Another teen loses life in the streets of South London

Father of stab victim Kwame Ofosu -Asare is yet another parent to voice concerns over the number of brutal deaths that have taken place in the South London Borough to date. 17-year-old Kwame was stabbed in Brixton near South Moorlands Estate last Friday. The 17-year-old who was originally from Catford, is thought to have been caught up in a number of  "tit-for-tat" gang related stabbings.

Kwaku Ofusu-Asare, Kwame's father was reported to have said "When are we going to stop saying that somebody is in the wrong place at the wrong time? Are we going to whitewash the cracks in the wall or are we going to mend the wall properly?"

Detectives have released CCTV footage of a silver Vauxhall Zarifa mini cab believed to be used by the killers, It was reported to have drove around for 20mins before dropping off the suspects around the time Kwame was killed.

Kwame's brutual murder is one of six attacks in Lambeth in over a week, and could have been  in response to an earlier attack on another 17-year-old in West Norwood. The victim was reported to have been stabbed 37 times.

I personally feel that we all need to work as a community to stamp out this negative gang mentality our young are adopting. It is not the police's responsibility alone, they can only enforce the law once a crime has been committed...But how many more young lives do we need to lose before something is done. I can admit that there is no such thing as a fail safe method to resolve some of the problems we are currently facing...However the only way forward would be to work with the police and MP's and EACH OTHER to work towards giving our youth positive aspirations.

" Is there a safe part of the body to stab someone? Yes said the children..."

http://www.metro.co.uk/news/707281-bid-to-cut-deadly-knife-crime-has-failed

A shocked Camberwell youth worker posed the question to a group of secondary school children last week and was surprised when half of the room raised their hands and said yes. Junior Smart, one of the leaders for the St Giles Trust SOS project in Camberwell, asked the question and an alarming majority believed that a stab wound to the leg or shoulder would not be serious.

The Camberwell based project leader then reminded the class that Damilola had also been stabbed in the leg with a broken bottle and explained  "How easy it is to do something theres no going back from". Mr Smart was reported to have said that "The problem is often they think there are no real consequences for sosme very serious actions".

The SOS Plus project which sends ex-offenders volunteers into schools to highlight the risks of being involved in gangs was set up by Junior  a year ago to "demystify" the so called glamour of being caught up in criminal lifestyles.

In my own humble opinion I feel that its great that projects like The St Giles Trust are informing young people of the consequences of a criminal lifestyle...However I am not shocked or surprised that pupils in the area have a  warped sense of reality. Lets face the facts, Southwark and Lambeth alone has had over a thousand non lethal stabbings between April and October last year.

Brixtons braisen drug issue is finally addressed...

Photo obtained from PhotographLondon.com

When ever I have travelled through central  Brixton I have always been pleasantly surprised by the deliciously diverse community. The morning commute provides a surprising amount of suits on route to work in the city, whilst the Friday nights draws the party goers to some of the areas trendy bars,clubs and restaurants. Combined with the good local transport links within travelling distance to Central London, a range of local regeneration to improve housing, its no surprise that more people are considering living in Brixton. 

However despite the noticeable pleasant change in the areas current image, the blatant drug and drink activity   on every other shop entrance is a stark reminder of the more sinister side of living in inner city. Numerous complaints from the public and shop keepers about the intimidating behaviour of drug dealers, beggars and drinkers has triggered Lambeth Council to introduce a dispersal zone. South London Press revealed that earlier this month Police have been given increased powers to disperse groups of 2-3 people if they believe they are "up to no good". The zone will also give officers the power to send under 16's home after 9pm and will cover over 15 roads. 

Those who disobey Police direction could face up to 3 months in jail and the clamp down will be in action until July 31st. Despite a few minor issues about  how well the zone can be managed I feel that the Police intervention has been  long overdue...

Joint enterprise or guilty by association?

On the 2nd of July 2011, 15 year old boy was chased by a group of youths near Gipsy Hill Road in South London. Zac Olumegbon was then brutally stabbed to death within a few meters of his school gates. In December the Old Bailey ruling saw 17 year old knife man Ricardo Giddings jailed for a minimum of 18 years. 18 year old Kyle Kinghorn and Helder Demorais, 17 both received a minimum of 16 years, whilst  Shaquille Haughton a 12 year sentence. The 5th member was 17 year old Jermael  and although not proven guilty for killing the victim, was convicted to serve a minimum of 14 years under the legal principle of joint enterprise.

Jermael's mother Sonia Moore,  is adamant that her son had no idea of what was going to happen the fatal day Zac lost his life. Ms Moore told South London Press “I was the one who brought my son into the police station. It was a difficult decision but I knew my son and I knew he was not capable of murder.” “When the police charged him for murder on joint enterprise, that was the first time I had heard about it."

 The Met’s senior investigating officer, Detective Chief Inspector John McFarlane was reported to have said: “This case must act as a deterrent to other young people who think they will not be prosecuted or go to prison just because they did not deliver the fatal blow". The legal term "joint - enterprise" indicates that anyone who agrees to commit a crime with another individual is also liable for the crime commited.

Earlier this month Stephen Lawrence killers Gary Dobson and David Norris were successfully convicted under the law after nearly 19 years due to new DNA evidence. Committee chairman Sir Alan Beith stated that “This area of law is vital to ensuring the prosecution and conviction of criminals involved in gang-related violence in particular...”

However Ms Moore, who still lives in South London felt that  “There is nothing positive about this joint enterprise to me. Why should you charge someone for a murder they did not commit? “To them, it seems easier to throw the net over the lot of them. That is one less problem." The 43-year-old is also a member of the Joint Enterprise: Not Guilty By Association (JENGbA) campaign.

Having grown up in an area not so far away from Gipsy Hill and from my experience of growing up within South London I know too well how easy it is to be tarnished by your association in the eyes of the law. My current questioning of the use of  joint enterprise is  not to take away from the appalling crimes committed or to take away responsibility from individuals who socialise with gang members. 

From general understanding of the law; murder would require two main factors:

• The act of taking another's life, and the intention to do so
• Or to cause "really serious harm"

Arguably anything less or in between may not necessarily suggest innocence - but with the array of assault and public disorder offences available to deal with group crime, the use of the murder verdict collectively for prosecuting may not always be appropriate or fair. 

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