I’m Out: Top cop backs Haringey teenagers launch film to raise awareness of consequences of knife crime
The I'm Out film premiere. Picture: Haringey Council - Credit: Archant
Haringey’s top police officer joined council bigwigs and a team of budding actors and film-makers at the premiere of a hard-hitting short film about knife crime created by sixth-formers at one of the borough’s schools.
Det Ch Supt Treena Fleming, Basic Command Unit (BCU) commander for Haringey and Enfield was "delighted" to support the film - I'm Out - at its premiere in Wood Green on February 26.
The film's launch comes as violent crime continue to dominate the agenda in north London - with one of the most recent incidents being the February 6 stabbing in Highgate.
Det Ch Supt Fleming said: "Occasions like this are important because it's really vital to have trust and engagement between young people and the police."
The commander added she was now "really excited" about working with the young people involved going forward.
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Akins Subair, 21, plays the lead - a young man called Leon who is the perpetrator in a stabbing. From Finsbury Park, he told this newspaper: "It was something I related to. In London, it's so diverse, you are bound to be around people going through things like in the film. I feel like everyone in London can essentially relate to it."
Clapton teenager Leyla Cin, 17, acted as a runner for the film. She said: "All my experiences on this journey have been very enlightening and educational but, most importantly, I feel as though it has been very active, in the sense of taking on skills that every younger individual needs for the world of work."
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Jordan Anaedozie, also from Finsbury Park, added: "It's one of my aspirations to get into film-making. And as a young person who has grown up in this community, I was able to engage with lots of young people to get ideas."
Cllr Mark Blake (Lab, Woodside), Haringey's community safety lead, told this newspaper: "We've put young people centre stage in terms of giving them a voice. So much of the discussion around this issue doesn't give them a voice.
Cllr Blake added: "The underlying issue is still grave, there's still a hell of a lot to be done."
All of the teenagers attend Haringey Sixth Form College, and the film was made with the help of Casual Films, the town hall and Scotland Yard.
Watch it at imout.org.uk and if you are a young person worried about youth violence or who wants to report crime anonymously, you can visit Fearless.org