Murder in London: Politicians, parents and public health

Poor communities in London both black and white are facing violence on a level that is comparable with a small war. Both Labour and Tory Councils and the Mayor have to take their share of responsibility for failing to tackle an issue that strikes genuine fear into the heart of all communities. At a time when local authorities are making deep cuts to youth and community provision.

All over the capital crime diversion projects and community centers are being shut down and there has to be a real prospect that the number of tragic deaths will increase in the context of higher levels of unemployment. In many inner city areas young people one can see the light and the end of the tunnel dying and with it the last vestiges of both hope and opportunity.

The general perception in poor communities and one that is fast becoming a social fact is that that light no longer exists and that many young people who are now unable to afford education and unlikely to get work will create a growing pool of vulnerable young people.

This swelling pool of discontent is ignored at our peril. A growing number of young people will see themselves as having no real opportunities to progress. The death of hope and opportunity in this context will only add to the alienation and despondency of our young people making them more likely not less to become seduced into crime.

The fact is that many in communities where the violence is highest believe that with each murder costing around £1.4 million to investigate youth murders are a great source of funding for a criminal justice industry. Sounds deeply cynical I know but in the context of public sector cuts that view is gaining ground.

Yes we can blame politicians and they have to take their share of the blame but the failure of politicians from all parties is not the greater failure. The catastrophic failure of parents to take responsibility for their children, the failure of the mighty black church to launch a moral crusade with real practicable help for parents struggling to cope with wayward children, the failure of communities who drowned in poverty have lost their moral centre, of business leaders who walk on by either indifferent or afraid and remain silent and inactive, these realities represents the most critical failure of all.

Regardless of what the politicians may or may not do as a community we must take ultimate responsibility and no amount of support programmes and initiatives can substitute for parental responsibility. In the absence of effective government support on the issues of access to education and employment opportunities, reducing poverty and domestic violence, tackling of drugs and mental health issues, the provision of housing and tackling homelessness are we to simply give up and allow our young people to pay the price for their inactivity and our irresponsibility?

Our current approach is one that is dominated by an enforcement approach. Of course these dangerous violent people should be locked up but enforcement alone cannot hope to tackle the problem. Prevention and education have to be part of the solution and there is little evidence that these issues are being prioritised.

What we need is a comprehensive community led/statutory public health partnership to tackle violence per se. You cannot simply seek to tackle violence in discreet silo’s of youth crime or alcohol related crime or violence against women and children.

The children who commit these crimes are largely from dysfunctional violent families themselves. They live in violent communities, the go to schools where violence and the threat of violence is the prevailing culture. They become endured and desensitized to violence and are largely oblivious to its consequence. The adoption of a public health approach would break out of this silo mentality and offer a proactive approach to reducing all violence in our communities.

And the need for the adoption of a new and radical approach could not be more evident. In London of late we are witnessing an upsurge in murders. A quick look at some of the tragic stories tells its own deeply depressing story.

• May the 11th saw the sad news that yet another 15-year-old boy has been mercilessly stabbed to death in South London.
• April the 10th saw 15 yr old Negus McClean left lying in a "huge pool of blood" while his 13-year-old brother screamed for help and tried to lift him.
• Milad Golmakani died from stab wounds to the chest and neck after being attacked in Kilburn on Weds 13th April.
• Raymond Mitchell, 34, of Croydon, south London, was murdered in Marcus Garvey Way in Brixton on the morning of 17 April
• Lucinda Port, 29, was found murdered in Bow on 26 April, two days after her partner Paul Wright's body was found hanging from a tree in Bethnal Green.This is despite the police being warned of her partners violent behavior.
• This follows the seemingly random shooting of Wayne Stockdale in East London who was out riding his bike on the 6th May
• On the 8th of May Adeniyi Lateef Shode, 21, of Edgware, died in hospital after he was stabbed in Northolt on 2 May.
• Three days later in Bromley a man is left fighting for his life having been found with multiple gunshot wounds.
• That same day a Hackney teenager is sent to prison for 3 years after being found on a train carrying a loaded gun and a clown mask.
• Randy Osei-Boateng was gunned down on the same day in West Kensington

Murders increased in the capital in the last financial year by 16.2% and five teenagers have been shot in the capital this year. Gun killings increased by 56%
Thusha Kamaleswaran a 5yr old child was shot in local Lambeth food and wine store in March along with Roshan Selvakumar, a 35-year-old shop assistant, who was shot in the face after an attempted public execution. Thusha may never walk again.

Albert Einstein defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome as we witness the tragedy and pain that is being inflicted on our city the challenge for us all is to find a new way to reduce violence in our communities.

Lee Jasper