The pattern tends to be the same: A body slumped on a park bench, fatally injured by stab wounds, as passers-by turn a blind eye. Next, the spot is covered in bunches of flowers and notes of sympathy. In a north London park this week, 14-year-old Leroy James became the youngest of 10 teenagers who have been murdered in the British capital so far this year - eight being victims of knife crime.
Last year, there were 18 teenage deaths from knife and gun crime. Leroy, an ardent football fan, died of a single stab wound after a fight in a park in Enfield, north London, close to Tottenham where the recent riots were sparked earlier this month. His father, also called Leroy, revealed that the boy received a mobile phone message shortly before he met his death, asking him to come to a meeting in the park.
Leroy and six friends set out to heed the call, requiring them to "leave the relative security of their own postcode to enter a rival zone," according to media reports. A fight ensued, during which Leroy was left slumped, covered in blood, near a basketball court close to where dozens of children were playing Wednesday afternoon.
As Leroy's friends and relatives laid flowers Thursday, a passing youth threw a bottle before being chased away, the Times reported. Two teenage boys, aged 14 and 15, have been arrested in connection with Leroy's killing. "We know that the park was incredibly busy at the time of the incident and many more people may be able to help us with our investigation," said detective chief inspector Caroline Goode. There was no evidence, she added, that Leroy, who was Jamaican, had become the victim of gang crime. However, she added that witnesses had reported that the victim had been in an "altercation with at least one other boy."
But, with another, non-fatal stabbing taking place on Oxford Street, London's busiest shopping street, at approximately the same time on Wednesday, anti-knife crime campaigners maintain that London is in the midst of a "knife epidemic." "There is a real sense of fear on our streets. It is shocking to watch the waste of lives," local Enfield priest Andrew Newcombe said. "If you are in the wrong postcode you are in trouble."
Leroy's grieving father, when asked whether he believed children should be carrying knives, told the Times: "It's up to them. If they hadn't gone out with a knife, this wouldn't be happening to me now."
The British government, which maintains that a widespread "gang culture" was partly responsible for the recent riots in London and other cities, is looking to learn from anti-gang fighting schemes in the US. "A clear message will be delivered: If you stop we will do everything in our power to help you get out; if you continue, we'll do everything to bring you to justice," government minister Iain Duncan Smith said Friday.
A recent study by Jane's Police Review confirms the importance of "postcode boundaries" in London's gang warfare. "Youths gain ratings by visibly patrolling territorial boundaries, not least because the act of someone from a rival gang or postcode 'caught slipping' (encroaching upon their territory) is seen as an affront to the gang's power and reputation."
In order to deal effectively with gangs, and their associated criminal behaviour, it was important for the police to understand the so-called "respect culture" within gangs and what members must do to earn "ratings." The Police Review findings are drawn from two years of fieldwork with 12 gangs in London, interviews with 69 self-nominated gang members and more than 100 "key informants," the authors of the Jane's report said.
"Gang life consists of an aggressive campaign for status and search for 'ratings.' It is essentially a tournament of the most committed...governed by a consistent set of informal, unwritten rules," it noted. Ratings were earned through violence, silence, criminal activity and even sexual conquest, said the report. Speaking a "distinctive" gang language and patrolling territorial boundaries were equally important qualifications.
Comments
Comments are closed.