Knife crime in London reached a 10-year-high last year, and the alarming levels have continued into 2019.
For Nedim Bilgin, the fatal blow came when out on his bicycle. He was stabbed in front of onlookers, who were unable to save him.
He was 17, the second teenager to be killed in London this year. Little more than a month on, a further 16 people have been killed in the capital.
Stephen Griffith, project director at the Copenhagen Youth Project (CYP), fondly remembers Nedim. The teenager frequently sought sanctuary at the Youth Project. “He was funny and likeable,” said Griffith. “Of course we miss him. But we need to focus on those who are grieving. They are trying to say farewell, and coming to terms with that is tough.”
The CYP is one of hundreds of projects working with disadvantaged young people across London. Approximately 30% of members are engaged in criminal activity and anti-social behaviour, and most are not in employment, education or training.
Students who are excluded, sick, or otherwise unable to attend school are sent to pupil referral units, sometimes known as “sin bins”.
Dr Kieran Mitton, senior lecturer in international relations at King’s College London, feels the way these pupils are dealt with pushes them towards gang-related behaviour. “The way that we deal with these students, who might have problems at home, is alarming,” he said. “These pupil referral units push them closer towards gangs in some respects. They already feel marginalised and excluded, so it’s easy for gangs to recruit them and give them an opportunity and a sense of respect that they haven’t received previously.”
The situation has become so severe that former children’s minister Edward Timpson will launch the first national child safeguarding review into teenagers at risk of being exploited by criminals.
Mitton acknowledges numerous factors drive young people into gang-related behaviour, but thinks a lack of prevention is at the heart of the problem. He said: “The main thing to look at is whether funding reductions to social services and policing have led to reductions in effective prevention, and how austerity may have compounded inequalities that can push people into gangs.”
Since 2010, the government has cut the Metropolitan Police budget by £850million. Despite this, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick called street violence her “number one priority” as homicide rates reached a 10-year high in 2018.
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