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Imprisoned in my postcode
Tony Thompson15 Nov 2010
At the age of 14, London should be his oyster. In reality, Reggie's boundaries extend no further than the half-dozen or so streets around the small Tulse Hill housing estate where he lives with his mother and two younger siblings.
To venture beyond these invisible boundaries which encompass his school, the local park and a nearby shopping centre would be to invite others to attack or rob him, purely because he had dared to stray from his home turf.
“There are places you just don't go,” he explains. “Not unless you know someone there really well or you're travelling as part of a much bigger group. If you're on your own and you're a new face, people will rob you, take everything you have. The only way to stop it happening is not to go to those places.”
The notion of so-called postcode wars may have slipped from the headlines recently but the territorial divisions continue to exert a powerful influence on the lives of thousands of young Londoners. The more deprived the area, the more they try to assert control over the one thing they can lay claim to: the streets.
According to “Face”, a former gang leader, one way round the problem is to have a “hood pass” that allows you to move through otherwise forbidden areas without being harassed.
“You don't actually get a piece of paper but it's as good as,” Face explains. “It means someone in those bitz [that area] with a big reputation has vouched for you and people know that you're associated with him. Whenever I go anywhere south of home, I'm using my hood pass the whole time. But you have to be careful who you use the pass with. If the people you run into are enemies of the person who gave it to you, then you can just end up in even more trouble.”
So far this year a total of 17 youths have been murdered in the capital. Many of the deaths have been attributed to inter-gang rivalry but even those who try to avoid being drawn into that world can still experience considerable problems. “My brother had a link [girlfriend] he wanted to see in Norwood but I told him not to go. I said, You don't know no one, you ain't got no hood pass. It's not worth the risk'.
“Some of my youngers can't even go to probation,” adds Face, who still uses the gang term for the most junior members of his social group. “If the probation office is outside their territory, they just can't do it. I know one guy who decided to risk it because the office was right on the edge of the next area, just one street in. But he went there and got caught and got badly beaten up. He refused to go back again so he had to go back to court, but they refused to change the office. The people who are in charge of these things don't understand just how much of a problem this can be.”
Similar issues have occurred with youths sentenced to community service inside “enemy” territory. Last July, 19-year-old Joshua Owens, linked to a gang in the E8 region of London, was shot five times while doing community service in E5. Owens survived, and, as a result of the incident, the probation service now tries to ensure youths do placements only in their own areas.
But there are also tales of young people having to take a series of lengthy detours to get to school or visit friends, simply to avoid travelling through areas they feel are unsafe.
Staff at trauma centres across London report that some victims of stabbings and other violent attacks are unable to attend physiotherapy or outpatient treatments because they are too scared of being attacked again, and the journey to hospital would involve crossing through too many danger zones.
Reggie is not part of a gang and has no intention of joining one but because gangs “control” both his own area and those adjacent to it means he has no choice but to abide by their rules. He talks wistfully about a recent event in Hyde Park he felt unable to attend because there was no way for him to get there and back without passing through areas he would rather avoid. The nearest Tube station is just outside his “safety zone”.
“Would I ever go to, say, Peckham on my own? No way. I don't know anybody there. I wouldn't be safe. People from Peckham don't like people from Tulse Hill,” he says, as if no further explanation were needed.
“Some people try to lie when they get stopped but you can never really get away with it, unless you know someone. If you pretend to live in a certain block they will just ask you who you know or what the name of the building is or what school you go to and who teaches there. You always get caught out.
“If people think you are moist [weak] or that you're from a moist area, they will try to get you. There are people out there who want money and power, and they think that robbing and beating people is the way to get it.”
Although they are commonly described as postcode wars, in many cases the disputes can be far more localised. “If you fall out with someone on a particular street, then it's not just the next postcode, even the people on the very next street will have a beef with them,” adds Reggie. “It doesn't matter where they are, only that they are somewhere different to where you are. You get people saying, Oh, someone from that street over there did what? Right, next time we get hold of one of them we are going to make them pay'. They think we have got to back him up' or we have got to get revenge' and that's how it starts.”
Rivalry between different areas is often stoked by videos posted on YouTube and various social networking sites. Shot on mobile phones or cheap camcorders, they feature youths “spittin” or rapping about their areas and exploits. Many are filled with taunts and threats to attack rivals, should they dare to journey into a rival gang's territory. The videos usually feature plenty of footage of local landmarks as those behind the camera seek to clearly mark out the boundaries of their turf.
