I read about them in the papers. I think it's only a matter of time before they do something
to me.
Yeah, yeah, sweet then.
What have you got then, what?
Yeah.
£20?
Yeah, I've got £20, let's go then.
It's all right.
It's not scary, you know.
Come on, I ain't got all that. Just give it to me.
Don't worry about it.
Yeah?
Is there a problem?
It's out in the open. If you reported it, they'd come after you. You just try not to
see it.
F**k.
No, no.
No.
It's all worth the money, money.
Money, money, money.
Everything, everything.
I'm not doing it.
Yeah, you are doing it.
I'm not doing it.
What are you doing?
I'm not doing it.
interfere. you never know who might get hurt. they've got two young kiddies.
they'd get me if I didn't pay.
and remember straight home not through the park.
wouldn't think twice about doing this over. hooligans.
so then did you hear the story of old mrs. gray? 90 if she was a day. she kept her savings under
the bed. they said it was bill and ted but their mother insisted they were in bed and I believe her
but old mrs. gray is dead. and then there was angie and brian and I don't think they were lying.
the father smacks the mother. angie runs off. brian was her brother. the only robbed people
that were well off. somebody had to pay because of the drugs. they needed them every day.
now look at these three prats. there's no excuse. I went to school with them. they used to be good.
up for the crack. do you know what I mean? now just brain dead. all out their heads. they could do
anything. I still don't think it was bill and ted. and then there was young andy. no he was a
lad. he liked a fast life. maybe just mad. was that his fault? yours or mine? who's paying the
price now that he's strayed from the straight and narrow line? is this how you see us? are we
all just a threat? were you so perfect how quick you forget? when you were a kid was it all black
and white? did you not take a minute to tell us what's right? is that it? what you've just seen
of old mrs. grey and angie and brian and glue sniffers and joyriders? I mean it's what you
read in the papers and hear on the radio and see on the telly. but there's two sides to every story
and we haven't heard from these yet. so let's go see what they have to say. come on. they can't
even sing. take that eight music. it's just crap. you know that. I suppose you think heavy metals
music then. what are they called? motorhead? more like dickheads. all right boys. how's it going?
easy. safe man. yes. listen everybody thinks that we're all troublemakers. they think we all go out
robbing mugging and vandalizing. I mean come on. is that right? well he did. he nicked a car. did
you? yeah I nicked a car. I had to do community service. it ain't funny. after 140 hours. just
too much. so why'd you nick the car then? I just liked it. I was bored you know. nice and it went
fast. I wanted it so I took it. can't exactly go to the showroom can I and buy one? yeah but would
you do it again? nah my dad went through on me. had the keys and everything in it though. easy. has
anyone else been in trouble? no but the way the oldies act you'd think we were all villains. what
do you mean? it's just our attitude towards us. just because we want to be different. just because
our clothes are different. you know up-to-date, fashionable, trendy. they all think we're a bunch
of troublemakers. they want to see my dad coming home drunk. that's trouble. he frightens me. don't
worry darling. get off you pratt. I wouldn't let any of you touch me. so what about gangs and things?
no we're not a gang. we're just mates. yeah. I mean we hang around here. where else is there to go?
sitting at home watching telly. it's boring. so why is it right that everyone thinks when we go out
we're going out to do crime? because they think we're all on drugs. who does? everybody. well I
have. my dad smokes pot. I've seen him. he's like an old hippie. really mellow man. so you can get drugs
easier then? yeah man there's a dealer outside school. it's got ease and stuff. it's been trouble
about money. some of the kids are in really deep. it's well scary. but I mean why do you think that
kids you know turn to crime these days? they're bored. there's nowhere to go. nothing to do. they
need some excitement. they need money to keep up with the latest trends and that. no? so they go out
robbing. I've been robbed at school before. I was so scared I gave them money. yes. look we all have to be out here to be
doing something. we don't have to do anything else. anything happens around here and it's us. we're
sick of it. we've done nothing. no one listens. nobody cares. so why should we? they're bored.
