In May 2001, Children's Express reporters teamed up with Sky News to produce four films on key election issues as seen from the perspectives of the next generation of voters. The films included challenging interviews with the three main party leaders: Charles Kennedy, William Hague and Tony Blair. This article is adapted from the first in the series, on crime.
| If you ask the public what they want, so that they feel safe walking the streets, they want more bobbies on the beat. |
In November last year, Damilola Taylor was found dead close to his home in Peckham, London. He bled to death in a stairwell after apparently being stabbed by a broken bottle. His murder shocked the nation and raised many questions and fears.
Damilola was only ten years old. Small wonder, perhaps, that in a recent survey conducted in the London area, children said that their biggest fear was crime on the streets.
Damilola's family are now leading a campaign to make the streets of Peckham safer, and crime free.
His aunt, Dorcas Fayime told us: "The government can put more lights on the streets. Put more police on the streets. But I can't come to term with anything because it's deep pain in me, because you can't bring the boy back."
 Reporter Daniel Cohen, in the stairwell where Damilola Taylor was stabbed | |
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On some estates the answer has been to force children off the streets, not just to protect them from crime, but to stop them committing it. Bored kids can be destructive kids. Curfews for under-sixteens have been on trial, and are likely to be introduced across the country, despite resistance from human rights groups who say they are cruel.
There is hope: estates like the one where Damilola lived are being rebuilt, with better leisure facilities, security and housing. But it will take more than bulldozers to make the streets safer.
Tackling crime
Charles Kennedy, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, told us: "If you ask the public what they want, and what they feel more safe with, so that you feel safe walking the streets whether it's darkness or it's daylight, we want more bobbies on the beat."
| | What the reporters said: | | Tinu: "Recently a close friend of mine was stabbed to death on his way home. To me, his potential was astounding, and the sunshine he brought into my life was immeasurable. I just hope that his death will not be in vain. Unfortunately, I think this is going to be just one of those things - it doesn't actually affect the politicians. Maybe it's just a statistic." | | Daniel: "Well the problem is, every time there's an election, people say we'll have more policeman next time, we'll have less crime. But it takes a lot to keep all these promises. They do need to get more policeman. So I'm sure they're going to try, but it'll take a lot of work." | |
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But only the Conservatives stand any hope of taking power from Labour. Between 1979 and 1997, under Conservative governments, crime rose by 166%. But Tory leader William Hague says the same wouldn't happen again now.
"First of all, I want to get the number of police back to what it used to be," he said. "Four years ago we had 1600 more police than we've got now. The Labour Party let the number go down, and in some areas that means people don't have a policeman on the streets any more."
It's true that, today, there are fewer police officers than there were when Labour came to power. But Tony Blair defended his record: "In the last year there's been an increase I think of 1,300 in the number of police. By 2004 or maybe 2003, 2004, we'll have more police in this country than ever before."
Curfews
The Liberal Democrats are dismissive of curfews.
"I'm not impressed with the whole idea of curfews at all," said Charles Kennedy. "I think that's a draconian response, an over-the-top response, to what is happening. It is dealing with the problem, but it's not actually dealing with the symptoms that lead to the problem."
 Tory leader William Hague doesn't think Curfews work | |
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William Hague is equally unimpressed. "[Labour] have created this idea, child curfew orders, but it hasn't worked at all anywhere around the country. And so I think we've got to come up with some better ideas about that. It's a familiar problem with the Labour Party, that they announce things, and they sound good, and they do it with great fanfare and publicity, and then nothing actually happens."
But Mr Blair insists his government has been tough on crime. "Actually, overall crime has fallen by something like ten percent, and we'll probably be the first government in a long time to go to an election with that type of record. On the other hand, there's still a great deal to do."
About the team
This article is based on the Future Voters film presented by Tinu Adeniji-Adele, 17, and Daniel Cohen, 13. Produced by Chris Rogers and Children's Express. It was broadcast on Sky News.
Other stories in the series:
Future Voters: Crime
Future Voters: The Internet
Future Voters: Global Warming
Future Voters: Teacher Shortages
