.

Manchester Central MP Lucy Powell called the situation 'a growing scandal in our education system'.

(Image: Manchester Evening News)

Councillor Sean McHale, who represents the Openshaw and Clayton ward, knows the problems with the PRU system as well as anyone. Before he was elected last year, he worked as a PRU teacher for 22 years.

"The staff are working incredibly hard," he said.

"But they get stretched that much."

He said a big problem for PRU pupils is that their families rarely have any input as to where they are placed.

With so many more children being excluded, and funding tight, it's often a case of putting them in whichever PRU centre has a place, regardless of how suitable it is, said Coun McHale.

"That starts problems. We had young people where it was taking them two hours to get there," he said.

"Often that's the reason why they don't attend or why they get themselves excluded."

(Image: Joel Goodman)

Children cannot be permanently excluded from the PRU system, but Coun McHale says temporary exclusions happen 'too easily'.

"When you get a referral, all the stuff about violence and behaviour isn't on there," he said.

"Some staff can be quite scared and struggle to cope. There's no support - the only way to get through the day is to exclude."

Coun McHale also blames pressure from the Department for Education (DfE) for troubled pupils to achieve grades they aren't capable of within a rigid curriculum.

"Everything is educational," he said.

"I used to take young people up to the mountains, do something productive like the Duke of Edinburgh scheme. It worked so well for young people who couldn't get into the classroom."

Coun McHale is 'not shocked' by the Urbis gang case.

He said PRU staff simply don't have the time or the resources to be monitoring behaviour outside the classroom.

(Image: Greater Manchester Police)

"If you can imagine, every day is like sprinting a marathon," he added.

"If you start dealing with gang prevention - that's one session per term. You try and do your best by every young person, but you can't always achieve it."

'They were really vulnerable victims'

Detective Leon Cawley-Bowyer, who led the investigation, has been left disturbed that children committed such serious criminal offences at such a young age.

He has no doubt there is a 'pattern' to what happened, and questions why the boys apparently had no intervention from youth services before they ended up in court.

"I don't think ten years ago your first time before the court would be a knifepoint robbery," he said.

"There's something missing in the system."

Although pleased that this dangerous gang has been taken off the streets, Detective Cawley-Bowyer says there are 'no winners' from this case.

One of the 13-year-old boys admitted eleven charges and was sentenced to two years in a Young Offender Institution, prison for juveniles.

Meanwhile, one of the young robbery victims was left so traumatised he has started sleeping in his parent's bed again at the age of 12.

A handful of victims were adults, but the vast majority were children aged 10 to 14.

"I was quite surprised by the scale," said Detective Cawley-Bowyer.

(Image: Mark Waugh Manchester Press Photography Ltd)

"I haven't seen this before, certainly not when we're talking knifepoint robberies. It's been a unique set of challenges and learning experiences.

"One of the things we had to consider was that the kids were so young. Thirteen-year-olds do get treated differently. We've got to consider their welfare. It's not easy."

But Detective Cawley-Bowyer said one of the driving motivations behind the prosecution was the impact the robberies had on the victims.

"They were absolutely terrified to give evidence," he said.

"These were incidents where 13-year-old kids were holding knives on other 13-year-olds, it would be terrifying for an adult. They were really vulnerable victims.

"One 10-year-old saw his mate getting robbed with a knife. You're not going to make a 10-year-old give a witness statement. It's a challenge.

"Families aren't going to want to drag their kids through the legal system.

"[The victims] were scared of repercussions - we had victims that are not going to talk to police, having to have their identities kept secret.

"It's the sort of stuff you hear in gangland prosecutions.

"They were too scared to go to town again, they don't go out. One mum, the lad is sleeping back in her bed again at 12 years old.

"They are having to get picked up from school.

"That's why I've been turning up at court - although the offenders are 13 or 14 years old, don't forget the age of the victims and the impact it's had on them and their families.

"It's a really brave thing to give evidence to the police."

'You've got to set a deterrent for the next generation'

Having interviewed both the victims and the offenders in the Urbis gang case, Detective Cawley-Bowyer concedes it is a morally difficult landscape to navigate.

"The offenders are vulnerable [as well]...they are children that don't see consequences to behaviour," he said.

"But you've got to look at setting a deterrent for the next generation.

"For whatever reason, to go into town with a knife at 13 is a really scary mentality. There's no thought process or consequence.

"[Being in PRU system] was a massive link.

"It's a question to put, why have they not had involvement before? Where is the help? There's an obvious pattern, what sort of involvement are they getting before they're charged with a knifepoint robbery?

"We're police officers, I don't know."

In several cases, members of the Urbis gang had already committed offences that were dealt with by way of Restorative Justice.

The boy in court 9 had twice assaulted his teachers, for example.

(Image: Manchester Evening News)

Restorative Justice is used as an alternative to offenders going to court and instead offers them a chance to make amends to the victim.

This could be by way of a face-to-face apology or work to benefit the community.

Restorative Justice has been hailed for its success, in particular for youth offenders who are spared a criminal record.

But in the case of the Urbis gang, Detective Cawley-Bowyer fears it resulted in a lack of intervention with young people who needed it.

"They think they've got away with it - where are they learning there are consequences?" he said.

"The victims are still affected by it, there's no winners from this.

"From the point of view of Operation valiant, we want it to stop happening, to show that we're taking it seriously. The public should be reassured that their children can go into town and feel safe."

