respect

Birmingham Club Shooting A Rap Attack

June 29th, 2010 |

Tackling Gangs (click on the picture)

The Birmingham Mercury said that last week’s incident in which four people were shot and wounded at the Custard Factory was prompted by rival gangs trying to become rap stars on Britain’s thriving urban music scene.

“Rivalry between gangs used to be all about drugs, turf, dealing, etc, but this is a whole new thing,” a gangland source told the Midlands newspaper.

‘‘Both (local street gangs) B6 and B21 are trying to make it in the music industry and that’s what all this is stemming from. These are young guys and they don’t want territory, what they want is respect,” he added.

The Mercury’s assessment endorsed official advice for parents provided by West Midlands police on their gang website, on which they advise ‘rap music associated with gangs can be threatening and violent: Know what your children are listening to.”

“Young people are exposed to images of gangs on the TV, in movies and through rap music. These tend to glorify drugs, sex, and violence as an acceptable lifestyle and do not show the truth about gangs and the destruction they can cause for families, friends and the communities we live in,” the police information guide continues.

“Young people join gangs for lots of reasons, some are good and some are bad,” the cops’ advice continues. “They may ‘hang out’ on the streets with mates as a way of keeping safe and avoiding trouble.” (Tackling Gangs)

In related news leading Scottish drugs expert Professor Neil McKeganey sparked controversy this week when he noted that though drug dealers can provoke gang wars in communities they can also prove significantly ‘beneficial’ in a report on the phenomenom.

Pointing out that that poor people have access to better consumer goods via secondary markets in stolen goods, the Professor also noted that the presence of drug markets ‘could result in lower levels of other crimes as the drug sellers themselves sought to reduce the activities of other criminals that might attract unwanted police attention’.

“Such markets could be seen as having a positive impact on the surrounding community,” Professor McKeganey added.

“For example, the presence of a drug dealing market could mean the influx of substantial cash that would otherwise not occur as local drug dealers spend the money earned from their drug-selling activities.” (The Scotsman)

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