Police routinely monitor and download such videos and several have been used in evidence at numerous court cases, including several murders.
According to Face, exerting control over a particular area is also a way for individuals to enhance their street credibility. “It's all about stripes,” he says. “If you mug someone, you get a stripe. If you go to jail, you get another stripe. There are people out there who want as many stripes as they can get.
“You can't rob people who live where you live and you can't go to places where there are other gangs, so the only people that leaves are strangers who come into your manor.”
With so many gangs active in the drug market, there are also commercial reasons for retaining control of an area. “If you are shotting [selling drugs] on a street, you have to be seen to be invincible,” says Face. “Otherwise people will run you out and take over.”
Face has left the gang scene behind and now assists at Code 7, a south London charity that helps to get young people out of a cycle of crime and violence by encouraging their talents in music. But even some of the youths travelling to Code 7's Oval offices have difficulty getting there, having to run a gauntlet of rival gangs simply to attend their studio sessions.
Asher Senator, CEO of Code 7, regularly sees the problems at first hand. “The other day I took a couple of youngsters to a meeting and stopped off at a shop. When I came back they were lying down in the back of the car, hiding. They said it was a peak [dangerous] area for them and they couldn't be seen there.
“I grew up on an estate in Wandsworth. There was another estate over the road and we all used to link up and do things together. Now the people on my old estate can't go there at all. They literally cannot cross the street without putting themselves in danger. We need to tackle the mindset of this generation. We need to introduce more London-wide initiatives so that youths from different areas have the opportunity to interact in a way that brings them together instead of pushing them further apart.”
In many ways such problems are nothing new. Children from one school have always been at risk of attack from pupils of another and battles between rivals still occur. But 10 years ago, the average 14-year-old carried nothing of value; today, mobile phones and MP3 players make them worthwhile targets.
Another change is the increased use of weapons. Reggie will not say if he has ever carried a knife for his own protection but admits he knows plenty of others who do, purely out of fear.
Concepts such as hood passes and stripes may seem alien to anyone over 21 but are considered normal by an entire generation. Craig, 19, compares travelling to certain parts of town to playing a game of Russian roulette. “If you have a bad enough reputation, then people will back off. They will know that you are not someone to mess with. But it depends on where you are and whether you have a rep there. If you're a stranger, then you're a stranger and you're fair game.”
Reader views (29)
Think its abit sensationalism if you ask me
Postcode boundaries been around for ages since the Krays and Berlin Wall
You know how the Standard likes to exaggerate a story. As interesting as it was there is always an ulterior motive in their journalism
I think the bigger picture is why have the standard been running a load of articles of late that discredit the the youth of London , especially Black youths???
- Noreik Ekalb, Brussels, Belgium, 20/11/2010 16:25
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Thwe answer to thisissue is simple get the main protagnists and point out to them theat they are responsible for the problem and that they donot have the right to decide where soembody can walk or not walk.
Its nothing to do with Police the council the fact they are unemployed it is their own thuggish behaviour that has caused this issue and until they stop nothing will change.
Until these idiots take responsibility for their own actions not rying to blame it on colour creed, religion, poverty or any other lame excuse that some socail worker can dream up they will never change. Lokk at ll the projects that work they are run by locals for locals and are genuinely the ones they say its your fault and no ne elses stop the behaviour and the problem will stop itself.
It is no different to drugs if eberyone stopped taking them there would be no problem. It is the people taking them cause the problem not the other way round.
If crack were 10p a rock but no body bought it ever the dealers would stop dealing and go do something else becise they couldn't make an income. Ebven drug dealers ahve to go Tesco at some point.
- Duncan, Kent, 17/11/2010 12:49
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All this is due to a lack of sports centres and arts centres for youths, with real guidance available and strict supervision , with the help and support of police and social services.
Instead of putting so much effort and money into trying to sort out the problems of societies abroad with their incomprehensible internal wars, the government could be dedicating more thought to developing social, artistic and sports skills of the young people who are trapped in their own ignorance and lack of direction.
