NOTES on Young people, guns, violence and gangs

(to be edited and developed)

Young people such as those living at Centrepoint – a charity for homeless

young people that I used to lead - experience directly the sub-cultures where
possession and use of knives and guns is prevalent. Some staff had teenage
children whose safety greatly concerned them. These observations, developed
with one experienced manager (and mother) Sharon Lewis, are grounded in:
issues raised by staff and young people; lessons of incidents; the experience of
staff working in South London for a number of years; discussions with Black
young people and some Black workers about the implications of an increase in
the numbers and incidents of young women being violent.

From time to time someone or some agency or the government proposes

vigorous action by the state. However, state action is not a threat to some
young people, indeed it is seen as part of the game they play. In any event
some young people think very short-term about their future, so the threat of
death or prison is not a deterrent. They can be more afraid of other young
people than of the law.

At the level of the individual a range of interconnected themes are relevant.

Lack of self-worth, and of self-esteem
Self-pity
A lack of aspirations for the future
Greed
A lived experience of poverty, and wanting to escape it by not having to take
the route their parents may have taken - possibly unsuccessfully; often at
length.
Boredom
Peer pressure
Lack of understanding of pain and death

Guns are interesting to some young people precisely because they cause pain
and death. The focus on pain and death that may come from films, music,
games- many people of all ages are fascinated by this, and young people are no
exception.
Upbringing may be a major factor and the experience of poverty.

May be imitating parental behaviour – ‘the bad boys may be the sons of the
bad men’.

Attitudes that young people hold towards work in general e.g. work is not
worth the time – ‘pay is too low’, there are other ways to ‘make’ money which
provide a high income even with low skills (which is the situation for many
young people); do not want to work the way up the ladder; the job may not
seem worth the work involved ; being ‘disrespected’ by such conditions as long
hours for low pay.

Going along the journey school – then college - then work may seem
irrelevant to a happy life.
Most young people do worry about and feel the need to get a job, but some do
not really care how they do the job; some do not really care about the job, it is
irrelevant, it’s not really their problem, they want to earn money.
‘Murder brings respect’.

Other points/issues to consider

How is society seen by young people, how does society encourage
entrepreneurship and enterprise?
Government plans are perceived (whatever their intentions) to keep the poor
in poverty …
Society is encouraging blatant materialism, yet rising expectations and prices
exclude people even further
Black people feel other black people are more of a threat to them in reality, but
less of a threat in terms of the legal recourse.
The relationship between police and young people can be very poor. Police are
experienced as, and some/many would claim are, very ‘disrespectful’ and
encourage a hostile relationship at an early stage in the life of young Black
youths i.e. Stop and Search, disrespectful attitude when arresting, and abusing
their powers.
Some young people may feel that the Police even encourage crime, make
youth feel inferior, create competition against the youth and the police.
Young people are presented with killing and murder as entertainment on a
daily basis i.e. if a young person enjoys rap/ hip/hop music/ Reggae-
Bashment music/ computer games e.g. Grand Theft Auto. We need to
consider how young people can be positively entertained – so they are not
constantly presented with detailed descriptions of killing or being killed.
Gang culture
There has always been a ‘gang culture’, but now this is based on shared
experience of institutional racism, poverty, poor housing, lack of resources,
police ‘oppression’, feeling (being) ‘disrespected’ as a cultural group.

Group dynamics – gangs understand it is more difficult to blame a group than

an individual, therefore the gang provides a form of protection from detection
of crime, groups also exacerbate behaviour whether that is negative or
positive.

Black People have a sub-culture that is not positively recognised in England,

but Black people prefer to live within this sub-culture. This culture can be
viewed as negative, by black people aspiring to European values. Need to
understand there are various cultures in operation within the ‘Black
Community’ it therefore becomes more difficult to find one solution to the
problems that exist.

Youth culture
Young people need to keep up with ‘youth culture’ – that culture is
increasingly of materialism. Youth culture is tied strongly to outward displays
of wealth, attracting attention because of wealth (Flossing), people who have
wealth on display are respected (Players) (Ballers), individuals who are
jealous of people displaying wealth are not respected (Haters). The fact that a
terminology has arisen from these concepts, may demonstrate how significant
these factors are in young people’s lives.

Home culture
Experiences can include: being teased in school for being poor, being brought
up poor; child being reminded by parents they are poor; poverty being blamed
for young people not having the ‘right’ trainers, access to activities etc. Parents
discussing scarcity in money, food, heating, hot water, clothes, being made to
feel different and poor.

Third sector and young people

Some third sector organisations may be well placed to deal with the issues
that affect young people – can get alongside them, trust, time, accessibility

We all need to be aware of the role institutions play in the lives of young
people, and how public institutions are viewed by young people – often
negatively. Must be careful not to push third sector organisations into quasi-
state behaviour, thereby losing any advantage they have.

There is a deep-seated lack of trust in institutions i.e. educational, justice –

that is derived from own/ family/ friends’ past and current experiences.
Young people feel able to trust the third sector as we are not seen as
controlling, we work with young people and offer advice and support them to
achieve; we do not force. This is important; it means young people can
exercise choice. We respect young people (a necessary condition for fostering
self-respect) and their views and wants; we listen and encourage their
aspirations, although sometimes they may seem unrealistic, but do encourage
increasing realism.

Centrepoint’s current response

The Centrepoint services offer short emergency and medium-term
transitional housing and support to young people. Throughout this period,
we are able to work with young people to help them build on intangible
elements of self which family and other institutions may not have previously
had the opportunity or the inclination to develop. We recognise for change to
be sustainable it as to be driven and owned by the individual. The Centrepoint
Support and Development approach focuses on this by working

“with young people, rather than doing things ‘to’ or ‘for’ them” (Centrepoint
Support and Development Toolkit and see our principles)

And by:

“intervening to enable young people to improve their lives by developing

sustainable skills which they can draw upon as adults long after they have
left our services” (Centrepoint Support and Development Toolkit, and see our
principles)
This dynamic is indicative of the preventative nature of working which is
common to Centrepoint. This is often overlooked as the outcomes are not
immediately evident, and are not easily attributed to the support service
provided by Centrepoint.

Our support and development approach stresses important intangibles (self-

respect, self-confidence, self-esteem, resilience…) and non-cognitive skills.

We have services related to drug (incl. alcohol) issues and mental health

Responding to homelessness

We are able to build relationships and are able to exert a positive influence

We are able to work with young people so they are able to identify and tackle
destructive behaviour patterns, and learn new ones. We can help them throw
off damaging social identities and adopt more positive ones. We do this by
respecting the person.

Ability to offer a flexible sustained approach to working, necessary because

the problems are deep seated.

“The relationship with the support worker/provider that is key to the

successful outcome for young people” (Centrepoint Support and Development
Toolkit and see our principles).

Future action
Recognise there is no quick fix.

Issues of race and class are also built into the problems.

Peer mentoring has a place

A long term strategy is required because younger children are adopting the
destructive behaviour that they are witnessing.

Work with young people to develop positive activities to combat the negative
messages coming from entertainment sources etc.

v3 (10/3/07)