Shaunie Investigates: Is The Violence In London Increasing?

This week has seen the record increase of media reports about violence taking place in London.

Now of course we can see that gang culture is taking over and the police have lost control but I don't believe there has been this sudden spike in violent crimes recently.

All these deaths suddenly making the news or the front pages...what's the motive?

With the increased reports of deaths caused by stabbings or shootings in London as of April 2018. London has been recorded as being more deadlier than New York.

Statistics show that within the first quarter of 2018, violent-related crimes have been
higher in London than New York City.

I'm pissed that all I've seen recently are reports of children being shot or stabbed. These are young kids who haven't even finished school getting killed or hurt by other young kids who also haven't finished school.

18 Year old Israel Ogunsola, was stabbed in Hackney on April, 4th, 2018.

I don't want to keep reading about another mother finding their child laying in the middle of the street, dying, and there's nothing this mother can do but hug them, cry, pray for justice and never get it.

Victim: Tanesha Melbourne, 17, was shot whilst standing outside of a house, 
in what the police and media are calling a drive-by shooting.

Recently Tanesha Melbourne, 17, was fatally shot in what the police are calling a dive-by shooting incited by a postcode war between gangs in North London.

Amaan Shakoor, 16, was killed in Walthamstow on the same night as Tanesha Melbourne
in a separate incident, after being approached by a group,

Images from Tinseltown CCTV footage: Female, (wearing grey pants), who media think is Tanesha,
seen shielding boy

Media outlets, like the *cough cough* "Daily Mail", are connecting the killing to a fight caught on a Farringdon restaurant's CCTV. I've watched this video and I've seen the female, who the papers are alleging is Tanesha and I have to say, "the female in the video isn't Tanesha. This is very evident, visually. There body frames are totally different."

Newspapers have been linking Tanesha's death to a fight in Tinseltown a Restaurant in Farringdon

Articles like this have been denied by 
alleged members of NPK (Northumberland Park Gang).

"Is this self-snitching or a set-up?"

The police and media are also associating these crimes to the Hip Hop sub-genre, Drill.

Drill; A genre made big in US state, Chicago, by Hip Hop artist, Chief Keef.

Chief Keef

UK DJ, Tim Westwood,  has also been brought into the mix. He's Youtube channel is being blamed for inciting gang culture and the violence we are seeing in the capital.

Westwood's Youtube channel, Westwood TV, has videos of rappers, the police say are linked to London gangs, who are encouraging the gang culture.

But are these rappers really popularising gang culture or are they just speaking about the things that they see happening in their communities.

In a recent article in the, Times newspaper, Westwood, has been accused of "profiting" off of the gang lifestyle through advertisement which he obtains via his Youtube channel.
Although when the videos are removed from his channel, they still end up on another Youtube channel. So why are Youtube not getting called out?

Why is the music industry, which has been making money off of the struggles of black people for ages, why are they not getting called out?

These media outlets and the police can continue to blame the music, they can continue to point the finger of blame at the DJs, but it's not the music that has driven the crime rate up, it's the government which has taken away the preventative measures.i.e. youth clubs and police funding.