Silent Witness - Safe - Parts 1 & 2 BBC1

The silent witness series has been fairly hit and miss over the years, but after having watched the two part story Safe, I was compelled to write about it. This was perhaps one of the most moving and also depressing dramas I have seen for some time. It centred around the black youth gang culture of South East London and documented the violent and senseless way in which teenagers and even children risk their lives for drugs, cash and kudos.

The entire production was faultless and the acting exceptional, particularly from the young boys who played Levi and Keenan. Having lived and worked in East London I was more than familiar with many of the themes covered and have indeed witnessed street fights and stabbing of black teenagers outside my place of work. It is a hideous and terrifying sight that I would not wish another human being to have to suffer or view. Ever.

I am sure that the BBC carefully researched all the facts, however some elements of todays gang culture that were highlighted in the show, I had no idea about and found extremely disturbing. Apparently one of the initiation rituals to join these ’crews’ was the gang rape of underage girls who wished to be accepted by the group. Can this really be true? Why would the girls go through that in order to join and how could the rapists think it was acceptable as an initiation test? The whole thing made me sick to my stomach.

To those who work with them, it is well known how cheaply some teenagers value life, and that ‘shanking’ is common in many areas of London now, particularly the South East and East End. In fact I have spoken to many young black kids before, who pretty much confirmed the accuracy of what was shown in silent witness tonight.

The police are viewed with deep distrust and suspicion and to be quite honest I cant blame the black community for feeling this way towards them. I have only ever witnessed the police using their powers of stop and search on black male youths, never a white person and I have been here for over 3 years now. There have been several documentaries in recent times that have also exposed a deep rooted racism that still festers within the police force.

These episodes of silent witness encaptured the utter futility over the deaths of our youngsters and the sheer devastation it can wreak on families. Also the fear of some of the children who get caught up in gang warfare unwillingly and are unable to seek help or find a way out for themselves.

I do hope that Mr or Mrs Outraged from the Home Counties doesn’t decide to write in and complain about this outstanding two part drama though. Despite its violence and the bleak outlook it portrayed, it was a superb execution of a brilliantly written piece of social commentary that I am not ashamed to admit moved me to tears in places.