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Things that unite the 10-17 demographic-

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Things that unite the 10-17 demographic-

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Video games

VIdeo games in relation to violence

Policymaker concern has been motivated by the connection between violent video game imagery and psychological aggression in video games in particular adolescents. While researchers have documented an effect on aggression in the laboratory, some have

suggested that violent video games are responsible for violent crime such as school shootings

(Anderson 2004).

Cunningham, S., Engelstätter, B., & Ward, M. R. (2016). Violent Video Games and Violent Crime. Southern Economic Journal, 82(4), 1247–1265. https://doi.org/10.1002/soej.12139

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The generation of 10-17 year olds in this modern day and age is connected yet isolated, savvy but filled with anxieties and in some cases indulged yet stressed.

They have grown up with social media, media on the internet being fully available to them and a rise of violence.

Young people between the ages of five to sixteen spend an average of three hours online everyday.

Connectivity impacts their lives - this includes friendships, relationships, news, entertainment and shopping.

The most popular forms of social media for youths and teens is Snapchat, Instagram, Youtube and Kik Messenger.

A survey taken over 42 countries in 2013-2014 , and reported this year found out that men and women in the uk are among the least satisfied with their lives, particularly in the age range of 15 year olds.

Generation Z have been reported to show a sharp rise in reported mental health issues, with young men and women in the uk seeking treatment for low self esteem, anxiety, depression and self harm.

“What we’re seeing is a generation of children who are expressing much more clearly that they are just generally so unhappy with themselves and the situations around them,” says Emily Cherry, head of participation at the NSPCC. “When it comes to low self-esteem, a lot of young people are putting that down to [concerns about] education, their future and the online world. Particularly the online world, and how it’s following young people around – it’s with them 24/7. Every time they switch on their phones they’re getting messages about parties they haven’t been invited to, or they’re seeing photos of their friends doing things, or their whole self-worth is based on how many likes they’re getting on Facebook. It absolutely permeates their sense of self-worth.”

Barr, C. (2017, December 1). Who are Generation Z? The latest data on today’s teens. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/dec/10/generation-z-latest-data-teens

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There are different roles and levels of authority within gangs.

These roles include:

Teenies – generally those under the age of 10 – below the age of criminal responsibility – who are used to carry drugs and weapons, or move parcels between older members

Runners, Shotters – generally aged between 12 and 15-ish, those who move drugs between older members, sell drugs in the streets, arrange street deals, stay in 'trap' houses where drugs are sold or made

Youngers – generally aged under 18, they have some level of authority over teenies and shotters, are street dealers of class A or B drugs, can set up trap houses, recruit teenies, runners and shotters, report directly to elders

Links, Baby Mama, Bae, Wifey – girls used by members as girlfriends, used for sex, exploited, they will carry or hide weapons, drugs and money for members of any age

Elders – generally aged over 18, they are in charge of running street operations and trap houses, deal in larger amounts of class A and B drugs, facilitate purchase of firearms and other weapons, have authority over street dealers and youngers, respected

Faces, Olders – those at the top or higher end of the chain, limited contact with street level operations, not often seen or known by street level members

Council, T. (n.d.). Gang structure | Gangs and gang crime | Thurrock Council. Thu Rock. Retrieved 23 March 2021, from https://www.thurrock.gov.uk/gangs-and-gang-crime/gang-structure

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The rise in knife crime is also a story of poverty and social deprivation. 2016-2017 saw london as a whole with a 24 percent increase in knife crime.

The poorest boroughs nore the blunt of the rise

Southwark - 46 percent increase

Lambeth - 51 percent increase

Croydon - 103 percent increase

Poverty is not the whole story here either , the boroughs poorest areas were not necessarily the most violent, comparing other areas with similar levels of social deprivation such as New Addington and Broad Green in Croydon were a significantly divergent level of knife crime.

van.dang@yahoo.co.uk. (2019, March 5). Knife crime, it’s about poverty and austerity...but that’s not the whole story. Jamie Audsley. https://www.jamieaudsley.org/knife-crime/#:%7E:text=The%20rise%20of%20knife%20crime,Croydon%20a%20103%25%20increase).