- Michaella, London UK, 17/11/2010 10:48
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What we need is a decent solution. National service is not an option because the Army/Navy/RAF want REAL men and not these pathetic wannabe gangsta's. How about first mugging gets them 2 years "voluntary" service working for charities in Africa or Asia. Maybe seeing some real poverty and deprivation will wake these morons from their US TV show / gangsta rap induced coma. There is a real world out there with real problems and real opportunities. The murdered teenagers had not even seen real life outside of their tiny world; what a complete waste.
- Slave, London, 17/11/2010 08:14
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I'd rather be a crashing bore who can speak and write my own language properly, with a good job, a family and no criminal record than a rap speaking jack-the-lad with very little chance of any of the above. Some people kow tow to these youngsters, flatter them they are right to stay in ignorance by calling it "interesting" and then leave them to thwarted lives damaged by poor education. Very, very harmful.
- nicholasnickleby, London UK, 17/11/2010 06:41
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Sean O'Leary sounds like a nice, thoughtful sort of chap to me. Sebastian and Perennial sound like crashing bores.
- Beecoo, Hornsea, 16/11/2010 21:36
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where to start with this ? it's so pathetic it's not even funny. the only 'job' these losers will ever have is working for charities set up to help them. Face ? Farce more like.
- Squiz, Islington, 16/11/2010 19:03
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Just a hazard of a multicultural society perhaps.
- Thorrun, Essex, 16/11/2010 17:50
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nicholasnickleby, I think you are mis reading Sean O'leary, his rap style response was a tongue in cheek answer to Sebastian of Londons comment, Sean gave a good original reflective analysis and was criticised for a few minor errors of his English. Please stop criicising the grammar of a message and listen to what is actually being said, if you had read all comments according to their time line you would be up to speed on what was said and why ! oh yes and to refer to the actual artical, the youth mentioned really have no idea of how to survive and positively thrive in the big grown ups world.
- sarahacklandsnow, sevenoaks surrey, 16/11/2010 16:58
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don`t forget the gangs in Sloane Square SW1 and Hampstead NW3 they can be quite intimidating
- Hugh Jarse, london, 16/11/2010 16:36
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There are kids who have nothing and are dragged up parents or a parent who doesn’t care a jot about there children’s well being. Drugs, prostitution and gun crime are daily occurrence. I wonder how many young men and women in London have this experience? I would guess a small majority. Most of these kids have created this gangster lifestyle by coping what they have seen on TV in the US. I can understand when certain circumstances create gangs and crime. It’s pretty pathetic that many kids today choice this life style by choice.
- Paul B, London, 16/11/2010 15:48
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Easy solution: Change the postcode boundaries and mess the whole system up.
- KO, London, 16/11/2010 15:07
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Sean O'Leary I do hope that the rap language you are using is not your first language and that you can speak standard English as well. Otherwise you will stay in your tiny little ghetto for life as no one will be able to understand you outside of it. So stop getting angry and get learning.
- nicholasnickleby, London UK, 16/11/2010 14:10
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Surely if they smartened themselves up a bit, pulled up their trousers, took off their silly baseball caps and started talking properly, no-one would recognise them? Maybe even wear a wig? Ordinary people move across these "borders" all the time without having a "cap" "popped" in their "ass".
- Keith, King's Cross, 16/11/2010 14:09
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Amazing really. I've lived and worked in London all my life, baring stints travelling and/or working abroad. I think nothing of crossing London, visit Shepherds Bush, Muswell Hill, Camden, Peckham, etc etc etc. Ghettos are largely in the mind, people chose to live in them though a lack of perceived options and/or courage. If one hates where one lives but isn't compelled to live there, as in a Prison for example, then move. There is always a way. Unfortunately we live in an age when people feel they are entitled to all manner of things, such as LCD TV'S, nice flats in nice areas, new cars, holidays, branded clothing, etc. None of this is true. If you earn it then you can buy it if you chose, if you don't earn it, don't ask for it.you haven't earned it.
- mike Usiskin, London, 16/11/2010 11:58
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- l wright, New York
The 'Rico' law (act) has got absolutely nothing to do with youth crime. Its used for serious organized crime groups like the Mafia, drug cartels etc.
As for UK law having no teeth, we all know this. But I suppose there is no problem with youth gangs in the States either?
- bob forton, London, 16/11/2010 11:46
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Celine you sound like your typical tree hugging lefie. No doubt you are from Berkshire and studying at Uni in 'the smoke'.
Stop making excuses for these idiots.
I am sure life is hard for them, yeah a life of JSA.
