Under the gun culture

The recent murders of three teenagers highlight the problem of children who are vulnerable to gang crime, says Lyndsey Turner
Tuesday February 27, 2007 The Guardian

The recent spate of shootings in south London claimed the lives of teenagers Billy Cox, Michael Dosunmu and James Andre Smartt-Ford. Some say the shootings paint a troubling picture of a society in crisis. Teachers and youth workers are uniquely able to help young people to challenge and question the growing gun culture. A lesson on gun crime offers pupils the chance to discuss street violence and to investigate why children as young as 12 are becoming involved in gun culture. Gun nation Help students to understand why the deaths of Billy Cox, James Andre Smartt-Ford and Michael Dosunmu have caused such concern among politicians and community groups. David Cameron has suggested these shootings are symptomatic of a "badly broken society". Ask students to compose a piece of persuasive writing that either supports or disputes his statement. Examine the scale of gun crime in the UK before studying the government's statistics on gun crime. What evidence is there to suggest that gun crime is on the increase? Guns and gangs It seems clear that the spate of recent gun-related deaths among teenagers is linked to the rise in gang membership. After reading an article about gangs, and watching a video about the link between gangs and guns (titled Violence Gives Status and available at here), ask students to make a list of the reasons why young people might choose to associate themselves with a particular gang. Explore the emotional and social factors that seem to promote gang membership. Younger students might like to investigate the word "respect" and to discuss the role played by 'disrespectful behaviour' in gun-related deaths. Ask students to brainstorm the phrase "gang culture" and use the results as the basis of a discussion of guns as fashion accessories. Investigate the different kinds of gangs profiled by experts at Portsmouth University before asking groups of students to design an advertising campaign that attempts to convey the dangers of gang behaviour. The blame game Politicians and columnists seem eager to link the rising tide of gun crime to wider social problems. Ask students to list films, rap lyrics and TV programmes that attribute glamour to guns and gangs. Younger students

might like to read about the link between rap lyrics and violent crime here. Introduce students to the strategies designed to combat the spread of guns and tackle the root causes of poverty and neglect. Community representatives have suggested children are using guns to settle scores and gain respect. Introduce pupils to the recent Unicef survey, which reveals that British children feel unhappier and less valued than their counterparts in other wealthy countries. In the maths classroom, ask groups of students to analyse the data collected by Unicef and to represent the factors relating to happiness and wellbeing in a range of visual and graphical forms. Fighting back Take the opportunity to explain legislation surrounding gun crime before examining the government's plans to combat the spread of guns. Do students feel the presence of armed police or Tony Blair's initiative, which would see 17-year-olds sentenced for possession of a gun and gang membership, would be more effective in the fight against guns? Ask groups to explore the range of views expressed in the BBC's online forum and to use these opinions as the basis of role-play set at a meeting between local police officers and members of a community affected by gun crime. As part of the English curriculum, ask older students to comment on the means by which the Home Office is attempting to bring an end to shootings among young black Londoners. What role do they feel teachers and schools have to play in educating young people about gun crime?

FEATURES
Gang Culture
Gang culture is growing in the UK, with increasingly young people joining gangs, often carrying imitation or real firearms and knives, both for protection and as part of their image. When violence erupts, it gains a high profile in the press. The shooting of Charlene Ellis and Letisha Shakespeare in Aston in 2003 received a huge amount of media attention and increased public concern about the escalating problems relating to gangs, violence and drugs that are prevalent across some of our most deprived inner city neighbourhoods, said Kate Broadhurst, Head of Research with Perpetuity Research and Consultancy International (PRCI), a spin-out company from the University of Leicester. Gangs, she points out, have their own hierarchy. As categorised by the Jill Dando Institute (JDI) in 2005, they fall into three groups:

Peer groups - small unorganised groups who share the same space and a common history. Their

involvement in crime will mostly be at a low level and will not be important to the identity of the group. Gangs - mostly comprised of street based groups of young people for whom crime and violence is an

essential part of the groups identity. Groups tend to have a name. Organised criminal groups - groups of individuals for whom involvement in crime is for personal gain,

and is probably their main occupation. These groups operate in the illegal market place.

