Peckham youth:

Following the tenth anniversary of the death of Damilola Taylor, last Saturday, his father Richard Taylor has plead for the government to do more to tackle the drug wars that is killing young people.  

In an interview with ITV London Tonight's Ronke Phillips aired last Friday Richard Taylor said unless the situation is brought under control the teenage killings will continue.

Mr Taylor said: “The biggest issue we have over in Peckham is the use of drugs among young people.  It’s not the issue of young people stabbing themselves these days but about how drugs are circulated in our communities. The influence of, the use of drugs, the circulation of drugs from the parents to young people on the street – it’s the cause of all this gang issue. 

“It’s not the issue of young people fighting or…trying to kill themselves or trying to show ego about who should be in this postcode and who should not be in this postcode.  The postcode issue is about drugs and [those] …who sell the drugs.”

In 2007, 27 children died in London as a result of shootings or knifings by other children compared with 29 in 2008 and 15 teenagers last year.  So far, 17 teenagers have been killed in London this year; the latest being 17 year old Marvin Henry, who was shot in his chest on an estate in Mill Hill just a month ago.  A 21 year old has been charged with his murder, police said. 

In a recent survey, the Metropolitan Police identified 169 youth gangs in London, many using firearms and estimated to have been responsible for around 40 murders and 20% of the youth crime in the capital. 

A report by the London Serious Youth Violence Board (LSYVB) last November explained that the use of drugs among young people brought them into contact with the supply of drugs.  

A decade after little Damilola bled to death in a Peckham estate stairwell, media reports have carried interviews with Peckham residents who say the gangs are still going strong.

Mr Taylor’s comments highlight an issue that slipped from the main agenda amidst government cuts to address the economic deficit.  That was until the Metropolitan Police Trident taskforce, the investigative unit that was originally formed to handle black related gun crime, faced being disbanded and merged into the main policing squads.

Among various leading black figures who responded angrily to the proposals, Diane Abbott, Labour MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington, said: "I have great respect for the work that Trident does. Rather than scrapping Operation Trident, the Met should be extending its methods to other communities with similar issues.

“Gun crime is on the increase in London, and in my constituency of Hackney, Operation Trident plays a huge part in solving crimes on a day-to-day basis. Cutting backs its efforts would be a huge loss and will put Londoners at greater risk of further highly dangerous crimes." she said.

Activist Lee Jasper, Co-Chair of Black Activist Rising Against the Cuts (BARAC), has spoken vigorously against losing Trident, he says:  “The strength of Trident has been its capacity to gather intelligence across London and develop a joined up strategic overview of gun crime in the capital.

“Guns and gangs move at a repaid pace across the capital’s black communities and it’s essential that the inter-relationship of gang activity across boroughs is understood and informs policing activity. The cultural expertise that has built up with specialist detective’s officers is absolutely crucial to effective policing of gun crime in London's black communities

“Such is the reputation of Trident officers that they enjoy a higher-level confidence and trust among the black community that regular Met officers. The community partnership supported by Trident is the cornerstone of police community relations in London.

“The black community faces the prospect of being left to face the scourge of gun crime alone. Such a decision would represent a massive betrayal of our communities”.

Davina Kirwan