leyla
29th June 2011, 06:48 PM
Hood Rat by Gavin Knight
Picador £12.99
Reviewed by Leyla
Sanai
Gangland violence has been a source of inspiration to many a
writer but journalist Knight has eschewed fiction and concentrated on
fact. Embedded for two years with police anti-gang units in
Manchester, London and Glasgow, he obtained first-hand experience of the
violence and chaos that results from gang culture, and gained insights into
the dynamics and charred personal lives of the individuals behind
the headlines.
In Manchester, he enters the head of a middle-aged DC who has
investigated 30 gangland murders, built up an intricate network
of contacts and informants, and refused promotion in order to
continue working at the frontline. Two marriages have frayed beyond
breaking point because of the 365/24/7 nature of his work, and his crime
room is plastered with the faces of 180 wanted gangsters. Of these, the
most ruthless are two psychopathics, Merlin, the boss of the Gooch gang,
and Flow, Merlin's enforcer. Merlin returns to drug-dealing after
every prison release: earning £700,000 a year from a roaring heroin,
crack and weapons trade, why wouldn't he? Flow is earnest-looking, boyish
and charming, even minutes after bludgeoning or shooting someone to
death.
Gangland is like a hydra; as soon as the police chop off the
head of one faction by imprisoning leaders, others sprout; the absence
of established kings may even cause jitters and trigger-happiness in
the underworld. Although gang members are almost exclusively male,
their girlfriends buy into the culture through the kudos, cool and
luxury associated with it in American culture, especially rap music. And
as violence enters the common lexicon, there are disturbing signs
that even young kids are becoming inured to its sequelae, with
horrific assaults being filmed on mobile phones. The gang-leaders are brazen
- dropping weapons into open graves (the cops would never
obtain permission to intervene during a funeral, or to dig up a grave),
and opening fire and murdering at a funeral of a rival gang member
they killed.
The resources required to bring even one individual to
trial are breathtaking- 8000 exhibits of evidence and £5 million is not
unusual. Knight homes in on real life cases which received press attention,
such as the brutal murder of 15 year-old Jessie James on his bike in
2006. The impact of the facts is so powerful that it jars on the rare
occasions when he 'novelizes' the action by including
relative trivia/contrivances like 'they exchange a smile'. But he is spot-on
in his inclusion of the mundane details that hamper investigations
- bureaucracy, paperwork, possessiveness of limited resources
from different departments.
In London, Knight relates the depressing details of mainly
black-on-black violence. There were six gangland executions in one
street within two years. Many of these youngsters have had troubled
lives and are taken into the 'care' of a gang Older when they're as
young as eight. A few have already killed by that age, having
been coerced into murder in their native Somalia before immigration
into Britain. Asian, black and white junkies rely on the gangs for
drugs. Although some of the former receive free food from temples, they
are not allowed to pray there, although ironically, the
millionaire Pakistani businessman at the top of the chain of Somali dealers
goes to the Mosque regularly. Knight depicts the chilling details of life
in the community, where people may be tortured for days with steam
irons over their bodies and genitals for unpaid drug debts.
In Glasgow, the gangs are very different, being comprised of white
young men. Knight misses a trick by not focusing on the sectarian
hatred at the heart of much of Glasgow violence; the rivalry between
Celtic and Rangers football clubs, which the teams and their managers
abhor. He does, though, outline in harrowing detail the nature of the
territorial fights and the weapons - machetes, samurai swords,
hatchets, scaffolding poles - used. The female head of intelligence in
Strathclyde had the dubious privilege of presiding
over the police force of the most violent city in western Europe, boasting
71 murders in a year. The 90% + detection rate was of little comfort since
it didn't prevent further crime. As he did in Manchester, Knight
skilfully conveys the insurmountable task facing this new head while also
filling in the personal details that flesh out the character. An
initiative imported from Boston brought together gangs, victims' mothers,
A&E consultants and community leaders, and caused a dip in the murder
rate, as did changes in the system such as DNA profiling and bringing
to court all caught carrying knives. But in an era when computer
games often link success with killing, and materialism is all, the
problem goes on.
This book doesn't offer any solutions but it's a harrowing and fascinating account of the violence endemic in our society, and a must for politicians, social workers, teachers and - most importantly -
teens.