there's nothing to do. they dress funny. they're all on drugs. nobody listens and nobody cares. is
that right? well they've got things that make them scared too. but there are people that are listening
and doing something about it. I mean have a look at this lot. there's youth action groups. youth
projects. all sorts of organized activity. I mean in this lot they say there's windsurfing, sailing,
climbing, motorcycling. so somebody is doing something but is it enough? what did people do
for you when you were a kid? hello man. all right. we've been talking to some kids about crime and
stuff. I mean why do you think it's so different nowadays? I mean why is there more crime and
violence? well when I was a girl we all in this street anyway used to keep our eye out for one
another. it was much more of a community then. we knew everyone in the street where they worked.
we all met at the corner shop. that's what made it so safe. if somebody's kids got into trouble
their parents soon got to know about it and they had a right whack around the ear. I think if we
all kept our eye out for one another things would change. I feel sorry for the kids today. it's hard
for them. we had a lot of things to occupy our minds in those days. there was the war and
conscription. don't go on about those things. the kids don't want to hear about it. but we had to
do things then. we had no choice. I don't say it made us any better but it kept us off the streets
and it taught us discipline. I think the kids today just need something to do. they need
something to keep their minds occupied and that's down to us. that's our job. conscription and a big
sergeant major yelling. nah. well it's not me is it? but he had a point. well they both did. the
community. what happened to that eh? was something to do and something to focus on. this is where
the Johnson's live. it's nice isn't it? and this is their community. and their kids had to grow up
with the same problem as everybody else's. so how did they handle it? come on. so when did you start
to teach your children the difference between right and wrong? we started when the children
were really quite young. we tried to involve them as many things as we could. I think mixing with
other children and being involved in so many activities it helped them to realize there were
lots of things to occupy them. sounds a bit naff now but we were always doing something. most of
it was okay but some of it was a bit boring. our school was a fairly average one. I remember two
lads a year above getting expelled for smoking pot. I think the main thing was we were always
there for them but we're not naive. we realized there could be somebody or something out there
that could be a bad influence but we let them know we were always there for them and we took an
interest in what they were doing who they were seeing that sort of thing. what's his name? where
does he live? why can't he meet you here? you know the usual parental interference but I know they
only do it because they care. drugs I think were and are the biggest worry because they're so readily
available and you never know whether it's your child who's experimenting. some of our friends
are into the drug scene but I've well we've never been tempted. it's all about self-respect really.
I think it comes to the point where you've got to say no and if your friends don't like it well
they can live with it. it's all really about belonging to a family and also a community. we've
tried to instill respect and really the difference between right and wrong. we started when the
children were really quite young and we really tried to teach through example. I think perhaps
only time would tell whether we've got it right. evening all. well I suppose we had to end up here
didn't we? outside the old bill. but think about it. when did the Johnson's say they taught their
kids? when they were very young and it worked but there's one thing that seems to be bothering
everyone and that is drugs. well do you know what they look like? do you know what pot is? crack? eat?
well I know a man who does. cannabis and cannabis resin are the most commonly used drugs to be found
amongst young people. this is cannabis resin and it can be coloured from gold through to black as
you can see and it's cut into small pieces for the street level dealing similar to those items
there. and how would you tell if someone was using this? well if they were using it at the time they
would be unsteady on their feet. they wouldn't respond to you very well. they'd be quite perhaps
relaxed and happy within themselves. the other variety of it and probably as common in most
areas is the herbal form of cannabis which can be from that color of green to this more mature and
probably imported form of cannabis and again that is smoked and they're mostly smoked mixed with
tobacco but some people do smoke it on its own and there is some of the related items for smoking.
so is this like LSD? yes it's a form of LSD the most common type are these little squares of
plotting paper or cardboard they come in a wide range and variety of symbols logos motifs and
they're merely taken by mouth they are initially on larger sheets and the other form are these
small tablets of LSD and they can be from the size of a pinhead to about half the size of a
matchstick common street terms for LSD acid trips tabs common street terms for cannabis blow dope
smoke cannabis itself of course. which which would you say was like the most dangerous of the drugs
used by kids today? well LSD can be very dangerous because it affects the mind in all sorts of
different ways and causes them to do all sorts of things ecstasy also a very common popularly
used drug amongst young people is commonly referred to a wide range of different color
tablets and ecstasy powder in capsules and most young people are very well aware of that particular
drug. and how would you tell if someone's on say ecstasy? they'd probably be in a mild sort of
trance like state and they would be very hot very sweaty they'd be very dry and very dehydrated
cocaine is very powerful stimulant drug snorted or injected and cocaine gets turned into crack
and that's a large manufactured lump of crack there and that gets broken up into smaller rocks
like little bits of chalk in effect if you like and that gets sold on the streets.
