What is Let’s Talk Knife Crime about

It’s about young people in south London, particularly Peckham, Camberwell, Bermondsey

LET’S TALK HEADLINES

LET’S TALK was set up by Peckham-based Community TV Trust, as a four year project spanning 2019-2022. It offers discussion forums and film screenings in schools and youth clubs, and is now producing a documentary about a ground-breaking story.

September 2021

1  We are in production with the film “CHANGE OF THOUGHT” for which we have filmed with local Southwark teenagers leading a project to build better relations with the Police, we are meeting the families and have interviewed parents and also the person behind the teenagers’ vision, we have filmed the teenagers delivering their training to Met recruits.

2  We are planning future Forums with young people, for either late autumn 2021 or February/March 2022.

3  We have produced a series of discussion videos via Zoom on a wide range of subjects. See our Films page.

December 2020

1  Themes that emerged strongly in 2020 Forums were racism and the death penalty.

2  The collaboration with the police did not work satisfactorily in early 2020 and planning with schools proved persistently difficult despite clear value to students who participated in LET’S TALK Forums.

3  Film screenings in schools & youth clubs could not go ahead due to the pandemic.

4  Panel members reflected on ‘estate mentality‘, a school’s image & exclusion, the optimum age of intervention, Government simply ‘not knowing how the other half live‘.

November 2019

1:  CTVT has announced support for young people to educate their parents via YouTube

2: “Police are not the right agency to tackle knife crime”, said Panel member and academic, Dr. Malte Laub

3:  LET’S TALK facilitated a private meeting for bereaved parents with the Prime Minister

4:  Schools are central to building bridges between Education and Community. They are also in the way.

Community TV Trust [CTVT] , creators of LET’S TALK, offers media training & filmmaking in schools, PRUs and workshops for the disabled and marginalised. It engages people and young people in open-ended creative work, linking Community to Education. Get in touch by email: chris@communitytvtrust.org

About ‘Lets Talk Knife Crime’

Story 1 Educate the Parents

A number of students voiced concerns that their parents generation did not understand what was going on for young people today. Community TV Trust has stepped in and pledged to support a team of young people who will lead on content generation for this work. A dedicated LET’S TALK website will also carry this channel as well as link to social media platforms requested by the young editors.

Story 2 It’s not the Police

One Panel member is preparing a PhD and studying policing in Southwark. He attended all the Forums and having combed through the transcripts put together an argument that says the Police are not the right agency to tackle knife crime. This sounds inflammatory but being well argued is more accurately challenging to the rest of us. Are we ready for the consequences of this idea?

Story 3 Meeting the Prime Minister

In autumn 2018 a former pupil of Harris Academy Peckham [HAP] was killed while trying to intervene in a fight. This tragedy inspired current Year 9 students at HAP to create a musical. Their music teacher sat on the LET’S TALK Panel and met up with the Ministry of Justice senior civil servant also on the Panel. When the Prime Minister wanted to locate a bereaved family to meet and talk with about knife crime, the two Panel members hooked up and arranged for the parents to meet Theresa May. The meeting happened and inspired the Prime Minister to invest in two additional workers.

This shows what can happen when community comes together.

Story 4 Education and Community

In real terms, schools protect our young people as well as educate them. Schools also stand between pupils and organisations outside in the community, in the name of both protection and good grades.

In due course we will publish a detailed story illustrating the point but for now we are still hoping to retrieve what had seemed a strong and fruitful new relationship.

FILMS & SCREENINGS

LET’S TALK films include interviews with young people and Panel members from the 2019 Forums. These include a musical from Harris Academy Peckham & a dance drama from local dance company, Movement Factory. In addition LET’S TALK has access to the archive of Community TV Trust which in 2005 produced a large educational DVD project on knife crime in Southwark. Much of Community TV Trust’s film work is held at Southwark’s Local History Library.

View the 2020 film features
LET’S TALK Video Report 2020 [1 hour 55 mins]
LET’S TALK Criminal Justice System [34 mins]
LET’S TALK 2020-21 Family In Crisis [9 mins]
About ‘Lets Talk Knife Crime’

4 Areas shown here…   Discussion Forums  |  Films  |  Resources  |  Useful Links

About ‘Lets Talk Knife Crime’

Where can I get help?

Friends, family, teachers and even police officers can offer a sympathetic ear.

Crimestoppers and Samaritans are anonymous.

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