Huge escalation of gang crime in my area - feeling very anxious

[RA890]

I have name changed for this. In the last few months, there has been a huge escalation of gang crime to include shootings in broad daylight and brutally violent murders of youths in my area. All relating to drugs, an eye for an eye kind of thing. I have two very young children and I honestly feel afraid to go outside my house, even though the estate where we have bought our house is lovely, fantastic neighbours etc. And we are not living within the large town where all of this is happening. I am not originally from here, I was brought up about a 30 minute drive away in a very safe village.
Anyone else living in a not so great area have advice to share on how to not let it affect you? I don't (officially) suffer with anxiety but this has made me so anxious, I have no bread in the house or anything for dinner but I'm genuinely uneasy at the thought of going to the shops with my kids (my local shops are lovely and have never seen trouble there bar a few teenagers hanging about).

I shop in Croydon High St regularly and take my kids there. Teenagers get the bus the cinema there occasionally. There have been regular stabbings in the area. I just think that the kids involved usually know each other and have "beef" with each other. (Not sure if i used that correctly, my kids laugh as i think it's used differently from how it used to be used now") so i don't feel that me or my dds would be at risk. Probably helps that I've shopped there since childhood, so I'm used to it. Having said that I'm not sure if there've been shootings and murders there, like you've mentioned. There might have been

I live in a niceness part of C London and gang/knife/gun violence has gone up in my area too but I don’t feel it affects me or that I’d get caught up in it as it’s beween kids who know each other. Take sensible precautions.

I live in an area like this. Focus on the vanishingly small likelihood that anything bad will happen to you and your little ones, given that gang warfare is 'personal' and targeted. Think of your lovely neighbours and friends and the reasons you live there. Remember that, as with terrorism, fear accomplishes nothing and you must go about your day to day life and not let it win.

Remember that we are lucky to live in a safe country and vote for councillors and MPs that promise to address the issues, funding things for teenagers to do and outreach projects that prevent them turning to gangs, etc.

The one good (or actually very sad) thing about gang crime is that they generally only stab/shoot each other.

Sad because on the whole gang members will be very vulnerable children but if your children aren't involved, they aren't at risk.

Your estate is lovely
The local shops are lovely
You are not in any gang....

Go buy some milk .
Be aware but it doesn't sound like you are at risk in immediate area?
Go to self defence classes

Croydon High Street used to be my local high street...the thought of mixed race DS hanging out there as a teen in the evenings (eg to go the cinema or McDonalds) really worried me...what if he was 'in the wrong place at the wrong time'

So we moved to a nicer area out of London and just this morning there was a story on our 'local mums' fb page about a kid being threatened with a knife (an adult intervened and the bullys ran off dropping the big knife)

Sadly I think both knife crime and 'county lines' drug stuff is on the increase everywhere.

Sad because on the whole gang members will be very vulnerable children but if your children aren't involved, they aren't at risk

In Sheffield an innocent 12 year old was shot recently while playing outside. He lives in a high crime area though, I doubt you have anything to fear if you live in the nicer parts.

Sadly DC are at risk in many areas, even the leafy suburbs where I live. As the mother of mixed-race DC, it absolutely concerns me.

Yes they are certainly very targeted murders/attacks, there are a couple of gangs involved feuding over drug territory. They have cancelled an upcoming festival in the town due to safety concerns. What frightens me the most at the moment is there have been shootings in very public places, public car parks in the daytime, for example, when innocent families were just going about their business doing the shopping. I suppose it's just the overwhelming fear that I would end up being that unlucky person caught in the crossfire with my children beside me.
I know this all sounds dramatic and you can't live in fear. I did go to the shops when DP got home and he watched the kids, and in the supermarket queues literally everyone was talking about it as there have been a few very serious incidents over the last few days.

Which city is this?

I lived in a very, very nice area of Kensington and Chelsea, and have since moved South to Croydon. I don’t feel any difference in safety.

Unfortunately, knife crime and gang violence is happening nearly everywhere.

Just remember that unless you are involved it is very unlikely you will be caught up in it.