so when you hear of old Mrs. Grey and Bill and Ted and that horrible day and Brian and Angie you
wouldn't want your kids to go that way for hand in the others that we haven't seen today for these
three maybe just dopes. did you do enough? did you give us hope?
the one thing we've seen in the programs we've watched so far is that we all have a role to play
in our communities particularly if you want to prevent and reduce crime. the one thing I
want to make clear is that community action works and it works well. we're going to show
you three examples three examples of three ordinary people who against all the odds have
fired up the enthusiasm of local residents and especially young people and have seen
incredible results. Carol Rigby who lives in Lewisham her powers of persuasion and her refusal
to give into intimidation mean it's safe for us to be here today. Stephen Williams from Keffin
Q South Wales whose enthusiasm and drive has led to hundreds of youngsters coming off the streets
and into a club they built and paid for themselves the result an incredible 50% drop in the crime
rate and Morris Cowell or uncle Morris as he's known to hundreds of youngsters in Spring Hill
youngsters who he's motivated into cleaning up their own environment in more ways than one. I knew
there was a crime problem in the area although I didn't know how serious it was and starting
a neighborhood watch was a part of building a community. the bridge was known as Muggers Alley
several of our neighbors had been mugged and robbed on the footbridge which is right at the
end of the street and I began to realize that they were rather more muggings than the normal
even for Southeast London. I knew that proving my case about the bridge meant presenting quite
a body of evidence to the council. The only way I could think of collecting that evidence was to
get a large number of people out on the street and I thought one way of doing that would be to
involve local school children. Children in a comprehensive school nearby Hatcham Wood School
were so keen to come and help and they were so good at what they did, so enthusiastic. They came
and surveyed the local population on two days one was about the footbridge one was about the
break spear and their evidence was vital. Some people come up to me and go oh you're an informer
like I just like they say you tell the teachers on me but it's not that sort of thing. I don't
like what's happening to the area nowadays all graffiti is going everywhere and it's just becoming
bad and I want to do something to make it just get a little bit better. The break spears arms its
background was a really friendly family pub piano on a Sunday things like that and then largely
through an accident of geography and the drug dealers local drug dealers moved in and started
to choose the place and then as word spread that it was open and inviting and there was no real
opposition. Dealers moved in from other parts of South London as well and it became it was known
by them as head office but it became a very busy pub for dealing almost anything and everything
whatever you wanted you could get there. Clearly if they were going to lose the pub as headquarters
they were going to lose the freedom that went with it to use the streets round about. People
living in London know all about burglary and about car crime and muggings and so on and they
have a lot of fear of crime which often bears no relation to the actual crime and I think anything
that anyone can do to improve the feeling that they have about where they live and work is
worth doing and Neighborhood Watch is part of that. It's something which involves everybody in the
community. We were just seeing our children you know sitting up and there were shops up in the
main road there and it was drawing younger children I mean there was dangers of roads and things
the main road there and a lot of traffic so we thought if we could give them something and then
there was a bit of hope for them that they could do something for themselves from there on. There
was shed breakings, burglaries and things like that I think mostly because I mean the children
around you were so bored and they just didn't have things to do I mean I think this frustration is
throughout the country and it's a problem for everybody I think I mean once we mentioned that
we were going to try and do something for them they knew they had support there was someone
thinking of them so from there on then we worked with them and they've been with us from the word
go they've helped in so many ways. It is an area where you know it's sort of violent governed I
mean they tend to sort their own problems out rather than phone the local police. There was a
drug problem I wouldn't say it was a big drug problem but I mean it's just beginning to progress
and you didn't see a lot of it on the streets but you never do anyway so I mean that was a concern
to us so if any children ever came to us and we knew anything about it and we would discuss it
with them and ask them if they wanted to see anybody professional to discuss it. Who knows
what the future holds I'd like to say that you know there's good prospects for them I mean that's
half the battle that we're trying to you know just give that bit of hope back that it doesn't
mean to say you don't you give up trying you still got to keep on trying and sort of bet
yourselves and hopefully something will come along. I mean they'll be strong characters so
they'll you know they'll definitely go out and look for their work. Well way back in 1987 this
