Jackie Ranger tells the story of her son Leon’s life and tragic death and in her second article argues that we must stop the demonisation of young people if we are to find solutions to violent crime.

While inner-city violence is a serious issue, the recent hysteria over knife-crime is less about finding real solutions to the problem and, argues Richard Seymour, more about justifying an increase in the repressive capacity of the state.

Gordon Brown’s misguided plans for a ‘crackdown’ on young people carrying knives have more to do with the politics of ‘law and order’ than with a serious attempt to improve people’s lives, writes Yuri Prasad.

The media and politicians’ calls for a crackdown to end the killings of young people are no solution to the problem, writes Esme Choonara