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Street safety, guns and knivesSome young people just don't feel safe on London's streets. We had a little look into why... Wrong but necessary? Do young people need to defend themselves on the streets or is there a better way? - James, age 16Guns and knives are a big issue in my area, affecting all the young people that I know. When you know that one person is carrying a knife, you feel unsafe, and if you see that person he might barge you and 'cos you ain't carrying nothing he might try and stab you. The more people that you hurt, the more street cred you get. I know it's wrong to carry a knife because if the police catch you, you will get into trouble and you will probably do something stupid with it. But I also think that it can be necessary because people out there will harm you. Sometimes you can't escape trouble because trouble comes to you. Because we look 'gangsta' because of the way we dress - tracksuits, hoodies, boots, whatever - we attract attention from the thugs who are haters. They see someone who is doing better than them, like going to college or something, buying a nice car or just saving money - and they want to rob you. It's best to keep yourself to yourself and don't tell anyone your business. I believe that the police should clean up the streets, but they should do it fairly. If I could leave London I would, but there are no opportunities in the countryside. This is my experience and it's the same for a lot of young people that I know. If this was your experience what would you do? How could you change what is happening on the streets? We also talked about some of the arguments for and against carrying knives and guns. AgainstYoung people carrying guns into their community are destroying it by making their residents feel unsafe. When the community starts to experience gun crime and stabbings, the parents of the children in the community will feel unsafe knowing that there are people being intimidated on their doorsteps. Young people are not considering that if the gun crime and stabbings carry on the police won't get involved. These days people think that carrying a gun on the streets makes you cooler than others. What the young people don't see is that not only the parents suffer - the whole community suffers. ForLiving in London can be like being in a war, because everywhere you go you have to watch your back. Young people do not feel safe on the streets because there are too many young people out there who think they have the power to make us do what they want us to, and if you don't listen to them they resort to violent behaviour. Youngsters will never stop carrying guns and knives because it makes them feel safer on the road. It means that no one will trouble them. What do you think? Why do I think young people want to carry guns and knives? - Kingsley, age 13Guns and knives are very popular in the UK from a very young age. The TV, police and other people can influence young people. Young people don't have to carry guns and knives, but the police don't do as much as they're supposed to - so that means in a small way they do have to carry an offensive weapon. There are a number of reasons why some young people do carry guns and knives. Some want to look like the bigger person in front of their friends - but when they go to jail the same people that they are supposed to be impressing end up laughing, and your life goes down the drain from there. Some people carry them because they are with a certain crowd of people. Hear our experiencesFeeling safe on the street was one of the main problems for young people in London. A lot of people in our group were concerned about gangs, guns and knives. Some of the young people in our group talked about their experiences and what they thought might start to make a change on the streets...
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