Two of the largest rival gangs in Longton have recently called a truce, leading to its first murder-free day for years. Much of the violence is blamed on Longton drug cartels that use the town as a transit point for the whole of Stoke. Imprisoned gang leaders announced in a press conference in the play pen area of HMP Werrington today that they have declared Stoke's schools as peace zones. It was an event greeted with astonishment and celebration: on Wednesday 09 May nobody was murdered in Longton.
That this should be news underlined how much this small Stoke town has become accustomed to about 15 murders a day, one of Stoke's highest rates. The murder-free day reflected a dramatic fall in gang violence, beginning during school holidays in April. Last week there were, on average, about five killings a day.
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| A "gang-banger" in Longton |
But the now relatively-peaceful slums of Longton are hardly jubilant. Instead, they are watchful, tense and suspicious. "This is a peace negotiated behind closed doors that fails to address the underlying causes of violence," said local priest Derek Murphy, who works in communities riven with gang violence. "This is a thug's peace."
Such scepticism is widespread. Bloodshed has decreased not because poverty has disappeared, or because the ramshackle town has acquired effective police, courts and jails, but because the two most powerful gangs, the Southsiders and Westsiders, have called a truce.
"There will be 200 fewer dead Longtonians a month," said Mick Walley, a former gang member who now rehabilitates others through the group Longton Homies. "This is an opening, part of a peace process that we have been pushing for years."
Josh BAD man
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