For a number of years now a poisonous pall of gang culture and crime has lurked on the filthy streets of Lewisham. Lewisham is viewed negatively by Londoners who reside away from the area, and this is only perpetuated by the string of negative media attention and statistics. However, are the suspicions and perceptions of such people echoed by the locals of Lewisham?
Carrying out a survey on how safe local residents felt in Lewisham, I found that 59% of the participants said they had felt safe. Much of them believed they were not clear targets to be robbed with others saying that the sufficient police presence in the area made them feel secure and unafraid. One participant even went as far as describing Lewisham as an “a calm place with nice people living” he also went on to say “there are plenty of parks and families and teenagers that are friendly and social.”
Despite this, the 41% that felt Deptford was not safe attributed their opinions to the presence of “gangs” as well as the kinds of crimes committed in the area like ‘knife crime” and “robberies”. One of the participants was even a victim of crime herself telling me her house was burgled. Others also said that the area was ‘dirty’ and underdeveloped indicating that people like drug addicts and ‘hood rats’ roamed the streets.
Despite the fact that much of the negativity about Lewisham is indeed true, the problems that it experiences are not uncommon. Many other areas struggle with very similar problems too. When you look past the negativity you may see Lewisham in a much more positive light. One of the participants had said Lewisham was a place ‘where everyone knows each other” implying a sense of belonging when you are there. Moreover, the area is very multicultural and you need not look further than Lewisham Centre to find Italian Pizzerias and Turkish Supermarkets and restaurants with exotic and delicious cuisine.
When thinking about Lewisham as an area, I feel that this participant sums it up best “At first I was kinda scared but, now I’ve gotten used to it."
By Jesse Babudoh, City and Islington College
