Mark Chapman's Weblog

In Dostoeveky's famous novel the main protagonist, Raskalnikov, desperate from poverty and degradation, murders his hateful landlady. The rest of the novel is an exploration of guilt and the sorrow that an intelligent man feels as he comes to terms with his crime. The street kids who are filling our newspapers and 24 hour news channels - seemingly filling the general populace with fear - are not Raskalnikovs. It is true that the majority of them grow up in poor areas. However, it is not the extent of their poverty that leads them to their crimes (their situation is incomparably better than that of Raskalnikov), but rather the fact that they are the product of parents and grandparents who grew up in similar situations. Raskalnikov was an individual and as such was capable of feeling an individual's shame and regret. The gangs of feral teenagers, brought up by parents who either cannot provide the level of education that their children require or, possibly more likely, do not see the merits of an education, do not feel shame or regret for their actions because those same actions are what gives them an identity and a feeling of belonging and success. The Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, in arguing that teenage knife attackers should be forced to see the results of their actions and to be confronted by the families of their victims ttp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7503845.stm) is trying clearly trying so very, very hard to deal with the problem. Unfortunately, she has completely misunderstood the problem. Equally, David Cameron, by arguing for the usual Tory solution of longer prison sentences has not even bothered to come up with something new. Punishment by the state has no meaning for gang members because the state otherwise makes little or no impact on their lives. The only 'state' for these kids is that they belong to a gang and it is only other gang members or other gangs who can punish them.

So what is the solution? In short there can be no quick solution. This problem has been developing over a period of generations and the only way in which to alter the situation in any meaningful way is to spend generations trying to change the entire culture of our inner cities. One of the biggest drawbacks (and paradoxically one of its biggest advantages) of a democracy is that the public look for instant solutions for long-standing problems. Boris Johnson, as a Conservative Mayor of London and Jacqui Smith have said that they will be working together in order to improve conditions in London's inner cities. This is definitely a start, but all the parties need to get together to ensure that long term policies are implemented to ensure that inner city children throughout the UK are given the sort of education that will enable them to escape the cycle of ignorance and hatred that leads them to gangs. Equally, the gang culture that is so centred around misogyny, hatred and violence needs to be countered so that children have a real option to violence. Finally, the parents of these children need to be educated and to be helped to handle their children effectively. The media often point to rap stars and label them as bad role models. It is no doubt that the rap culture and many of the lyrics are a part of the gang culture in the United States and now in the UK.

However poor rap stars can be as role models, though, it is the parents that are crucial to a child's upbringing. A child gains most of its characteristics by the age of 7 years - long before they have any real interest in rap music. In the case of Damilola Taylor, all 11 of the suspects had no father figure at home (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1958237.stm) and the high rate of fatherless children in our inner cities cannot be ignored. However, too many argue that the main problem with single parent households is that the father is not around to provide discipline. This is not the main problem and, even if these children had their fathers around, it is possible that they would not be better people. These fathers are often very poor role models and it is not just a need for father figures, but for men that these boys can respect and emulate. At the moment these boys with knives seek to emulate rap stars and gang members because there is nothing else. The only way to do this is for the fathers of the next generation to be good role models for their children. Unfortunately these fathers are those who are carrying the knives right now.

Ultimately society needs to change so that both inner city children and their parents have more to look forward to, with new horizons to aim for. This would need to include an improvement in education, ensuring that the parents encourage their children to better themselves and building a system of youth centres and clubs at schools to give the children the chances to make something of their lives.

Raskalnikov felt a release from the torment of his own guilt when he was finally punished for his crime. At the moment are best hope is that those wielding knives will eventually feel the same way without the need for shock tactics or the threat of long prison sentences.