London’s violent darkness on the edge of town

For the millions of tourists who visit London every year, its history, its glorious buildings, its magnificent parks, the wealth of artefacts in its museums, the superb quality of its theater, and its great sport and music venues make it a city like no other in the world. I came here first as a student in the 1990s and made it my home, fascinated by its diversity which also included a rich academic and intellectual life, making it a truly global hub. However, there is also a troubling and murky side to London. It takes place mainly in the less affluent parts, where recently there has been a notable rise in knife and gun crime, involving mainly young people in their teenage years or early twenties. It is a million miles away from the “Cool Britannia” of the 1990s, or the more current hipster image.

Somewhat hysterically, last month most of the British press headlined the fact that London had surpassed New York in the number of murders since the beginning of 2018. So far this year the count is 59, although accurate comparisons with NYC are not easy. And neither New York nor London come even close to being the most violent cities in the world. This unenviable distinction belongs to the urban centers of countries such as Venezuela, Honduras, Brazil and South Africa. But it is clear that violent crime is present in London, is on the rise, and is claiming the lives of mainly the young and those from ethnic minorities. 

For most people, taking the life of another person is inconceivable; nevertheless, under certain extreme circumstances it can become a norm. In the current social system, violence is not completely forbidden; there are those who are regarded as legitimate users of it, and those who are not. The German sociologist Max Weber defined the state as a “human community that (successfully) claims the monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory,” and this indeed is held to be a major characteristic of the state. On many occasions it uses this privilege excessively and frequently, but most often to ensure law and order. 

London and the rest of the UK are far from a condition of anarchy, and comparisons with New York make good headlines but don’t give us the bigger picture. Violent crime in London peaked in 1990 when 2,245 were murdered, compared with 290 last year. But the trend is worrying, and the recent spate of callous killings has rightly stimulated a debate about the root causes of this surge in violence — a debate that is crossing party political lines. There is a consensus, unless you are a member of the British government, that budget cuts that led to a reduced and less resourced police force have played a major role in the sudden increase in unlawful killings in the capital. But while a noticeably reduced police presence is an important contributory factor, it would be simplistic to suggest that the only response to this emerging knife and gun culture is to have a bigger police force. A visible police presence acts as a deterrent, facilitates crime-solving, and is obviously crucial in maintaining law and order and reassuring the public. Nevertheless, no police force can be expected to address the root causes of crime, which lie in issues such as the marginalization of certain groups, poverty, unemployment, homelessness and, not least, mental health. 

A survey in the American Journal of Psychiatry of nearly 5,000 British men aged 18–34 found that “violent men and gang members had higher prevalences of mental disorders and use of psychiatric services … [and] show inordinately high levels of psychiatric morbidity, placing a heavy burden on mental health services.” One victim of the government’s austerity measures has been the mental health services, and it is cuts here, as much as in education, social housing or job creation, that create the fertile ground for violent crime.

But this is still an insufficient explanation. We must look beyond just the lack of resources, to consider the breakdown of values and communities and the loss of trust in authority. In a society where success is measured in monetary wealth but not in the richness of its values, where young people, especially from minority groups, are marginalized and left behind with little prospect of social mobility, violence and crime can become a norm for some. Under these circumstances the police can at times exacerbate the situation rather than improve it. Conservative commentators and politicians lament the decision to limit police powers to randomly stop and search. But this power when operational poisoned relations between the police and minority groups (black people were more than four times more likely to be stopped and searched) and provoked several serious riots.

Last week was the 25th anniversary of the murder of Stephen Lawrence by four young racist white men, which led to the Macpherson Report that condemned the police force for “the collective failure of an organization to provide an appropriate and professional service to people because of their color, culture, or ethnic origin.” The stain of institutional racism in police ranks hasn’t been completely washed away, and young people from minority groups still retain a strong distrust of the police.

There is no magic wand to stop youth violence. Only an integrated approach that holistically addresses the social and economic crisis that youth in general, and minority youth in particular, are facing, can start to provide an answer. It has to go hand-in-hand with building stronger communities; reinvigorating the education system so good citizenship receives high priority; ensuring a modern mental health system; and ensuring that the police have the required resources, but are also free from bias and prejudice. This would make a good start to tackling the rise in violent crime in London and elsewhere in the UK. It might even become a model for other cities.

• Yossi Mekelberg is professor of international relations at Regent’s University London, where he is head of the International Relations and Social Sciences Program. He is also an associate fellow of the MENA Program at Chatham House. He is a regular contributor to the international written and electronic media.