We need to stop labelling London’s young people as a ‘problem’, write Dr James Morgan and James Alexander, senior lecturers in criminology at London Metropolitan University.
Many of us woke up on New Year’s Day moved, but not surprised, by the news that four young men had been murdered while the rest of us were out celebrating. The events that occurred that night and, tragically, over the past five months in the capital city have led to concerns that young people are driving a spike in violence. Before asking why this violence occurs it is important to assess the level of violence in London.
Violent crime is surprisingly difficult to measure. People may assume that police recorded crime is the most accurate source of information on this topic but this can be affected by the willingness of people to report violence and also of the police’s own recording practices. British criminologists tend to prefer the Crime Survey for England and Wales, which interviews tens of thousands of members of the public every year. Data from this survey suggests that aggregate levels of violent crime have been decreasing since a peak in 1993. However, some detractors claim this picture may not reflect reality. This survey only hears from people above the age of 16 who live at a stable address.
Alongside the tendency of young urban males to refuse participation in surveys, such as this, it is clear that counting incidents of inner city violence will not be an exact science. Despite controversy concerning whether crime and violence ‘are going up’ or ‘going down’ we can at least assess the numbers of people tragically killed at the hands of others. Firstly, and indeed sadly, the previous 12 months have seen more murders in London than any year since 2010 when the Metropolitan Police began to publish their own monthly statistics. Clearly this is a worrying trend, however it must also be noted that London’s murder rate was higher in both of the two decades previous. This was a period when much of the developed world was experiencing more violence than it does today. Current levels of fatal violence in the capital are highly concerning but not unprecedented. How does London compare to other cities? It was widely remarked that at the beginning of 2018 London was more violent than New York. Indeed, during both February and March, more homicides were recorded in London than its cousin across the Atlantic. However, looking at 2017 we see that New York experienced almost triple the number of murders compared to London. This was despite a rapid decline in New York’s murder rate since around 2010 which has seen New York become one of America’s safer cities. Overall we can conclude that although the beginning of 2018 has brought a worrying increase in violence, London is far from a global murder hotspot. Having established that violence might be infecting the lives of more young Londoners, the next task is to ask why this might be.
Moving away from the often clumsy business of making judgements based on numeric data, answers might be found in the words of those who have been closest to violence. By listening to these voices as well as by spending time in deprived communities some potential explanations can be advanced. During the aftermath of the 2011 London riots, there was an increase in community spirit in London demonstrated by people taking to the streets with the brooms and bin bags to clean up the devastation. At one meeting a young man could not wait to speak and when he was given the nod, his comments sum up one of the key issues that we have yet to deal with: “How can people talk about community when there is none, all these people with the brooms and making cups of tea, some of them may walk past me every day, where were they when I needed help with my school work or issues out home.
It’s easy to pick up a brush when everyone else is doing it but why do they care about the streets but not about me.” The young person in question is now serving a 20 year prison sentence for murder. His remarks echo the sentiments of more and more young people. Although often the subject of sensationalist headlines, strategic law enforcement and local authority meetings, very rarely will you find someone interested in an individual young person. Almost always the sole concern is to manage inner city youth as ‘problem people.’
As our lifestyle has changed, support for young people has also changed. Over several decades, support for young people has moved from family and friends, to professional support delivered by trained staff and volunteers offering targeted specialised services often for only a few hours at a time. Although these services can provide important support and guidance they do not fill the gap left by the everyday interaction of neighbours, family, friends and wider adult networks which in the past played an important role in guiding young people on their path to adulthood. Many young people themselves understand this, commenting that no one around them really cares. In circumstances where there is no real trusted relationship it is hard to accept support offered by those who are being paid to provide a short term service.
This was clear through involvements in community schemes and also research, both of which involved face to face engagement with young people. Outside of the minimal intervention and influence of these services, most of our young people are largely left to navigate some of the biggest transitional periods of their lives with only the aid of their equally isolated peers. Left in this situation a small minority, and we have to remind ourselves that it is a small minority, misguidedly find themselves mixed up in a culture of street violence.
As isolation increases, it is possible that more young people will find themselves caught up in violence. The finger of blame is quickly pointed at the police, with suggestions that we need a greater number of police and a return to more frequent stop and search of young people. Indeed the biggest focus of action in the recent Serious Violence Strategy published by the Home Office focused most of all on policing the phenomenon of ‘country lines’ drug dealing. But perhaps we should look closer to home. Young people need care from those around them, perhaps more so than attempts to control them.
About the authors
James Alexander has over 10 years’ experience in running and evaluating youth crime diversion programmes. His research interests include urban ethnography with a specific focus on youth street crime. Dr James Morgan’s research interests include drug issues, organised crime, substance misuse and criminological theory.
Photo by Mark Rowe; street art, south London.
