Unconfirmed Reports

Local violence on our estate seems to be back in action. Since September, when a kid was stabbed to death in front of a bloodthirsty mob, things seemed to have been business as usual - just the normal gangs of teenagers hanging around, stealing bikes, the odd mugging… just the typical low-level discomfort. Press reports say that a Hackney gang have been pulling people into cars and beating them up, but I haven’t seen any of that.

Early last week, I did notice a largish group of teenagers hanging around the bottom of our apartment block. I notice them because I have to walk through their group wheeling my bike, they all stare at me, then the next day I found that somebody had tried to cut through my bike lock from where it was chained to the front of out apartment. I’m quite impressed by the heavy-duty new lock I bought.

But maybe the bike stealing’s not the main game after all. It seems that on Wednesday afternoon, another brawl broke out on the estate, leading to a non-fatal stabbing. If the newspapers have got it right, one or more dudes from up in Holloway had come down to our estate to have beef with the kids from down here, who apparently had dissed somebody by posting a rap video on the internet containing insults to his mother.

The worst part about this incident is that the guy who was stabbed did not get his revenge, and after being taken to hospital by the police, has refused to talk to them. It all looks as if there will be more chapters yet in the violent saga. I don’t mind too much as long as they keep using knives, but if they move up to guns I’d be out of here - which I am soon anyway.

Another dark side of things is that the police seem totally clueless. As far as I can tell, they still haven’t made any arrest associated with the stabbing murder back in September. Press reports are lined with mothers’ and neighbours’ testimonials on what a fine and trouble-free young man was the murder victim - but he had come down here from his home in Finsbury Park (right next to Holloway), and it doesn’t seem like he came down just to say “Hi”.

There are often classic “drug-dealer cars” waiting with their engines on in Grosvenor Avenue: black BMWs or souped-up Volkswagens, with tinted windows. Maybe the police should get to know some of these gentlemen and ask them what’s going on.