Who joins gangs? Despite wide variations in types of gangs and their activities, there are, Kate Broadhurst says, some common trends in gang structure and involvement. Gang members are predominately male street gangs are typically made up of males in their teens to early twenties, whilst females tend to follow gangs without becoming as heavily engaged in activity as their male counterparts. The JDI study suggests that females are more involved in peer groups than street gangs. Gangs often share an identity based either on age, location, ethnicity, peer networks or blood relationships and tend to be hierarchical communities with common interests and shared purposes. How do they operate? Opinions vary as to levels of organisation. Research carried out in Manchester and Birmingham suggests that gangs consist of key individuals surrounded by ordinary members - the gang being more organised at the centre and less so on the edges:

gang leaders the leaders determine strategies and plan activities but do not get involved in

committing offences. gang workers these are established gang members caught up in the running of the business. foot soldiers these are the youngest and most visible layer of a gang and it is this group that are

most at risk of becoming a victim of violent crime.

Why do people join gangs? Gangs may form due to social exclusion and discrimination - people come together for a sense of safety and belonging. Immigrant populations, those excluded from education or people who have engaged in criminal activities from an early age are particularly at risk of gang involvement. Others may join a gang simply for something to do, seeking protection in numbers, or for reasons of status and peer pressure.

How violent are gangs? Once someone is a member of a gang it can be extremely difficult for them to leave, particularly when the gang feels that ex-members may divulge gang secrets or provide evidence against them to the police. Loyalty within a gang is so strong that members thought to have been disloyal are at risk of violence even being killed. There is a general consensus that there are links between gangs, guns and drugs, Kate Broadhurst says. However this relationship is complicated. For instance, gang members are more likely than non gang members to be drug dealers. Consequently drug dealers may use firearms to protect themselves or enforce debts yet it is important to highlight that not all gun crime is drug related. In addition, arrestee data shows that gang members are five times more likely than non-gang members to report owning a gun. One theory claims that a relationship may exist between the use of a weapon and the level of gang involvement - organised crime groups use guns whilst street gangs prefer knives. A Home Office study regarding shootings, gangs and violent incidents in Manchester concluded that the carrying of firearms for gang members is partly protective, partly instrumental for engaging in violent crimes and partly symbolic. Can you stop young people getting involved in gang? PRCI is currently working with agencies in cities across the Midlands to address gang culture on a local level. There are a number of interventions that have been launched across the UK to divert young people away from gang activity, and to help those wanting to leave gangs. One such initiative is a radio project set up in Aston in September 2004, offering young people a supportive and attractive alternative to gang culture which is still credible amongst their peers. Through formal training the project has helped people develop careers as producers, DJs, presenters and sound engineers. The project also runs an enterprise course to provide people with the skills needed to run their own business, and provides alternative role models for young people to look up to. In Southwark, two members of the Youth Offending Team deliver a twelve-week programme to schools, pupil referral units and youth clubs, challenging young peoples attitudes to various issues, and demystify gang culture, through art, drama, video, discussion and confidential oneto-one sessions. Alternatively the Leap Confronting Conflict project, trialled in Glasgow and North London, works with rival gangs, encouraging them to engage with one another and consider the consequences of their actions. This project has been successful in soothing gang relations enabling members of rival gangs to attend community events together. Launched in 2001, the Manchester Multi-Agency Gang Strategy (MMAGS) was modelled on the Boston Gun Project in the US, which was a problem-orientated policing initiative to reduce gang violence. MMAGS tackles street gangs involved in firearm use in Manchester, aiming to reduce the impact of gun and gang related activity, rehabilitate those convicted of gun or gang related offences and offer young people education and employment opportunities as alternatives to gun and gang crime. The project consists of a group of seconded staff from statutory agencies such as the police, youth services, education and probation who ensure that a range of diversionary activities are available for young people who are, or are likely to be involved in criminal gang activity. They work with up to 75 individuals at any one time, mostly aged between 10 and 25. The project is voluntary, however some individuals are given court orders to work with MMAGS or it is a