Picador £12.99
Reviewed by Leyla
Sanai
Gangland violence has been a source of inspiration to many a
writer but journalist Knight has eschewed fiction and concentrated on
fact. Embedded for two years with police anti-gang units in
Manchester, London and Glasgow, he obtained first-hand experience of the
violence and chaos that results from gang culture, and gained insights into
the dynamics and charred personal lives of the individuals behind
the headlines.
In Manchester, he enters the head of a middle-aged DC who has
investigated 30 gangland murders, built up an intricate network
of contacts and informants, and refused promotion in order to
continue working at the frontline. Two marriages have frayed beyond
breaking point because of the 365/24/7 nature of his work, and his crime
room is plastered with the faces of 180 wanted gangsters. Of these, the
most ruthless are two psychopathics, Merlin, the boss of the Gooch gang,
and Flow, Merlin's enforcer. Merlin returns to drug-dealing after
every prison release: earning £700,000 a year from a roaring heroin,
crack and weapons trade, why wouldn't he? Flow is earnest-looking, boyish
and charming, even minutes after bludgeoning or shooting someone to
death.
Gangland is like a hydra; as soon as the police chop off the
head of one faction by imprisoning leaders, others sprout; the absence
of established kings may even cause jitters and trigger-happiness in
the underworld. Although gang members are almost exclusively male,
their girlfriends buy into the culture through the kudos, cool and
luxury associated with it in American culture, especially rap music. And
as violence enters the common lexicon, there are disturbing signs
that even young kids are becoming inured to its sequelae, with
horrific assaults being filmed on mobile phones. The gang-leaders are brazen
- dropping weapons into open graves (the cops would never
obtain permission to intervene during a funeral, or to dig up a grave),
and opening fire and murdering at a funeral of a rival gang member
they killed.
The resources required to bring even one individual to
trial are breathtaking- 8000 exhibits of evidence and £5 million is not
unusual. Knight homes in on real life cases which received press attention,
such as the brutal murder of 15 year-old Jessie James on his bike in
2006. The impact of the facts is so powerful that it jars on the rare
occasions when he 'novelizes' the action by including
relative trivia/contrivances like 'they exchange a smile'. But he is spot-on
in his inclusion of the mundane details that hamper investigations
- bureaucracy, paperwork, possessiveness of limited resources
from different departments.
In London, Knight relates the depressing details of mainly
black-on-black violence. There were six gangland executions in one
street within two years. Many of these youngsters have had troubled
lives and are taken into the 'care' of a gang Older when they're as
young as eight. A few have already killed by that age, having
been coerced into murder in their native Somalia before immigration
into Britain. Asian, black and white junkies rely on the gangs for
drugs. Although some of the former receive free food from temples, they
are not allowed to pray there, although ironically, the
millionaire Pakistani businessman at the top of the chain of Somali dealers
goes to the Mosque regularly. Knight depicts the chilling details of life
in the community, where people may be tortured for days with steam
irons over their bodies and genitals for unpaid drug debts.
In Glasgow, the gangs are very different, being comprised of white
young men. Knight misses a trick by not focusing on the sectarian
hatred at the heart of much of Glasgow violence; the rivalry between
Celtic and Rangers football clubs, which the teams and their managers
abhor. He does, though, outline in harrowing detail the nature of the
territorial fights and the weapons - machetes, samurai swords,
hatchets, scaffolding poles - used. The female head of intelligence in
Strathclyde had the dubious privilege of presiding
over the police force of the most violent city in western Europe, boasting
71 murders in a year. The 90% + detection rate was of little comfort since
it didn't prevent further crime. As he did in Manchester, Knight
skilfully conveys the insurmountable task facing this new head while also
filling in the personal details that flesh out the character. An
initiative imported from Boston brought together gangs, victims' mothers,
A&E consultants and community leaders, and caused a dip in the murder
rate, as did changes in the system such as DNA profiling and bringing
to court all caught carrying knives. But in an era when computer
games often link success with killing, and materialism is all, the
problem goes on.
This book doesn't offer any solutions but it's a harrowing and fascinating account of the violence endemic in our society, and a must for politicians, social workers, teachers and - most importantly -
teens.