On the way home from school I overheard a couple of young male teenagers discussing an issue regarding recruitment into different gangs in the Greenwich borough.

I was then suddenly very aware that violent gang-related activities were very apparent in these boys' lives.

Yes, I had heard of the number of youths being killed by fellow youths on the news; and yes, I was aware that there are currently territorial based gangs in my local area but that knowledge did not affect my day to day activities. This made me realise that boys get the bigger dose of this awful tasting medicine; namely gang crime.

In contrast to what the intake of medicine should do, helping you to get healthier, this dose of gang crime acts like a leech draining boys’ futures and stopping them from blossoming into successful young men.

As an outsider looking in, I could see how difficult it could be for my fellow male peers to say no to a 'dose' on this lucrative drug of violence and gang-related activities.

What is interesting, however, is that the majority of those young people are not in violent gangs but hang around, 'jam', their local area, in groups enjoying their teenage years.

When asked about their personal experience and views of gangs my peers replied:

Anonymous male: “Once you’ve joined a gang getting out of that lifestyle is very difficult. The opposition gang members remember your face. That means that if you are alone 'slipping' they will come and beat you up. Recruitment can start from around the age of 10, the little boys want to follow, want the respect they think being in a gang gives you.”

Anonymous female: “Gangs can mean different things. Not all gangs are necessarily bad. However if we are talking about the 'criminal' gangs, it is not good for us young people. People are left uneasy - not knowing what’s coming next. In my opinion the intimidation that gang culture exerts is the worse part.”

These two different views are similar to mine: gangs do not always have to been seen as negative, as this leads to stereotyping and prejudices. The frequent negative reports in the media have in some ways contributed to this negative stereotype of young people today. However, many young boys and girls in our Greenwich borough ARE leaving the negative and criminal gang situation behind, or trying NOT to enter into the lifestyle in the first place.

This borough needs to unite together to appeal to the willpower of my fellow generation to 'go straight'. We should not take for granted the greater majority of youngsters in the community which do demonstrate they are socially responsible citizens and start celebrating and congratulating the positive contribution we are making to society.

By Dimitri Dolor, age 15, Blackheath Bluecoat CE School