condition of their licence. The project has provided those who would not have been involved in education, the opportunity to gain qualifications. In addition, the project also does preventative work in schools and youth centres discussing issues such as gang culture, firearm legislation and peer pressure. A version of this feature appeared first in National Community Safety Network News, Spring 2006.

It's a guy thing

The rise of knife and gun culture isn't about black communities. It is about boys.

Beatrix Campbell
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April 13, 2007 1:00 PM | Printable version So, Tony Blair thinks he is being brave. Blaming black culture for something, anything, has been an illicit desire lurking a long time in the shadows of polite but populist white society, where it is right on to be right off. Good manners may have meant that these people know what not to say in public, but its populist appeal to tradition and authority makes the wish to transgress irresistible. Tony Blair isn't brave, however, he's wrong. The inexorable rise and rise of knife and gun culture isn't about black communities, or even black boys. It is about boys. And it isn't an alien contagion blighting the otherwise healthy social body. "Stop thinking this is a society that has gone wrong - it hasn't," says Blair. That remark should enter the annals much as Thatcher's risible claim that "there's no such thing as society". It suggests that Blair's legacy is devoted to patrolling rogue populations that menace an already goodenough society. Tony Blair's demand that black communities do something about gangs and guns and knives is only a way of not doing something about a society that harvests gangs and guns and knives - because it is a way of not doing something about boys. It is a way of not addressing the fundamental correlation between masculine cultures and violence across all cultures and classes. To paraphrase Bill Clinton, its gender, stupid! But that is unsayable in the mouth of New Labour, this most masculinist of political discourses. This is an era in which the tumult of gender in general and masculinity in particular has been uniquely theorised and politicised. But masculinity dares not speak its name in new Labour's language, and blame for menacing behaviour is re-assigned from men to mothers. The problem is children "being brought up in a setting that has no rules, no discipline, no proper framework". That is proxy for no fathers. Blair's command to black communites implies that gangs and guns and knives and crime are specific to black neighbourhoods, to both their blackness and their community culture. These

themes are furtively gendered - as if black boys are immaculately conceived, they have no fathers, and in this domain deserted by men, parenting is soggy, and black boys become bad because they're unmanned. But violence and crime have a potent logic: for their perpetrators they yield power and control; the criminologist James Messerschmidt argues that they are a resource of masculinity in the quest for dominion. Gangs and violence flourish in contexts of hyper-masculinity, where men re-interpret respect as dominion, where depression manifests itself as dangerousness, where slights can't be soothed, where nothing is more important to a man than his reputation - not even his life. Hyper-masculinity encourages men to admire the scariest men, to depend on women while they disrespect and disavow them. Above all, it insists that men must be not like women; boys' masculinity is forged by grown men as mastery, and its antithesis, martyrdom. The problem is not a lack of so-called role models, but mainstream masculine cultures in black and white communities that sponsor force as a way of doing men's business. This is difficult for Blair, or course. He can't address war on the streets as "kind of a guy thing" - as Mel Gibson famously put it - because he is the most unexpectedly macho, warmongering British prime minister since the second world war. His fabled grin is the smile on the face of a tiger. Blair claimed legitimacy for his speech from his conversation with a black pastor. But Blair didn't bother to engage with the speech made only a few days earlier by the eminent black scholar and activist, Professor Gus John, at the teachers' union conference during Easter. Gus John knows something about this stuff - he has been researching community crime and the fate of black (and white) children for decades. He is an expert on neighbourhoods struggling to confront gangs and guns. He lends his energy and his authority to movements, such as Mothers Against Guns, which deserve - but didn't get - the prime minister's commendation. Blair's approach is "wholly irresponsible," Prof John commented. "It is inconceivable that you could locate this in one section of society." Furthermore, to absolve the social context was to ignore history: "It is an indictment of the society that 60 years after the Windrush bearing 300 passengers from the West Indies landed in Britain their descendants are still under-achieving and, worse, they are internalising their under-achievement and imploding." That aching indictment is also the prime minister's legacy.

