'Knives are just like having a mobile'

The youth, who we shall call Stephen, grew up in Leyton but now lives in another part of Waltham Forest.

Until about a year ago Stephen would regularly carry a knife for protection, but he was made to realise the consequences of carrying weapons after his arrest.

"I was stopped and searched, and officers found a big knife on me. They were not happy at all and said if it had not been my first offence I would have gone straight to prison," he said.

"Spending a night in the cell made me realise that the reality of the world is that the police can take my freedom from me. I was so happy to come home the next day."

His decision to quit street gang life has been justified this past year as three of his close friends have been killed in gangland attacks.

He said: "You don't want to end up in that life - you can die in it, or you end up going to prison for a long time and wishing you were dead.

"It's silly, it's stupid, it's thick. Most of my friends in Leyton have been to prison, and I know many people who have been stabbed."

Stephen started carrying a knife at the age of 12 or 13 in the East End suburb.

He said: "Leyton is a rough area. There are drugs, guns and knives, and I needed something to protect myself.

"If you get robbed, a knife is handy. If you have got a knife you feel that you have a chance of saving yourself from being attacked.

"But when you get older you feel that you might be the one who could get cut, so you think I'm going to have to cut them first', although I would never stab anyone."

Stephen knows about gang life in Leyton, Walthamstow, Chingford and further afield. He described how certain gangs form alliances with other groups, and if you are from a particular area you will get attacked for that alone.

"You begin forming groups. Five people become ten, ten become 15, and then you have become a gang," he said.

"This attracts the attention of other gangs, and you have to defend your estate, and then you go and check out other areas. It is all a big game."

Stephen's need to protect his family is another reason he has quit the street life.

He said: "Some of the guys think they are gangsters, but the reality is they are still living at home with their mum. What will they do if people start shooting at the windows of their home?"

As a black man, Stephen sees the culture of knife carrying and race as being linked.

"Carrying knives is black culture 100 per cent. I live in a more white area now, and you don't see white kids going to the pub carrying knives," he said.

"When you are black more attention is drawn towards you, and there are people trying to start fights with you. You feel unsafe."

Stephen rejects the argument that knives are used as part of building a person's image.

"I would not say it is an image thing, because most people don't show their knives," he said.

"But no one wants to be called a chicken or a scaredy cat, and that's why some kids carry knives."

In recent weeks the East London Guardian, sister paper of Local London, has run articles questioning the effect music has on knife crime.

Stephen accepts that music is powerful and can influence what you are talking or thinking about, but he also said it can be positive and thwart violent behaviour.

He said: "It can be good. Instead of being out on the street, people can find they have talent.

"Some MCs also say what they want to in words, rather than through actions on the street, so it can work in both ways."

Stephen said that guns are increasingly being used on the street rather than knives.

He said: "I would say that one in five people in gangs carry guns, but three in five have access to them. I don't have a clue where the guns are coming from."

Stephen now wants to move out of London completely because he feels the gang culture has got out of hand.

He said: "I could not go to college around here because of who I am. Guys would try to stab me because of where I live or where I was from.

"The gang violence is getting to be too much. People are going out and attacking people just to build up their reputation."

So what is the solution?

Stephen believes there should be tougher custodial sentences for knife carriers. He also thinks there should be more CCTV cameras on housing estates and that the police should be more alert.

He said: "Prison works, so there should be more police. I used to be around kids who would rob someone in Chingford and then move on to Walthamstow and rob someone there, but the police would still be looking for them in Chingford."

Stephen also believes education should play a part, not just at secondary school, but in college as well.

His message to young people is very simple: "Stay at home and don't go out on to the street," he said.

"Notice the value of life. Don't get kicked out of school like I did because GCSEs will get you a job.

"You have one chance, don't mess it up."