For many, the response to this issue is heavily focused on enforcement and penalties. More arrests and harsher punishments can appease our sense of outrage and anger, and perhaps impact ‘the figures’ for a short time. Of course, actions have consequences and no one should get off scot-free for breaking the law. But, for real, long-term, sustainable change we have to look to something else. As one senior policeman put it, ‘We can’t arrest our way out of this problem.’
XLP has worked for nearly 20 years with some of the most challenging communities in the inner city: in their schools and pupil referral units, on their estates and with their families. We know only too well the tragic consequences of young people carrying knives. I have sat with more mothers than I can bear, grieving the violent loss of their children, and walked the long walk with them over the years as they try to make sense of what has happened. More than most, we have seen the pain and suffering it can bring.
Recently, a Met commander remarked to the Evening Standard’s reporter that combating knife crime ‘largely requires a change in culture’. There are some amazing and remarkable children, young people and families with incredible potential living in areas such as the Aylesbury, but that potential is often overwhelmed by a pervasive sense of fear, a lack of hope for anything different and an ‘I’ve got nothing to lose’ mentality. That is the culture in which gangs, criminality and violence can spread like a disease.
The cure for this disease is a culture of strong and positive relationships that encourage confidence and security, where hope and aspirations run wild. Martin Luther King said: ‘I have a dream’, not, ‘I’ve got a complaint!’ Perhaps if we want to change a culture, we need to stop complaining about the figures, and spend more time focused on making the dream of this new culture a reality for the next generation.
Our condolences go to Moe’s family and friends; I know he will be very much missed on the XLP projects. Please God let this be the last of such tragedies.
XLP’s ‘Tackling Britain’s Knife Crime Conference’ is taking place on Monday 9th November 2015 – for more information visit www.xlp.org.uk