Much of the crime in Manchester city centre is robbery or theft, often committed by young people.

Sending a message to them, Detective Cawley-Bowyer added: "Please, think about what you're doing. We will catch you.

"Manchester city centre is a pretty impossible place to get away with crime.

"If you're going to come into town and rob people with knives, there will be consequences."

'It's a failure for all of us - not just for the individuals'

Lucy Powell, MP for Manchester Central, sits on the education select committee.

The committee has highlighted the ongoing problems surrounding Alternative Provision, the umbrella term for non-mainstream schooling which includes Pupil Referral Units.

"There's a very large underbelly of so-called hidden exclusions, where children are put into less formal Alternative Provision," she said.

"(It happens) for some, or part of their school time and it goes under the radar.

"There's an increasing number of children whose parents are being persuaded to take them out of school altogether and home school them when they have the skills or desire to do that.

"The IPPR (Institute for Public Policy Research) estimates that there are around 48,000 hidden exclusions.

"It's a much bigger problem than I think people appreciate."

Reacting to the Urbis gang cases, she continued: "There's a massive link between children being excluded, either formally or informally, and them ending up in the criminal justice system.

"I think undoubtedly any child ending up behaving that way is a societal failure.

"It's partly a failure of parental support as well, you would have to look at that.

"What we've been looking at in the committee, and me personally, is much more support in the early intervention stage.

"Many of those that behave in this way could have been foreseen by early intervention, before they even started school as infants.

"That's well evidenced."

(Image: Manchester Evening News)

"Many children in PRUs and other Alternative Provision have special educational needs (SEN), there's a massive disproportion of children with SEN.

"These things are not being met early - a big part of that is down to resources, social services, police.

"But it's not just that - there is a benefit to joined up intervention, early in a child's life.

"The Troubled Families Programme is exactly trying to address that and the funding is due to run out next year.

"It is a very sad case. Any case that involves children, minors, getting involved in serious criminal activity, it's a failure for all of us, not just a failure for the individuals.

"And we pay the price.

"Whether these kids are put in a Youth Offender Institution or prison or given a rehabilitation order, it's going to cost a lot more now than if we had put some support around them and their parents when they were three or four years old.

"That's what really needs to change. We need to try and find a way to put money in then, not at the end, when their lives are ruined and their victims lives are ruined.

"It needs more exposure.

"While you can totally understand there is a public perception that these are difficult and badly behaved children that need to be locked up... we've got to remember the real cost of having not dealt with this properly early in life, to the victims, to society, of having zero tolerance."

'Significant reduction in children getting excluded'

Councillor Luthfur Rahman, Executive Member for Schools, Culture and Leisure at Manchester Council, said: "This is something we take extremely seriously.

"Youth crime is very much a community issue that requires a community response, and we do as much as we can to stop young people getting involved in it.

"Although nationally youth crime is increasing, locally the number of children entering the criminal justice system for the first time is reducing year on year."

(Image: UGC MEN)

"We work directly with partners including schools and the PRUs in this to provide support and activities to divert and prevent young people entering the criminal justice system.

"We also work closely with schools around permanent exclusions and challenge those with high numbers.

"The picture on permanent exclusions in the city has very much for the last couple of years reflected what's been happening nationally, with a rise in numbers across the board.

"However we're currently working with others on a new approach to inclusion in our schools and our latest figures show there has been a significant reduction in the number of permanent exclusions since September.

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"This new approach is about helping ensure schools are better able to meet the needs of a wider range of pupils.

"One strand of this has included training for schools on childhood attachment and trauma and the significant impact this can have on young people and their behaviour.

"Underpinning the whole approach is a recognition that schools, parents, health colleagues, youth groups, and others all have a vital role to play in working together to help prevent young people reaching a point where they are permanently excluded, by making sure the right support is in place for them at the right time.

"We're also looking at what's on offer for young people outside of school hours and seeing how we can increase their involvement in all the many different cultural and leisure opportunities available across the city."

'Pupil Referral Units have a legal duty to safeguard children'

A spokesperson for the Department of Education (DfE) said: "No matter the obstacles they may face or the backgrounds they’re from, we want our young people to receive an education that fosters ambition and a confidence in their abilities.

"Pupil Referral Units, like all schools and colleges have a legal duty to safeguard children, protecting them from exploitation and abuse – whether that is from gang activity, county lines or sexual abuse.

"We are committed to ensuring that young people who have been excluded from school still receive high-quality education and support.

"We need to be just as ambitious for pupils in alternative provision as we are for those in mainstream schools – with high quality teaching and education, so parents can feel reassured and positive about their child’s future, despite the difficulties they may have faced."

The DfE also said it is providing up to £2m for a new national response unit to help local authorities support vulnerable children at risk of exploitation to criminal threats, such as gang activity, county lines and sexual exploitation.

"No matter the obstacles they may face or the backgrounds they’re from, we want our young people to receive an education that fosters ambition and a confidence in their abilities" - DfE

Efforts to reform Alternative Provision are ongoing.

Last summer, nine projects across the country were awarded a share of £4million to 'transform the education and outcomes of children taught in alternative provision'.

The DfE also recently launched an external review, led by Edward Timpson, which is currently looking into how exclusions are used, why certain groups are disproportionately affected, and why there are variations between regions.

The findings were due to be published in December, but the scope of the review has been widened.