Youth shot 'for living in the wrong place'

Teenage victim died in parents' arms Police investigate local gang rivalries
Karen McVeigh Saturday November 17, 2007 The Guardian

Police were last night investigating whether gang rivalry was behind the murder of a teenager who was fatally shot after being asked what estate he lived on. Etem Celebi, 17, a lifeguard and promising footballer, died in the arms of his parents, Kemel and Heyriye, yards from his home in Stoke Newington, north London, after medics fought in vain to save him. He was shot in the back on Wednesday night as he celebrated getting his job as a leisure centre lifeguard with his friends. His death brought the death toll of teenagers shot or stabbed in London to 23. Residents on the Smalley estate, who described Celebi as a bright young man trying to make something of his life, said he was a "good person" who had been in the "worst place at the worst time". One local man said he believed he knew the identity of the killer. The man, in his 40s, who would not be named, said the killer was from a gang from nearby Stamford Hill, who were looking for revenge after one of their members, also 17, was stabbed days earlier. He said: "That's why they came over. They didn't care who they killed and Etem was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I know the person who did it and they've been in trouble before. They've shot people and stabbed people before and they've been in prison." Yesterday, a close friend of Celebi's, also 17, told the Guardian how he too was pursued and shot at by the gunman, but managed to escape. The teenager, who was too afraid to give his name, said the friends were gathered together in the street near their homes when it happened. He said: "There were four of us. I was play-fighting with Etem, when these two guys came around the corner. One said: 'What ends are you from?' meaning what estate you from. "Another boy said, 'from about' and the next thing, this guy pulls a gun and everyone scatters. He chased me and fired three shots. I ran straight to my house.

"My brother and Etem hid behind a car, but the guy came around the car. My brother saw the gun and ran. "The guy aimed towards the car and fired another shot. The fourth was at Etem and another three shots were fired at my brother." He said the killer was not wearing gloves and that he thought he may have left fingerprints on the car, a VW Golf, which had been taken away by police to be examined. Yesterday, officers carried out further searches of the area. Jason, 22, a friend of Celebi's who went to school with him in Stoke Newington, said he was not into gangs or guns. "He was never one for fighting. Although whoever did this was in a gang, he wasn't. All he cared about was doing his football and getting good grades ... Etem was one of the brightest and most loyal person round here. It was a senseless killing." Scotland Yard confirmed that officers were investigating whether the shooting could be gang-related. Around the corner from where he died, next to police tape sealing off the scene, his friends laid flowers and candles in tribute to the teenager. Tributes were also posted on his website, where he described himself as a college student with the nickname Eazy-E.

The fashion status of guns is leading to an increase in murders, according to community leaders and about, and understand more about, where these "Parents need to know more politicians reacting after a teenager was shot dead in his own home. things are coming from. Billy Cox, 15, who was due to start a college course to know where these guns are "There's a concern with parents because they want next September, was shot in the chest in Fenwick Place, Clapham, they are." coming from and how easy to access on Wednesday afternoon. He was the third teenager Ruth Okechukwu, who was stabbed to London. Robert Ben Okechukwu, father of in two weeks to be shot dead in south death by Malasi in 2005, also endorsed this view. Reacting to Billy's death, Claudia Webbe, who is vice chair of the independent advisory"not enough is being done to checkOperation Trident,guns and knives". He said group to the Metropolitan Police's the infiltration of said youngsters want to be seen with weapons.
Billy On Wednesday, Malasi was jailed for 30 years for killingCox was shot in the chest Ms Okechukwu and "Guns have gone fromKalokoh in Peckham. the domain of the crack cocaine dealers to now being an shooting dead Zainab everyday accessory, a fashionable accessory, that young people want to be seen with," she said. Police has set up a special taskforce to investigate the recent The Metropolitan

spate shootings in south London. "It's become a lifestyle choice... part of a culture to be part of a gang.

