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Young
people are carrying knives without thinking about the consequences,
which can include being scarred for life, maimed or even killed.
London's Metropolitan Police is adopting an innovative tactic in
its war against the scourge of knife crime which is ruining the
lives of many young people throughout the capital. Whilst 50 Cent
is glorifying violence in his game Bulletproof,
Scotland Yard has produced a video game simulation that brings home
the realities of knife crime. |
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A study by
the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies revealed that street robberies
involving blades have risen from 25,500 in 2005 to 64,000 in the
year to April 2007. The figures mean that, on average, there were
175 knife robberies a day in England and Wales last year. |
Knife City,
a spoof computer game in which a hooded youth is stabbed in a fight
on a housing estate, is the centrepiece of a campaign created for
the Met's latest attempt to reduce knife crime. The action follows
a youth as he encounters a gang on the street, a fight starts and,
as he is stabbed, animation gives way to live action.
Documentary-style footage then takes over as bystanders watch in
horror and an ambulance arrives. The attacker is then taken to a
police station where his computer generated self fades to live action
as the reality of his situation becomes clear.
 It's
Not A Game Website |
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Worried parents
are buying body armour for their children in an attempt to keep
them safe from street violence according to The Times. A firm that
supplies stab- and bullet-proof vests to government agencies around
the world has sold 60 jackets to concerned parents after several
murders of teenagers on London streets. “They are concerned
by what is happening on the streets — the level of violence.
A 13-year-old girl has been our youngest customer but most are about
15 or 16. Most of the calls have been from London" a spokesman
for the firm is reported as saying. |
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South
London teenage gang Terror Zone (TZ) said in a rap track that they
carry knives as if they were £10 notes. The Mitcham-based
crew is blamed for the death of Thornton Heath teenager Eugene Attram
in a street fight. On 'Got it Good' one member tells how "my
niggas roll with shanks (knives) in their pockets like they're tenners".
Another says: "I roll with a big shank, any nigga move to me,
I push the blade though his piss tank." TZ is said to be involved
in a feud with the Stick ’em Up Kids (SUK) from nearby Wandsworth.
The violence turned deadly when Eugene, aged 16 and known to his
friends as Fruge, was fatally stabbed in Mitcham. Shortly after
the killing, an entry on a gang website read: "You can't move
to attack TZ. If you move to TZ you will get shanked. Shanking Fruge
was a warning." Police say there is no evidence to suggest
that pastor's son Eugene was in a gang. A teenager who knows both
gangs said: "It was a fight between the crews and Eugene was
there with his friends. He didn't deserve to die." |
 Terror
Zone Mixtape |
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10% of boys
aged 11 and 12 are reported to have carried a knife or other weapon
and 8% said they had attacked someone intending serious harm. By
the age of 16, the figure had risen to 24% who have carried a knife
and 16% who had attacked somebody intending harm. 'Fear and Fashion'
sets out the the extent and causes of young people carrying knives
and other weapons. It deals with some of the approaches being currently
adopted to tackle the problem and makes recommendations.
 The
use of knives and other weapons by young people |
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Violent street
robbery in the UK is often carried out because of a desire to fight,
to put right perceived injustice, to increase "street cred"
or even just for "kicks". One offender said he was addicted
to it. "It weren't even for money. It was just — I had
money; it was more like the buzz you get from doing things. I was
more addicted to robbing than I was to drugs." One element
in the excitement came from overpowering the victim and obtaining
dominance. "It's for the fun. 'Cos the point of street robbery
is to get them to fight back, innit? I'd give him a couple of slaps
and tell him to fight back, yeah. If he won't fight back, we just
give him a kick and go." Robberies can also be prompted by
anger and the desire to start a fight, with cash being taken only
as an afterthought. Here the level of violence used is often beyond
that required to secure the victim's compliance. "I picked
a fight with someone on the street. They were the first people I
come across. I started hitting one of them and calling him names
and said, 'What are you looking at?' and stuff like that. Then I
can't remember how but I started hitting him and then I just jumped
on him. Punched him, turned him over, went through his pockets."
Some robberies were committed as a kind of informal justice in which
the offender felt he or she had righted some wrong done to them.
