“I believe that knife crime is on the rise because it’s easy to get involved in the cycle but difficult then to get out. You must always be thinking: “Is it me next?” The reasons behind a lot of attacks are actually really pathetic: silly words that quickly lead to someone losing their life.”
Anonymous quote
Introduction
Education is the most potent life skill but is sadly lacking on many levels in UK society. Politicians of all political persuasions promise the earth to get into power, but when it comes to it, nothing much changes—yet playing out before our very eyes is a social catastrophe that is crying out for direct action and answers to solve this complicated web of knife and gun crime. The tragic fact is that this crime is not exclusive to adults. Teenagers and adolescents feel that a life in a gang is more important than going to school. Yet, though crime is never the answer, many of these young people who chose this life path feel their voices are not heard. Black history is not part of the school curriculum, and the subjects are a universe away from their everyday lives.
Gangs prey on this disillusionment and promise wealth and status in a criminal world that is not what it is cracked up to be. The police target those who go about their everyday lives, using the despicable method of stop and search as a degrading method of policing. Yet, where does the blame lie for the actions of this section of society? The failure of the parents, the schools, the police or the establishment that oversees and governs us? Politicians fail to tackle the problems and pick and choose when to raise them. There is more to being a politician than speaking in the House of Commons, attending a constituency surgery and answering the complaints and concerns of your constituents. All fail to grasp this crisis and bury their heads in the sand instead. Too many people are dying on our streets day in and day out, quickly forgotten as mere statistics.
Yes, there are a few who champion this cause, but far too few—ex-gang members and parents who have lost their loved ones to gun and knife crime. The likes of the famous like Stormzy and Idris Elba talk the talk, but where are the results? Tell that to a worried parent, scared for their child’s safety or the groups of youths who hang about housing estates, street corners or shopping centres, bored, angry and ready to take the law into their own hands. This cancer of crime is suffocating and yet is allowed to bubble below the surface and ooze in so many communities. The pensioner was mugged in the street, and a teenager was fatally stabbed or shot by the parents of the deceased, receiving this horrific news. One that commits a life sentence of grief on those affected.
The Answers
This is a complex and problematic issue with no simple solutions, but to start tackling it, you have to work with all those involved in it. Only then will things improve. Legislation has to be tightened and prison life reformed so that it becomes a punitive action and not just somewhere where you can languish for your sentence and then come out to re-offend—the programmes in prison need to reeducate and show that crime is wrong. Letting prisoners out to prevent overcrowding is not the answer. Build more prisons and make them a place where you wish not to go to.
The simple answer by the establishment is to blame black culture and society. That is deplorable and despicable. Criminals come from every race and culture, and to stereotype a criminal as a black person is vile. Black people have been vilified for generations, and to say that this section of society turns to crime is ludicrous. There are millions of black, law-abiding citizens in this country, and gangs will recruit anyone who chooses to step away from the path of legality. Leave race out of the equation; this is a systemic problem that is deep-rooted in society. You must remove the cancer of crime to pull out the roots. In no circumstances is it right to kill or maim an individual? This is a heinous crime that beggars belief. A person died in turf warfare or just being in the wrong place at the wrong time. That’s not to say that all those who are involved are innocent, but no one deserves to die before their natural demise.
Despite all these cries for help and change, they are essentially brushed aside. The establishment prefers to brush the matter under the carpet and sit on their hands. Too many people have been gunned down by the police, and they use the excuse that it was a necessary action. Yet those police marksmen escape trial and retribution, using an anonymity card to escape prosecution. If it is proven that you have committed a crime, whoever you are, you should be punished. End of fact! The police included, and there is no point in doing an internal investigation and concluding that lessons will be learned. They are not, and this malaise of tampering with the law continues today. The heavy-handed tactics of the police in the UK cause numerous problems and lead many to be suspicious of the police and not trust them. Whole-scale reform of the police is much needed, and although we have progressed from the dark days of the 1970s and 1980s, we are still far from having a credible police force.
Afterthoughts
Gun and knife crime is a criminal disease in our society, and there are just not the resources or solutions to tackle this problem. Those who can make changes choose not to do so and let this tidal wave of heinous crime continue. The courts and legal system are stretched to the limit, with far too many people imprisoned for the wrong reasons. They need to look in the mirror and see what is happening on the UK streets. Although this problem is not unique to the UK, it is where we live and affects our daily lives. Ignoring it causes the problem to balloon and escalate. That is what is happening; no two ways about it. Hollow words and broken promises will not solve this major catastrophe. There have to be decisive actions and a coordinated strategy to tackle these issues. Until this happens, the death toll will only continue to rise, and too many families will have their loved ones taken away from them.