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The location in which the individual lives seems to influence the public health issue of knife crime. An example London accounted for 48 percent of the recorded weapon related crime. In addition to this recent data displays a contrast between the number of offences between metropolitan and non metropolitan areas.

This variability may reflect disparities in socioeconomic status . This also includes the availability of weapons, education and crime rates within the area.

FACT- deprivation is shown to contribute to crime , in addition to this a risk of victimisation

Gang violence has received significant attention within the media as it is often shown to be a driving factor in the rise of knife crime in london.

FACT- in 2007-2008, 55 young people aged 13-19 died in violent circumstances, according to MPS more than half of these were gang related.

In March BBC News reported 5 gang members were also arrested for knife crime within schools, however gangs are not wholly responsible for the surge in youth violence however the contribution of gangs makes things difficult.

Haylock, S., Boshari, T., Alexander, E. C., Kumar, A., Manikam, L., & Pinder, R. (2020). Risk factors associated with knife-crime in United Kingdom among young people aged 10–24 years: a systematic review. BMC Public Health. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-09498-4

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Social Media - Uk Gangs keeping ‘scoreboard’ for knife and gun violence

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Social Media - Uk Gangs keeping ‘scoreboard’ for knife and gun violence

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Videos posted on social media sometimes glorify violence and describe how the scoring works

This is a brutal game that is fuelled on youtube in which videos are posted where they brag about their crimes.

Youth workers and parents of the victims have told sky news that this game is costing people their lives, people want the antagonistic music videos to be removed quicker from platforms such as Instagram and Youtube.

Sayce Holmes-Lewis, told Sky News: "Is there a literal scoreboard? Yes. People are keeping count of the attacks that each organisation is carrying out."

He added: "You stab a person in the head or the chest you get a certain number of points. You get varying points for the severity of the violent act. Young people's reality seems to be very warped when it comes to violence. They think it is a game. Taking somebody out and killing somebody is now fun."

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Boyer, R. (2020, July 20). How Graffiti Artists Are Propelling the Vision of the Black Lives Matter Movement. Artsy. https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-graffiti-artists-propelling-vision-black-lives-matter-movement

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Council, T. (n.d.). Gang structure | Gangs and gang crime | Thurrock Council. Thu Rock. Retrieved 23 March 2021, from https://www.thurrock.gov.uk/gangs-and-gang-crime/gang-structure

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Common uniting factor between the age demographic is video games 

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Common uniting factor between the age demographic is video games 

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Males 10-17 all play them its just finding a uniting front , a game that they all play.

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Gang Wear ( Is it iconography to associate apparel with gangs?)

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Gang Wear ( Is it iconography to associate apparel with gangs?)

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Ollerenshaw, B. T. (2020, December 18). Life in a gang: ‘You don’t know who’s gonna die next’. BBC News. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-55302854

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Video games fuel knife crime, says police chief in Suffolk

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Video games fuel knife crime, says police chief in Suffolk

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Youths and Teenagers have ended up turning to knife crime and drug dealing in towns which are overexposed to video games and social media.

"young people dont understand the consequences of knife attacks because they saw life as a PlayStation fantasy land"

Simpson, J. C. C. (2017, August 23). Video games fuel knife crime, says police chief in Suffolk. News | The Times. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/video-games-fuel-knife-crime-says-police-chief-in-suffolk-rh3f6966j

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Violent games encourage knife crime, says Boris Johnson

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Violent games encourage knife crime, says Boris Johnson

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In the London Paper , Boris Johnson wrote we "we must show young people that knives are not cool, and for that we need positive role models"

Video games that are violent can have dangerous influences on children.

Staff, M. (2019, May 15). Violent games encourage knife crime, says Boris Johnson. MCV/DEVELOP. https://www.mcvuk.com/business-news/publishing/violent-games-encourage-knife-crime-says-boris-johnson/

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Gangs and youth violence are regularly conflated into mainstream -

Conflate is defined as - “combine (two or more sets of information, texts, ideas, etc.) into one”

Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Conflate. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved March 22, 2021, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conflate

Drill music has come under criticism by the metropolitan police , in 2018 they called for platforms such as youtube to remove content which glamorises violent crime

“The panic about drill music “is leading to the criminalisation of everyday pursuits”, says academic Joy White, University of Roehampton. She warns that young people from poor backgrounds are now becoming categorised as troublemakers through the mere act of making a music video.”