"I think that's what's motivating young people, where a gun has become almost a status symbol demanding respect and power." 'Decent young kids'
The teenager was found dead in his own home

Peter Robbins, a Lambeth councillor, insists that although gun crime was a problem, it was wrong to portray the area as "the Wild West" as only a minority of youngsters were involved in gun crime. "There seems to be a willingness for people to almost ignore guns when they see them... but the vast majority of young people on the Fenwick Estate and in the entire area are decent young kids," he said. Jennifer Blake, a local community worker, said the main problem was "easy access" to guns and a breakdown of communication between the youths and their parents.

How should society tackle gun crime?

How can gun crime be stopped? Will new measures help? Home Secretary John Reid has outlined measures to tackle gun crime following a summit at 10 Downing Street with police and community leaders. At the meeting, chaired by PM Tony Blair, tough punishments for those who use other people to look after weapons were confirmed. Other plans include more funding for community groups and making gang membership a factor in sentencing. Is gun culture spiralling out of control? Have you been affected by gun crime? Will tougher new measures help tackle this problem? Is the lack of a father figure in families a factor in gun crime?

Children as young as six require intervention from the authorities to stop them becoming involved in gangs and gun crime, the PM has told the BBC. "Specific measures" were needed for a "specific number of families who are just outside the mainstream", he said. Tony Blair was speaking after a No 10 gun crime summit at which plans were outlined for tougher punishments and more funding for community groups.

Police have been handling a spate of shootings recently

But community groups said legislation alone would not solve the problem. The summit with police and community leaders follows a spate of fatal shootings involving young people. Speaking from Liverpool, where he had been visiting a community justice project, Mr Blair said: "You've got to intervene very early with these children, sometimes aged six or seven you can tell that these children are going wrong."

For this specific number of families who are just outside the mainstream of society you need very specific measures Tony Blair

The intervention should come "not necessarily from central government" but from "here in the local community", he said. "For this specific number of families who are just outside the mainstream of society you need very specific measures." And he said help could come from "within these communities" with initiatives like reformed gang members talking to youngsters. Aggravating factor Earlier, speaking outside Downing Street after the gun crime summit, Home Secretary John Reid confirmed tough punishments for those who use other people to look after weapons. Mike Todd, chief constable of Greater Manchester Police, had told the conference children as young as 13 had been found with firearms which they had been asked to hide for others. Other plans include more funding for community groups and making gang membership an aggravating factor in sentencing. Mr Reid also announced a review of the legislation on gangs, guns and knives at the meeting of community leaders and crime experts. The review will cover sentencing policy - including that involving juveniles - gun supply and gang membership. Mr Reid said he would also "lay an order or any orders that are necessary" to make sure a minimum sentence for a gun offence "truly is a minimum sentence" even for those aged 18 to 21.

The number of people injured by firearms in England and Wales has more than doubled since 1998 In 2005/2006, the number of gun murders fell by more than a third from 78 to 50 There were 11,084 recorded Gun crime in the UK is still rare with 50 deaths in 2005/2006 firearms crimes in 2005/2006 - up compared with 78 the year before. 0.12% on previous year London, Greater Manchester and the West Midlands account for But the number of recorded gun crimes in the UK rose to 54% of recorded incidents more than 21,500 last year compared to just under 14,000 Source: Home Office

GUN CRIME

Although a five year minimum was introduced in January 2004, the appeal court found last March that because of a clash with separate legislation it could not be applied to those under the age of 21.

in 1998.

