Account for the rise of black on black crime

by inuawosika (student)

Death in the Afternoon.

London 2012: As the Olympic Village reaches completion more and more young people are being murdered in the streets of London. Many victims die at the hands of members of their own community. Iti Awosika joins the heated debate about how we can protect our children.

There has been an alarming rate of deaths amongst teenage black boys. For the past decade Britain has had the largest rate of teenage deaths amongst teenagers both black and white, however this number has been much higher of amongst teens of Black decent, may have questioned the reason for this with statements like’ I blame the parents’, ‘I blame the education system’. But what are the main causes for these senseless acts of violence that are taking the lives of the next generation. If you concentrate on the series of murder victims in London it is clear to see that these victims are of Black Caribbean and Black African heritage. But these killings do not happen because the youth of today have become more heartless and senseless about the welfare of others. There is a narrative around violence that is being perpetuated most strongly within Black communities in London. Examples of this narrative could include; a sense that protective factors such as policing and criminal justice are no longer supporting or protecting

them; that their identity and security within this current society has grown increasingly vulnerable that any minor slight has to be tackled with extreme acts of violence.

Black on Black violence is partly due to the fact that people feel that they can’t ‘snitch/ grass’ on other people in the Black community and because of this they choose to sort out their own problems without any involvement of the police. Another reason not to snitch is that you are scared that other people will come to your place to seek revenge, so even if the murderer is put come to your home. This fear of revenge acts as the main deterrent to report crime to the police. Behind bars you don’t know whether his friends will be lying in ...

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The Blame game

Blame the police. Poor protection (Policing and The criminal justice system)

Many feel that Black on Black crime is a result of poor levels of policing in these notorious areas known for their high levels of crime and violence. Those who live in these areas feel that the police do not prioritise crimes that are committed by Black people. Because of feeling like they are of a lower priority of the police the people of these communities do not feel like they have the full protection of the full protective capability if the police and are more likely to be victimised. Without the resource to a full and intervention between the criminal justice system and victims/perpetrators, as a result of this disputes and issues are resolved between communities and locals and this can escalate towards very violent confrontations.

The Annual crime statistics provided by the Home Office have shown that mixed race and Black people reported that they have lowest levels of confidence in policing and the criminal justice system compared to other groups.

Although there is some truth this argument some may argue. ‘But can we really blame the police?’ There have been police initiatives such as ‘Operation Trident’. This is policing unit that has aims of lowering the levels of gun and knife crime in black communities around London. Since Trident's inception in 1998, in the UK has risen by 89%, with London bearing the brunt of these sad figures.

‘‘Young black boys are four times more likely to be stopped and searched in comparison to whites. Although police officers claim that they are trained to see beyond race and treat everyone as equal individuals, everyday a young black boy is stopped by a police officer not because they are known for participating in criminal activities but simply because they are wearing a ‘hoodie’ or ride a nice car. This contributes to the little faith that members of the black community have in the criminal justice system and police.’’

Blame the Parents

When violence occurs between youths, black youths in particular people always seem to find some way of shifting the blame onto others, may it be the parents of perpetrators and victims, the music industry, anybody else other than the senseless offenders themselves.

After asking my parents about their views about the topic this is what they had to say.

"60% of black children are brought up by single mothers. 56% of mixed race children are brought up by single mothers. That Black dad you saw is an exception BUT at least he was there to pick up his child!
The kids out there have no image of what it means to be a real man, that is why they latch onto stupid things like BMW’s and other shallow consumer goods that are supposed to demonstrate wealth. Without fathers there, teenage boys become a caricature of manhood, not real men. So these black boys overdo the macho posturing and violence. They don’t know that real men feel compassion, fear, sadness and cry. These boys are shadows of men just something they saw in a film, advert or music video, and thought that what a real man should be."

Black teenagers commit high levels of street crime and carry guns and knives because they come from broken homes and have little faith in the police system. Studies have shown that 59 per cent of Black Caribbean children come from single parent families, compared to 22 per cent of White British children. The absence of a positive black male role model have led to these young teenagers choosing to emulate the negative and violent lifestyle popularised in some forms of black music such as rap and in films.

America’s Influence on the UK gang culture.

British gang culture models itself on the criminal underworld of black ghettoes in America. Of course in the UK there are whites and Asian who are also involved in gang violence and crime. But look at the victims. Look at the mug-shots overwhelmingly they are black- tragic black youths that have been corrupted by a culture that should have no place in our community. So if this is the case why do we tolerate it? Why do we allow these preachers of black gang cultures to successfully get their messages across to the young black men of the next generation?

It is these poisonous messages that have killed children such as Seydou Diarrassouba, Zac Olumegbon ‘Lil Zac’. And hundreds of other young black victims of gang violence over the past few years. It is this toxic ideology that has turned this generation of shiny-faced children into murders.

Knife crime appears to be a particular and growing problem in London’s juvenile disputes and is too often resolved with the Blade. As the London 2012 Olympics around the corner my biggest fears are that the level of violence and crime amongst Britain’s teenagers will take a drastic turn for the worst.

Iti AwosikaWriting to informWord Count