is where the gangs the users they congregate in them days it was glue sniffing and gas you
know butane up their sleeves and just congregate around the ferry especially until two o'clock in
the morning and radials blasting out and people complaining consequently that's where we started
then to try and move the people away from here. I at that stage started recruiting people that
would stand up and be counted like myself and the vice-chairman John Wells and we then tackled the
problem with the police a police presence unmarked vehicles police out of uniform etc and
consequently we moved all that away so they started to drift and the police moved from one
district to another until eventually they've all drifted now. Well when they found out that we were
going to make a play area for them and somewhere to actually vent their energies they wanted the
thing up and going there and then like yesterday as you would say and they've monitored it right
through and it took from 1990 I think until 1992 early 1992 18 months to complete the play area
with the swings on the safety surface and the picnic area and the floor beds etc. It was a mess
it's like rubbish all over the place and just grass and mud there used to be a lot of trouble
and that graffiti and everything like that it's a lot better and lots of people come down to play
here parents used to not think that the children could come down here because it was such a mess
but now they let them. Three absolutely fantastic success stories and at the heart of them all the
involvement of the young people themselves. Carol was it very difficult to motivate them get them
involved in your initiatives? Oh it wasn't difficult at all they were more than ready to help the first
thing they said to me was what do you want us to do because of course the children were as victimised
by the crime as adults in the community were. They want to do something they want to be a group
they want to belong and it just all comes together. So did the police back you did they give you the
support that you needed? I can't speak too highly of the police in Brockley they've been with me
helping doing things right from day one right the way through and they still are they've been
outstanding. They come up they join in I mean they do in the particular part in the renovations of
the building when we had it and they're there constantly the children are better with them. Well
I could only agree with two colleagues here that the place one hundred percent one hundred ten
percent they attend our meetings monthly meetings and they give us advice and support us in every
way they can. You've all learned the hard way through setting up neighborhood watch running it
changing your communities if you were to encourage your advice to those who want to do it in their
area what would be the most important lesson that you've learned you want to pass on to them?
I think before you start thinking in terms of holding meetings putting up posters hanging signs
you have to sit down and decide whether it's something you really need for yourself you have
to question your own motivation because once you start you have to be able to commit a hundred
percent of your energy to it you have to be certain it's what you want to do. I agree with
that and I mean if they're thinking of it I mean the base is there I mean they need other people
they need a lot of help it is a big big commitment but like I say a lot of people are willing to help
so just get together. Not the kind of thing you do on your own? No no you need the help and people
are willing I mean there's probably a lot of people thinking on the same grounds I mean just
you put heads together and go forward. What does it cost for you Maurice what would you say to
others this is what you've got to be about if you're going to achieve anything? Well like Carol
says you've got to look at it in depth and consequently you've got to look at the people
who want to put themselves forward and you've got to be dedicated and motivated and be prepared to
actually take on the tasks which the police themselves cannot do they don't got the bodies
to go around. It obviously does cost a lot I presume it's meant a lot of sacrifice in some
cases Carol has it cost you probably more than you've received from it? Yes I think although I
think though that my circumstances are probably exceptional I wouldn't want anyone to think that
by starting a neighborhood watch scheme they're going to end up having their home burned or
having their lives threatened so I think as I say that was an exceptional situation but in terms of
cost yes there's there's there's a cost of time energy certainly you have to be prepared to give
a hundred percent to something like this gone are the days you know when we sat at home and peeped
up behind the net curtains I don't know whether it ever was like that but it certainly isn't like
that now it's a question of involving the entire community and somebody has to go out and make it
happen because it's not going to happen on its own. Three amazing success stories and none of
the people involved had an easy time of it in Carol's case she had to face the fear and
intimidation of the local community in Stephen's case in a high crime area he had to get the
confidence and the trust of the kids and the result an amazing 50% reduction in crime in
Morris's case he gave the kids something to be extremely proud of result there an 82% drop
in the crime rate community action works it's very successful your job is likely to be a lot
easier than theirs all you have to do is want to do it.