A number of community leaders attending the meeting warned that Britain was in danger of creating a generation of "urban child soldiers" and said young people needed to be offered an "exit strategy". Rev Nins Obunge, of the churches group Peace Alliance, said changes in legislation would not help support young people "who need an exit strategy". Shadow home secretary David Davis welcomed "the sentiment from the home secretary". "But where is the action on family breakdown, truancy and stopping drugs and guns from coming into the country through our porous borders?," he said.

Shame bad fathers Cameron

There have been five fatal shootings in London in the past month, three of which were of teenagers in the south of the city - two of them killed in their own homes. Hundreds of people gathered in south London at dusk on Thursday for a "prayer walk" organised by a coalition of black churches - through the boroughs of Southwark and Lambeth, both blighted by recent killings.
HAVE YOUR SAY

Guns, knives, hard drugs, gangs are just symptoms of a much bigger problem James Mitchell, London

Send us your comments

Forum from BBC NEWS Have your say How should society tackle gun crime?
How can gun crime be stopped? Will new measures help? Home Secretary John Reid has outlined measures to tackle gun crime following a summit at 10 Downing Street with police and community leaders. At the meeting, chaired by PM Tony Blair, tough punishments for those who use other people to look after weapons were confirmed. Other plans include more funding for community groups and making gang membership a factor in sentencing. Is gun culture spiralling out of control? Have you been affected by gun crime? Will tougher new measures help tackle this problem? Is the lack of a father figure in families a factor in gun crime?

Added: Friday, 23 February, 2007, 13:14 GMT 13:14 UK

We need a return to traditional values. A clout round the ear from a teacher/policeman and another clout if your parents found out that you had received a clout was proper justice. Todays namby-pamby 'lets speak nicely to them and buy them an ice cream' system does not work. We are dominated by lily-livered do-gooders who spout psychobabel about how it is everyones fault except for the person who commits the crime. Short sharp and (momentarily) painful 'therapy' works. Bring back the birch! atilla the bun, salford by the sea
Recommended by 7 people Added: Friday, 23 February, 2007, 13:04 GMT 13:04 UK

This may be a radical idea: how about encouraging young people to join the cadet movement? You learn discipline, and get to 'play soldier' in a safe controlled environment, including learning how to handle a firearm safely... when you have had "Do not point a weapon at anyone even in fun" drilled into you, it takes a determined effort to even consider using one against somebody! Megan, Cheshire UK
Recommended by 0 people Added: Friday, 23 February, 2007, 13:01 GMT 13:01 UK

Time to re-arrange priorities. For the next 3 months there should be saturation policing in known trouble spots and specific targeting of individuals and estates. There should be 100% stop and search in difficult areas (I can't believe the police don't know these). There should be raids of known premises (the police generally also know these). Use the army if necessary. Yes, there will be the usual howls of rage that specific people are being targeted. So be it for the sake of the greater good EddieD, Burnham
Recommended by 1 person Added: Friday, 23 February, 2007, 12:57 GMT 12:57 UK

It's not catching the criminals thats the problem, it's the fact that our sentences are laughable. Carrying a gun should get you at least 20 years inside with no probation, using it should mean you die in prison.

Gun crime would then start to fall. [Anthony_rat], England

Recommended by 2 people Added: Friday, 23 February, 2007, 12:53 GMT 12:53 UK

"Enforce a Zero Tolerance Policy as in NYC" Lessons from the US, with their murder rate???? dave, Warrington
Recommended by 1 person Added: Friday, 23 February, 2007, 12:52 GMT 12:52 UK

We are often told by experts that men don't know what being a real man is. they're fearful that men think real masculinity is machismo, agression and violence and are fearful that if men begin to assert themselves they will become wife beaters or something much worse. Actually men have been robbed of their role in society to take responsibility for the family and the community and to lead as an example for the young men who are now using guns. role models are what these gun slingers need J
Recommended by 2 people Added: Friday, 23 February, 2007, 12:43 GMT 12:43 UK

