Aisha Tukur
Knife crime in Bristol has been described as a scourge.
In 2023, there was an average of an incident a week involving knives and stabbings. On Friday two teenagers were jailed for murdering 16-year-old Darrian Williams.
Some of those who have been involved in the postcode-driven “gangs” behind the violence now say they are are looking for a way out.
“I feel like I won’t achieve what I want because you can’t leave that life. There are people who might want to target me,” an anonymous person who was on the fringes of a gang a few years ago said.
“I just work now and stay out of the way, I want to move out of Bristol it’s that bad.”
The person we spoke to said they were too scared to be named or pictured out of fear of retribution.
A few years ago they were involved with other young men who are often labelled as a “gang” – where exploitation and serious violence is common.
Why are postcodes important?
There have been several high profile murder trials of young men in Bristol where rivalries between different postcodes of the city have been referenced.
The latest has been the murder of 16-year-old Darrian Williams described as a “happy go lucky” teenager.
Two boys, both aged 16, were found guilty of his murder on Friday.
While the court heard no evidence to suggest Darrian was in a gang, witnesses heard the teenage defendants ask Darrian if he was a “1-6” before stabbing him in the back.
The “1-6” gang is associated with the Bristol BS postcode areas of Fishponds, Hillfields and Oldbury Court areas. The court heard how they had been in conflict with another gang, the “2-4s” or “2s”, which is associated with St Pauls and St Judes.
There have been other cases of serious youth violence with fatal consequences in Bristol, like that of 18-year-old Dontae Davis, who was stabbed and killed by a rival gang member in 2021.
His family said he was “strong, loving, caring, charming” and a “thoughtful son”.
Kairon Sawyers, 19, denied murder, claiming he acted in self-defence but was sentenced to nine years in a young offenders institute after he was found guilty of manslaughter.
That trial heard rising gang tensions in east Bristol were to blame.
Who is helping?
But amid the violence there are some in the city searching for solutions.
Desmond Brown, founder of Growing Futures – an organisation that engages with young people involved in serious youth violence – said he’s heard of young boys looking for unusual ways out of Bristol.
“We had young people actually signing up to be trafficked so they could get out Bristol because of the fear of being stabbed here,” he said.
“Boundaries [in the city] that we cross every day to go about our daily business that they feel they can’t.
“Travelling on a bus is a scary proposition,” he added.
