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New York: ‘There are a lot of police around and that makes you feel secure’ |
Security in New York... fear and loathing in Upper Street
Teenager Lottie Birdsall-Strong finds London’s mean streets threatening after enjoying the freedom the zero-tolerance has brought to New York
RETURNING to London from the United States, I have come to realise the harsh reality of life in our glorious city – if you haven’t got the money, there’s nothing for you.
Quality of life in the UK is getting worse, but why? Last year 27 teenagers were killed on the streets of London.
People seem keen to blame the rather obvious and perhaps easiest targets – the parents. Yes, they should be at home more often and be more involved in children’s lives. But the reason they are not must be considered: in most cases this reason is work.
With London fast becoming the most expensive city in the world, it’s near enough impossible for families to survive without parents working full-time.
There are plenty of things to do in London: sport, culture, great shops and restaurants. However, these activities are not available to the people who need them most. To go to my local cinema in north London will set you back just over £7. To grab a pizza at a restaurant, you’re looking at just under a tenner, that’s if you stick to tap water, of course.
With these prices it’s no wonder our capital’s teens are hanging around on the streets. Compare London prices with New York’s. Visiting the cinema in New York costs around $5 (about £2.50), to eat around $7 (£3.50), to go bowling around $6 (£3). In return for not being totally ripped off for everyday things, New York teenagers seem to be living in greater harmony than we are in London.
Our city is overpopulated and drained of its resources. The recent teenage murders are a sign of desperation, tragedy and despair. It’s time for safety and security in London to be restored; it’s time for the government to get real, pay attention and listen up.
Why do the most desperate kids seemingly fall prey to territorial gangs? I believe this is because this is all they have; it’s the identity they hold, their turf, their postcode, their area.
Time must be put into getting youths into clubs and encouraging their participation. Where there are sports centres and clubs, staff and coaches should be going out onto the streets to recruit young people.
Where there are youth centres there must be mentors to keep the kids feeling safe. Most of my friends and I don’t visit our local youth centre because it’s not properly secured.
If people were employed to oversee the centres then youths would have more confidence in visiting them.
New York’s zero-tolerance policy on crime is working wonders. We’d be fools not to consider why it has been such a blatant success.
I stayed in New York for a month. There was not the same hostility as there is between people of my age in London. I didn’t feel threatened by groups of young people hanging around New York. They seemed friendlier than London.
In Islington, we all freeze when we walk past a group of kids on a street corner in case they start being aggressive. I’m not saying New York is totally wonderful... it has its problems. You don’t go into Central Park after dark any more than you would go to Highbury Fields at night-time. But you are aware there are a lot of police around and that makes you feel secure.
By law, there is no drinking on the streets and people under 21 are not allowed in bars. In England as soon as a kid can reach the bar they are into the bar.
In New York I felt that if someone tried to grab my mobile phone people would help me. Here people would ignore me. In New York if someone dropped a Coke can someone would say “pick it up” – in London anything goes...
If you are not wealthy, London is a harsh and difficult place to grow up in. Middle and upper-class youths are able to enjoy the city; working-class youths are left to their own devices.
People must not give up on us yet; we’re just a lost generation in need of a little help.
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