Customs should stop focussing on beer and tobacco and concentrate on drugs and firearms. giles jones, cannock Customs are understaffed. They scrapped the team in Falmouth (largest drugs and firearms seizures). Problem solved. There have been no drugs or firearms detected coming into Falmouth so a team is not justifiable there. But fags and booze are linked to the drugs and gun crimes so you can't ignore it. Luke Rogers, Bristol, United Kingdom
Recommended by 0 people Added: Friday, 23 February, 2007, 12:40 GMT 12:40 UK

'people carrying fire arms can be understood and re-habilitated rather then being locked up.' Said Peter, Wolverhampton When the problem comes knocking on your door i hope you have the strength of your convictions to carry on holding them. Like any crime its one thing to punish and another to try to address the reasons why someone committed it. But when the crime involves a complete disregard for the right of another to life, i say an eye for an eye has to be the rule. [ukblahblahblacksheep], Brighton, United Kingdom
Recommended by 1 person Added: Friday, 23 February, 2007, 12:26 GMT 12:26 UK

We should look at how the US tackles gun crime and adopt the 3 strike rule!Alot of this stems from poor parenting, so what can we really do?The government cant be to blame. L Nunes, London
Recommended by 1 person

Added: Friday, 23 February, 2007, 12:21 GMT 12:21 UK

Something like 95% of UK gun crime is linked to the illegal drugs trade. Despite billions being poured into the "war on drugs" over several decades, drug use and drug-related organised crime continue to proliferate. Repeated "get tough" initiatives have not worked and will not work. You cannot stifle demand for drugs. Time for a rethink. End this harmful prohibition and regulate the drugs trade. The gangs' income will vanish as users turn to legal outlets, and most gun crime will melt away. Ed W, London
Recommended by 2 people Added: Friday, 23 February, 2007, 12:16 GMT 12:16 UK

The Violent Crime Reduction Act (2006) contains clauses specifically designed to act against gun crime. This Act (despite some sound judgements within) still will not solve the situation vis gun crime. A review is unlikely to affect the situation either. The apparent ease with which criminals and gang members acquire handguns despite a ban is the real point. The illegal importation of firearms, rather than the "conversion" of imitations, is where Police and Customs should direct their efforts. MJ Pitt, London
Recommended by 0 people Added: Friday, 23 February, 2007, 07:50 GMT 07:50 UK

Enforce a Zero Tolerance Policy as in NYC. Jones, London

Recommended by 16 people

Added: Friday, 23 February, 2007, 07:19 GMT 07:19 UK

On what planet do John Reid and Tony Blair actually reside? Last week the news was all about lack of places in prisons. Here they seek to champion the cause for the public by advocating tougher sentences for gun crime. Have they forgotten there is nowhere to put these people? Or, more likely, do they think we, the public are so incredibly stupid that a few meaningless words on the subject are enough to placate us? It is yet another meaningless statement from this "Ship of Fools" government danny streather, United Kingdom
Recommended by 31 people Added: Friday, 23 February, 2007, 07:03 GMT 07:03 UK

Maybe we could start by banning the sale of toy guns of all sort, and follow it up with stopping our kids from watching violent tv programs and animations. Children only emulate what they see and hear, so spend more time with your kids and teach them what is expected of them in (a) civil society.Input dictates output. Ray, East London
Recommended by 13 people Added: Friday, 23 February, 2007, 06:53 GMT 06:53 UK

It's funny, trying to understand the question without the understandings "why" they do it, is a very difficult concept. If you want to find the answer, look to UNICEF for the answer. But to understand why they do it, try living their lives, having parents with low education with no willingness to appreciate their children due to lack of guidance. Quotation: When a Child is born, he is born happy. When He grows up, he is more corrupted. Children needs guidance from parents at a early age.

Richard, Smith