Youths wield knives and bottles

Dr Jonathan Miller: crime concerns

GANG warfare erupted on consecutive nights in a crime-ridden Camden Town street last week.
Shopkeepers and stallholders in Inverness Street – just yards from Camden Town Tube station – have renewed calls for better policing after the teenage Safeway Bridge Gang – based in near-by Chalk Farm – fought with drug dealers, angered by the theft of a bag of cannabis.
The furious dealers clashed with 30 youths, who brandished bottles, knives, bricks, baseball bats, planks of wood and a garden fork in a running battle on Thursday night.
An initial skirmish broke out at 6.15pm, with tensions boiling over again at 8pm.
On Friday a third clash took place before the market packed up at 5pm.
A 36-year-old man and a youth were arrested and released on bail. Police said a hammer and knife were recovered at the scene. A machete, spotted by officers, was not found.
For a year, since drug dealers moved in, Inverness Street residents, traders and Primrose Hill opera director Dr Jonathan Miller have been voicing concern about crime.
On Monday a market trader, too afraid to give his name, called on other stallholders to join forces and protect their patch.
He said: “The police aren’t going to stop this. We need to get together. It’s time for the market to flex its muscles.”
Although no one was seriously hurt in the clashes, a parked car had its windscreen smashed along with the window of newsagent Nikit News.
Owner Priti Patel said: “This has happened before, just not on this scale.
“These youths are a nuisance. They are always hanging around and causing trouble. We call the police but they say there’s nothing they can do. Now we have a brick through our window.”
The smashed window is expected to cost £700-800 to replace.
Demo Oluf, who works in clothes shop 2AD, expressed concern about the escalating violence.
He said: “Is it going to take someone getting killed before they take proper notice? I heard there was a community centre round here that was closed down and ever since they’ve been spilling out onto the street.”
Younis Berkati, manager of Bar Uno, added: “We need more surveillance. What about having permanent undercover policing? The CCTV cameras are a joke. We have to ring up and ask for the camera to be turned away from the High Street and onto Inverness Street.”