Police officers who are targeting knife crime have said watching drill music videos posted on YouTube by local gangs has become an increasingly important part of the job.

The Xcaliber task force was originally set up in 2004 by Greater Manchester Police to stop gun crime but has shifted focus to deal with teenagers carrying knives.

Figures from the force show more than 400 people under the age of 25 were hurt by knives in a 12-month period between 2023 and 2024, though the figure has fallen compared to previous years.

Det Insp Kat McKeown said many teenagers carried weapons to show “they are not to be messed with”.

The task force was set up in response to an infamous period in Manchester’s history when the city earned the name “Gunchester” due to the prevalence of the weapons among gangs.

The unit’s work focuses on the hotspot areas of Trafford and the south of Manchester.

Xcalibre is now well known in those communities, and has even been referenced in the drill music videos officers are using to gather intelligence.

“They’ll say Xcal’s got the block on lockdown,” Det Insp McKeown said.

She said the unit’s profile had led some young people in gangs to say they would only speak to Xcalibre officers.

“Their main need and what they’re wanting from a group is that they are seen within their gangs and opposing gangs as someone not to be messed with,” she told BBC Radio Manchester.

“And, that they are not being dissed on music tracks.”

‘Shocked’

Videos of drill music, which can include lyrics describing acts of violence and recent attacks, are being used by the unit to monitor young people.

Det Insp McKeown said: “Certain gangs in our areas wear different color bandanas – some of those groups are really talented, and will put out music videos like drill.”

“So they’ll be talking about a recent child that’s been murdered, and that in itself can raise tensions within a community,” she said.

“Twenty years ago we wouldn’t be looking at Youtube to monitor our local gangs – but now a five minute video could tell you more than a whole ten hours walking on the street and trying to speak to be people.”

In Greater Manchester, 44 in every 100,000 young people under 25 were affected by knife crime, according to police data.

The unit has used the information on the videos to work out which gangs are in conflict with each other, but the supply of knives is another problem.

“The majority of knives my people get are from online,” Det Insp McKeown said, adding they were “pretty much legal”.

Those taken off the street are “a fraction of what is really out there”, she added.

Her task force has also found some local shops were selling knives to teenagers.

Two days after 17-year-old Prince Walker was fatally stabbed in Moss Sid in April, police sent 15-year-old cadets into shops to buy knives, and many were successful.

“I was shocked,” Det Insp McKeown said.

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