“Social media may play some role in normalising the carrying of weapons, as documented by research carried out by James Treadwell, professor in criminology at Staffordshire University. But academics stress that the role of social media has been overstated, or at very least oversimplified by the media and policy makers”

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Young people are afraid of becoming victims , ‘The Conversation’ interviewed young people who stated that they carry knives due to the act that at some point they had been threatened or attacked and been injured

Link to the study - https://theconversation.com/knife-crime-i-spoke-to-young-people-who-carry-blades-and-they-want-to-stop-the-violence-98202

His study documented how some young people started to carry knives in order to avoid being victimised.

“The one time I went to the police … when I was stabbed … they walked into the house and said how many people done it? I said so and so many people done it from that gang … and they all kind of looked at each other – as if it’s gang affiliated or whatever isn’t it? So they didn’t really care. But if it was just a normal person … they’d have taken it a lot more serious – 17-year-old boy from London.”

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Toxic environments for children created by austerity - knife crime is often a symptom of the toxic environment in which adults create around children. These children will then often become perpetrators and victims

Homes, schools, neighbours or recreational activities can be toxic for children when the relationships and experiences fail to nurture

Toxic environments could leave children feeling disaffected, fearful and vengeful. The result of this being that they are scared and provoked into carrying knives, joining gangs and committing violent acts.

“It is no coincidence that the vast majority of knife crime takes place in neighbourhoods suffering from huge social disadvantage and disinvestment.”

Link to the study -  https://theconversation.com/knife-crime-children-are-not-the-problem-they-are-part-of-the-solution-106893

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Safety needs - once the physiological needs are met and satisfied , the need for safety and security becomes “salient”. People want order, predictability and control that can be fulfilled by family and society.. OR IN THIS CASE GANGS

Love and Belongingness coincide with safety needs because once people find safety which is fulfilled for example gangs then they will seek belongingness. Love and belonging is social and requires relationships such as friendship, trust , acceptance and affiliating with a group or a set of friends.

"These videos are not being taken down quickly enough and they should be screened before they go on.

"I know it's very difficult with the high volume of traffic on social media but these are young people - young people are dying as a result of some of these things that are being released on YouTube, on Instagram and Snapchat and more needs to be done.

EXAMPLE OF A KNIFE ATTACK - ONE OF THE MEMBERS WHO DIED WAS 17

Aristote Yenge, 23, Kyreis Davies, 17, Isaac Calver, 19 and Adebayo Amusa, 20, murdered Tavis Spencer-Aitkens. He was stabbed 15 times and hit over the head with a glass bottle.

The gang made a video in which they rapped about "scoring points like 23" thought to be a reference to high-scoring basketball player Michael Jordan who wore the number 23 shirt. Their video has had more than 112,000 views and the family of the victim has told Sky News they want it taken down.

Chris Preddie states “the more violent the attack, the more points. You get a lot of points for the face and the head, because it is visible”

Mr Preddie believes young people are mimicking violent video games such as Call Of Duty.

"They've been playing these games and now they are making them a reality," he said. "So, their reality becomes a game where you score points by killing people."

Jason Farrell, home editor. (2019, May 23). UK gangs keeping 'scoreboard' for knife and gun violence. Sky News. https://news.sky.com/story/uk-gangs-keeping-scoreboard-for-knife-and-gun-violence-11726574

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Links to Alumni stories ( with reference)

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Links to Alumni stories ( with reference)

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IICF. (2021, February 17). Alumni stories – Key4Life. http://www.iicf.org.uk/news/alumni-stories-key4life/

Key4Life. (n.d.). Participant Success Stories. Retrieved 22 March 2021, from https://key4life.org.uk/index.php/participant-stories/

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90% HAVE NO CHOICE OTHER THAN A LIFE OF CRIME

Statistic 30 % of the people key for life help have mental health issues

78% OF CHILDREN WHO GROW UP WITHOUT A FATHER

Thanks to key for life

73% IMPROVE EMOTIONAL RESILIENCE

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Audience is 10-17 year olds of the male demographic