Excuse after excuse.
- OTHofWalworth, Walworth, 16/11/2010 09:52
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Why does this seem to only affect the Black community in London. Liverpool have a similar problem but that only affects white kids.
- Adam, Harrow, UK, 16/11/2010 09:39
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What a load of rubbish. Stop trying to make the U.K. sound like LA. It is not.
Why dont the Police target these areas and gangs. Stop trying to be PC and nice.
Anyone who witnesses the treatment of football fans will vouch how the Police know how to target certain groups.
These gang members need to get a job
- OTHofWalworth, Walworth, 16/11/2010 09:33
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Put yourself in their shoes on a daily basis- postcode murders and muggings hotspots are not being policed properly. Life is tough for teenagers- no matter the colour of your skin and the goverment just slashed the funding for Youth Justice Board. Good Article- well done ES.
- Celine, Living in Oblivion, 16/11/2010 09:24
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What on earth is Sean of Walthamstow talking about? and in what language?
- Perennial, Mayfair, London, 16/11/2010 08:14
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sebastian, London. ok maybe i have made some errors and my english is not perfect, so by having your comment printed i would assume the E.S. are struggling to receive decent comments for this story or you live within the E.S. postcode of W8 5TT. and you know the 'homie journo' who reported this article. He has let you blab to warn all those from E.17 to steer well clear from the W8 posse of the 'linguistic self righteous'any way bring it on word boy cos no matter how many Oxford dictionaries u can bring to a meeting me an me an the E.17 massive will out word ya with a whole heap of Junior dictionaries, so bring it on, or to clarify i have a window free Friday afternoon, lol !
- sean o'leary, walthamstow london, 16/11/2010 08:00
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Just stop their benefits - they'd be out of their estates in days looking for someone else to sponge off!
- John Bull, Surrey, UK, 16/11/2010 07:08
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Sean O'Leary - do learn to write English - it is "the sheer pathos" not "shear patheticness" (what that?) and your other errors are a bit pathetic too. The standard of literacy in this country has to be read to be believed.
- sebastian, London UK, 16/11/2010 05:47
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These things happen only in the UK because the law has no teeth, the people and the Government are timid, here in America, special unit of the FBI,the police and the DA would charge them with the R.i.c.o law and put them a way in federal prison in which they would serve no less than 90% of their prison sentence and will have been the end of such menace. There is no such thing as a society where kid can't play and people are afraid to walk the street, that is not living, that is dying.
- l wright, New York, 15/11/2010 22:29
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Don't rappers spew 'dont believe the hype',in real reality they are the hype. There is nothing strong about gang culture, members join through fear and react through fear, gesturing and posturing and threatening way above any reasonable response to childish unreasonable situations. If you did not laugh at the whole ridiculous circumstance you would cry, not through fear but the shear patheticness of the world they so foolishly strive to create. Give many of these robbers and muggers jobs and watch them cry like babies because they cant get up in the morning and the work is to hard for the money, as the tears well up in their eyes, what ever happened to real hard, proud london men, looks like they now spend all their time running from their own shadows.
- sean o'leary, walthamstow london, 15/11/2010 20:34
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"So glad I got out of London , leaving such morons behind.
- Charles Martel, Poitiers, France"
Charles - I lived in Poitiers for 3 years - we had to leave because of the territorial wars between those living either side of the central train station. I have lived in Bogota, Mexico City and indeed South Central Los Angeles - never before have I been so scared as in Poitiers on a typical Saturday night. That place is frightening, and you MUST sell up and leave as soon as you can. And beware wearing striped jumpers - this indicates that you are a significant member of the Poitiers Petits Serpentes (Little Snakes) and will be fair game for any of the East Poitiers Hommes Serioux (loosely, the Serious Men). Take care Charles.
- Ian Plimstone, Toulouse, France, 15/11/2010 20:27
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It's a long time since I have heard anything quite so ludicrous! Haven't these kids got anything better to do? And where is the parental supervision? At that age I was preparing for exams and had a strict curfew. Not wondering whether someone's face didn't fit and if it didn't mugging or knifing them! I think Jimbob has got this right. stupid macho posturing!
- griffin, London, UK, 15/11/2010 17:25
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So glad I got out of London , leaving such morons behind.
- Charles Martel, Poitiers, France, 15/11/2010 15:46
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