The
Economic and Social Research Council |
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What
is behind the current knife epidemic? What can be done to stem
the rise in knife-related violence amongst young people? Get in
touch and let us know your views. |
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 My
boyfriend was in TZ and moved away before Eugene's death but when
he moved away and escaped the trouble TZ weren't happy. I think
they will kill him if they see him. Please to any gangs out there,
grow up before u get thrown in pen, u don't want 2 liv lives of
guilt!
— Anonimous |
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I
think that knife crime is becoming more popular due to the media.
It seems to be that young kids are not being taught to work hard
and make something of themselves. A lot stems from parents not giving
their children the fundamental teachings that will make them into
hardworking men. Young boys are getting greedy and lazy. They don't
want to work but they want money! The media, for example MTV, is
influencing kids that it's all about having jewellery and the latest
gadgets, but in my opinion these kids are not getting the self confidence
to become somebody worthwhile. When kids rebel against the system,
I believe it's for attention (negative or positive, it doesn’t
matter). These kids need positive influences from a young age. But
with so many kids growing up with parents on the dole, and no interest
in their future, what chance do they have! There needs to be more
free workshops to get these kids to achieve more than street cred.
The government need to put more money into the poorest boroughs
so that kids have something better to do with their time. Every
activity nowadays costs money, some parents including myself can't
afford. If the younger generation do not get the attention they
are crying out for, it will get a lot worse.
— Shelley |
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Any
1 can stab some 1, it don’t make u bad, it just takes someone’s
life away. We need to stop this happening as most stabbings are
racially targeted to all colours of man dem out there. Every 1 has
feelings inside, no matter what the race, everyone hurts when hit
and no man is invincible so drop de knifes. Think of families, mums
and dads who suffer when they get that news when they’ve heard
their son’s been stabbed through the heart and died. Walk
away from conflict cause u get 1 life so enjoy it in peace with
every youth out there and try and stay calm and open minded with
everything. Don’t hold grudges because only 1 man will get
hurt.
— Movin South |
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RIP
Jacob... An eye for an eye brings blindness. Put the knife away.
Stabbing some one don’t make u hard, it just kills a person.
Every day a man dies and yet another life is born, the start to
the end. If u use a knife u waste your life.
— Tauren |
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He
didn't deserve 2 die. Dats not fair. Gangs is bad.
— Y Major |
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Safer
Leeds runs a knife awareness programme with support from a whole
range of relevant organisations in Leeds.The programme involves
recruiting and training volunteers to deliver the weapons awareness
sessions to young people in Leeds. The programme involves a 45 minute
presentation which includes information and facts about weapons
and the consequences of using them.
Weapons
Awareness Programme |
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Rad
Lad Livin' — Sort Your Walk: Mark Bowness
Rad
Lad Livin' comes from the editor of 'The Walk' magazine, and is
designed to challenge every aspect of lad culture that lurks deep
within. From drinking to stress, from singleness to lust, from brotherhood
to self-image, this book covers it all! The perfect manual to help
any lad move forward, Rad Lad Livin' has come out of author Mark
Bowness spending time with lads across the UK dealing with issues
in their lives, making this book practical in its nature and real
in its content. This book has been needed for a long time —
real lads looking at real lad issues. Written with honesty, Mark
lets you into his life and recounts stories that are painful to
tell yet crucial to hear. He has grappled with some issues in order
to present them in a real and relevant way, then sprinkled it with
stories of past and present, making this a challenging, interesting
and significant book for any lad to read.
Available to buy from
amazon.co.uk
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One in five
secondary school kids say they've tried drugs at least once in the
past 12 months, according to figures from a survey on drug use,
drinking and smoking in young people published by the UK's Information
Centre for Health and Social Care.
Kids
and Drugs |
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Violent crime
including gang welfare and the use of firearms affects many urban
communities, with a growing number of alarming incidents reported
in the media. Churches often struggle to find appropriate ways to
respond to these crises and the pastoral needs that arise from them.
God
and the Gangs |
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da Vision
exists to impact the community by refocusing the aspirations, re-channelling
the energies and redirecting the activities of young people in a
positive way. It aims to equip and empower individuals and groups
wanting to see a positive change in young people’s lives.
To
See Lives Changed |
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