It's good to be in a gang

It's not every day that you get approached by someone whose opening line is "I'm a lifer, I've been in prison for 18 years for murder and this is my first day out". But that's what happened on Monday, as I was making an early departure from the Home Affairs Select Committee meeting at the Trinity Centre in Bristol. This guy had been standing at the side, watching what was going on. He said he'd been doing some plastering work at the Trinity Centre and had overheard what was going on, and wanted to join in the discussion, so I popped back and asked Keith Vaz if he could. By all accounts he made a very interesting contribution to the debate. Somewhat bizarre though - 18 years in prison and you end up giving evidence to a Select Committee on your first day of release.

I only caught the first hour of the session, as I had to get to London, but there were some really interesting points emerging. We talked with a crowd of young people and community activists about the role of parents, and the fact that ever younger children are now carrying knives. It's all going to be in the Select Committee's report, but one of the things that struck me suddenly was the realisation that belonging to "a gang" per se is not a bad thing. It can be good to be in a gang. Often young people look to peer groups to find the emotional support and understanding they don't get at home or at school. Or sometimes it's even less complicated than that; it's just about hanging out with a bunch of mates. Gangs might be about security (safety in numbers) but they're also about having a laugh and pursuing common interests. (OK, yes, sometimes they're about crime and territorial wars and drug-dealing and intimidation too, but let's park that for now).

When I was 15, 16, 17 I used to meet up with the same group of friends - Steve, Chris, Mark, Lewis, Joe, Antonella and Emma (my sister) - down the park virtually every night. We'd camp out on the steps of Luton museum, listening to Joy Division and Lynton Kwesi Johnson on Lewis' ghettoblaster until it was time to head home to catch the John Peel show at 10pm. Or at the weekend we'd meet in Mark's outhouse, play cards and listen to 'Slates' by the Fall, Theatre of Hate and the Birthday Party. Sometimes the Cocteau Twins if Mark had his way. Or Psychik TV if Chris had his. And every now and again we'd head down to London on the train to see bands at the Hammersmith Palais or the Lyceum or the Town and Country Club

I'm sure my teenage nephews and nieces are just the same, albeit with rather different taste in music. But I bet that when some people see the 18 year old nephew and the 17 year old niece with their mates, they respond completely differently to when they see their 15 year old and 17 year old cousins. Why? Because two of them are white, and two are mixed race. How many people see a group of friends in the first instance, and a 'gang' in the second?

But I digress... What I'm wondering is this: youth work tends to involve bringing lots of young people together under one roof. The Government will be announcing extra spending on this later this week. And yes, youth centres are good. But would it be better if more spaces were created for young people to break off into their gangs, and be with the mates they really want to be with? Is there something slightly artificial about forcing fifty or sixty or more young people to socialise together and is there an optimum size for a gathering? (Actually that's what we used to call it when we went round Mark's house: a gathering). Should we be encouraging gangs instead of demonising them?

Stop press - this is the news I was expecting, about extra funding. £5 million. Not bad.

First of the gang to die

It's gone 3am but I'm suffering one of my periodic bouts of insomnia and have given up trying to get to sleep. BBC News 24 is trailing a Government announcement due later this week on new measures to tackle knife crime. It's an issue I've felt I ought to say something about on this blog, but it's difficult to get beyond the 'isn't it dreadful and something ought to be done about it' stage. And yes, I know, people look to politicians to come up with the answers, but sometimes it's not as easy as that. Certainly in Bristol there has been some good work involving ex-gang members and young people talking about gun crime, knife crime and drugs, and I've met with a number of community activists over recent months to discuss what more can be done. (Things like providing better role models, mentoring, raising aspirations, giving young people places to go and things to do). I've discussed the issue with school pupils too but, as ever, that doesn't mean I'm speaking to the right young people. That's why I found Erwin James' piece in Saturday's Guardian fascinating as he actually talks to young offenders serving prison sentences for knife-related offences. I've long been a fan of his writing; I used to read his A Life Inside columns avidly, and bought several copies as presents for people when they were made into a book. He now has a blog, which should be worth keeping an eye on.

On Friday I went to the official opening of Bristol Metropolitan College (formerly Whitefield Fishponds School). The entertainment included some drumming, singing, Cuban dancing and - my favourite - a group of young rap dancers. Some of them were adorable - although I'm sure they wouldn't thank me for saying it - including young Elijah who did a back-flip and stole the show. (I told him I'd mention him on my website. He's definitely a star in the making.)

The performance made me think. The young dancers were mimicking gang culture; bandanas covering the lower half of their faces, and squaring up to each other with their dance moves . Does this matter? It's an old debate of course, whether rap music glorifies guns and violence (not to mention degrading women), and whether young people treat this just as escapist entertainment or seek to emulate the lifestyle. Or are they drawn to the music because it records their own experiences? I think it's probably the latter.

Difficult territory for a politician though; David Cameron got into a little bit of trouble a couple of years ago for saying rap music 'encourages young people to carry guns and knives'. As that article points out, however, it's not unique to rap music: I could point to the Clash's Last Gang in Town, or Morrissey's First of the Gang to Die; they're not glorifying gang violence, but could perhaps be accused of romanticising it, even though both songs have an anti-gang message. But unwittingly encouraging young people to take up knives and join gangs? No. (Actually there are endless Clash songs which could be cited: what about Guns of Brixton? Tho' I think that got a bit of stick at the time).

I'm not familiar enough with rap music to judge whether it's much different; most of the stuff I hear tends to be about girls and cars and drinking Krystal and flashing lots of money around. Which might encourage materialism and misogyny, but not violence. Eminem is a comic book genius, and I can't believe anyone takes him seriously. And a lot of the rappers in the charts are just big softies. I'm inclined to the view that there's not really any difference between the young lads in their bandanas and my contemporaries scrawling 'Anarchy' and 'Destroy' on their leather jackets. Whatever leads them to take up knives, I don't think it's the music they listen to.

It's now nearly 4.30am - where did the time go? That's what happens when you start surfing. Time for bed.