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Martin making his Holy Communion, aged 8 |
‘Youths feel forced to carry knives’
Ex-member of ‘crew’ reveals how ‘respect’ rules on streets and a youth worker says: ‘It’s territorial’
A REFORMED gang member has lifted the lid on life inside Islington’s “crews” and revealed what makes young people turn to extreme violence.
Speaking following the killing of 14-year-old Martin Dinnegan in Holloway, he reveals why “respect” is so important and why knife culture is rampant.
And this week, Rob Barnett, a youth worker for 24 years, called for one-to-one work with teenagers to stem Islington’s street crime.
Their comments come as the police announce the launch of a Borough Intelligence Team to tackle gang violence.
The former gang member who spoke out is a well-known “face” around Islington who has served four years in prison for firearms offences.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, he said: “I couldn’t even begin to count the number of gangs operating in the borough. Basically, wherever you find a block of flats you’ll find a ‘gang’.
“There’s cocaine firms and there’s puff (cannabis) firms but it’s not necessarily about drugs. There’s money on the streets to be found and these kids want it.”
He added: “If you build flats you are herding them like cattle so it’s no surprise they develop an animal mentality.”
The former gang member said that, during a knife fight, specific body areas are targeted. He said: “They go for legs or arms or buttocks but no one explains to these kids about arteries.”
The man, now a father, has turned his back on the gang lifestyle and spends time trying to persuade young people to shun a life of violence.
He explained why “respect” is so crucial to the mainly male gang members, many from broken homes.
The ex-gang member said bluntly: “No one wants to be mugged off. It can be as simple as one boy driving past another and one thinking the other is looking at them funny and taking the p***. You think to yourself “you mug”.
“In the old days you’d go down the pub and the football and have a punch-up. That was the norm.
“Now the kids of 14 carry knives because they are scared of being shot. The attitude is you have to be prepared to pull a knife on someone if they pull one on you. They won’t just have a straightener (fist fight) now.
“I think this culture escalates because the police don’t give respect to people on the street.”
As a youth worker Mr Barnett, 47, has been trying to stop the use of knives for 10 years.
He said: “It’s about the use of aggression. If someone pulls a knife they are more likely to use it. Young people clearly don’t feel safe and they think carrying knives gives them self-defence.”
He added: “Respect is the same in adult terms as being polite or having social graces and it is very territorial.”
He believes the solution is to get young people from different areas mixing instead of being “parochial” in their outlook – to give them an escape from gang culture.
Mr Barnett said: “The gang wars on the estates have been going on for a long time in Islington. I think we should have a youth facility on every estate in the borough.”
He would like to see one-to-one youth work combined with an attempt to get young people to understand acceptable boundaries. The key is to get to them at a young age and instil positive behaviour, he believes.
“The youth service should be talking to young people about safety on the streets and how to avoid getting caught up in a situation where someone pulls a knife on you and is prepared to use it,” he said. “It’s about avoiding confrontation and walking away, if necessary finding a safe place like a shop and getting them to help.”
Mr Barnett added: “It’s about getting young people involved in positive activities. This is a borough with money and we need a youth service for every young person.” |
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When someone presumes to tell you the cause of a problem, consider whether the cause was present before the problem arose. If so, it's probably not the cause.
Fifty years ago Great Britain did not have this problem -- at least not anywhere close to this level.
Therefore, if you want to identify the cause, look among the aspects of society that have changed since fifty years ago. The true cause or causes will be found among those changes.
Frank Silbermann
"Knife Culture"? When all the knives are outlawed, will it be called "Lead Pipe" or "Baseball Bat" culture???
Mike S |
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