Primary school children could be given anti-gun crime lessons (November 2009):
Primary school children as young as 10 could take part in anti-gun crime workshops, under plans being developed by Operation Trident, the Metropolitan police unit dealing with violent crime in London's black communities.
The plans follow concerns from teachers that current programmes to target children in secondary school come too late to prevent them getting involved in gangs, drug dealing and violence in some areas of the capital.
Children aged 10 and 11 will be lectured against gun and knife crime under the programme, which has been in development for five months. One session in a London primary school has already taken place. That is now being evaluated to consider an expansion to other schools across the capital.
Trident already runs workshops in secondary schools where 13- and 14-year-olds are shown graphic accounts of gunshot injuries and crime scenes to help them understand the consequences of gang violence.
Detective Inspector Kieran Power, head of Trident's community engagement team, insisted that the classes being developed for primary schools would be appropriate for the children's age and would not include similar material. But the news will raise concerns about the exposure of very young children to violent crime in the capital.
Power said: "We were going into secondary schools and the feedback from teachers and parents was that they loved the presentation but thought we should go to younger children.
"There is no evidence that primary aged children are involved in gun crime but the suggestion was that we could do better preventative work earlier. It's very early days and we still have far to go before this is rolled out."
The secondary school programme, Decisions and Consequences, explains the work of Trident and the impact of serious weapons. Power insisted the move into primary schools was not intended to frighten children but to help them make decisions in a positive way.
Christine Blower, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said: "We know that parts of the capital have a serious problem with gun crime and we know that can affect children.As long as it is done appropriately and in proper consultation with the schools there is nothing inherently wrong with this."
Have you actually seen The Godfather?:
Everybody knows that The Godfather is one of the greatest gangster pictures ever made. That it features a majestic performance from Marlon Brando as Don Corleone and was directed with richness and gusto by the young Francis Ford Coppola. Everybody knows that The Godfather is a masterpiece – but how many have actually seen it?
The survey, commissioned by Orange as part of its Orange Wednesday cinema promotion, finds that one in five of us have lied about seeing The Godfather. Men, the survey suggests, are more likely to bluff about movies than women, with 58% admitting they had lied in the past compared with 38% of women.
"Most people tell the odd white lie so they can seem more knowledgeable to their friends," said a spokesman for Orange. "Others lie because they are embarrassed about appearing less cultured." It is not known whether the Orange spokesman has ever seen The Godfather himself.
My Gang, My Family (9 August 2008):
A new report from the Prince's Trust says that the gang is replacing the family in British society. The stereotypical image of happy families sitting in sunny kitchens may seem a long way from groups of gangsters lurking on our street corners, but their functions are surprisingly similar.
Gangs, like families, provide units of security in a world too dangerous for individuals alone. Like families, they provide their young members with structure and routine. They give them role models, a sense of identity and a feeling of belonging.
This report is interesting because it challenges the popular belief that gangs are simply power-hungry groups of thugs who set out to cause trouble for the sake of it. Gang behaviour might be offensive, but the primary motive for their existence is defensive. These groups are not set up to wage war on a peaceful world; they spring up in response to a hostile one.
"Take Dark Side Massive (DSM), a gang of young black guys who used to rule our common room at school. They'd strut about playing bad garage remixes at lunchtime, stealing from the tuck shop and dealing knives. These were the same kids whose parents never turned up for parents' evening; the ones who didn't go home like me and the other middle class kids to families chatting around the dining room table; the ones who had to create a community of their own."
But the problem with these alternative communities is that they don't provide access to the experience and knowledge offered by networks of adults. Kids are coming together in the streets because they're suffering the same problems. This might bring them closer, but it doesn't always help create a solution. They are trying to figure out what it means to be an adult and cope with the problems of growing up without guidance from those who have been through it before. In gangs there are no men to follow, just boys to imitate.
In such environments, it's not surprising that the definition of adulthood starts to become twisted. It's not surprising that kids start exchanging respect for threat, security for fear and hugs for hoodies.
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