My Tomorrow event in #Wolves saw influential speakers address youngsters to talk about the right path in life. It included Pooja Kanda, mother or Ronan, who was killed with a knife.
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00:00Which brings me on to the key objectives of my tomorrow.
00:04The first priority is prevention, and stopping violence from happening in the first place.
00:09The adults in charge, the professionals that lead the rules like literally shape our world,
00:15need to understand violence through a view of their perspectives, through a length of vulnerability.
00:20Goodness, look at that.
00:22So, I am the Police and Crime Commissioner for the West Midlands.
00:27I also chair our West Midlands Violence Reduction Partnership Strategic Board as well.
00:33But it's important to understand that I am not the police.
00:38Because some people think, Police and Crime Commissioner, you must be the police.
00:42I am not the police.
00:43I think it's important to make that clear.
00:45Because I am elected by the people of the West Midlands.
00:49So we're here at the Molyneux for the My Tomorrow event.
00:53And guys, you've both been doing a bit of a speech and talking about your life experience.
00:59Why is it important we have events like this?
01:03Go on Warren, let's start with you buddy.
01:05You've got a colourful story yourself, haven't you?
01:08Well, the reason I am here, I am reading something that I am telling the young me.
01:16About everything that is going to happen if I carry on with the life that I am leading.
01:24You know, I was involved in gangs.
01:26I have been imprisoned for gun crime.
01:28I have been involved in knife crime and various other stuff.
01:32And we need to get a message across to these youngsters that what they consider glamorous and flash leads to pain.
01:42It leads to heartache, you know.
01:44People do get hurt.
01:47They seem to forget this when they go out buying knives and getting involved in the gangs.
01:52But on the end of all this, someone gets hurt and one day that someone could actually be them.
01:58Yeah.
01:59You know.
02:00Well Cairo, you were stabbed six times, weren't you?
02:02So you know all about the pain.
02:03And you spoke about the reaction of that on your younger brother and your family and how that was hurtful to watch.
02:10So Cairo, when you've been involved in that life, how difficult is it to kind of turn it around?
02:16I heard you mentioning, Daryl, that there's pivotal people in your life, isn't there, that have made an impact in that?
02:22Yeah.
02:23It's really difficult because once you're kind of stuck with the lifestyle, it's also not about the lifestyle but your mindset as well.
02:31And yeah, like it was really hard for me to kind of branch out of the life.
02:36Such as like, again, you've got to have people that were your friends before that was involved.
02:41And it's also about like kind of branching away from your friendship groups that was living a type of life.
02:46And also like just kind of, you've got to have the strong mindset to believe that you can get out of it.
02:52And what happens when you do try and step away from it?
02:56You know, is it that, I mean, your mate two you were involved with before that was still perhaps aren't stepping away from it.
03:03Do they turn against you or do they say, well fair play?
03:06I don't know the other situation, but in my situation, no.
03:09Because like, they understand why I've changed my life around.
03:12Yeah.
03:13And they know what I've been through.
03:15They know what I've done before when I was involved.
03:18And to be honest, they're real true friends because they understand why I wanted to change my life.
03:23And if they could, I bet they would want to as well.
03:26Yeah.
03:27But yeah, it was hard.
03:28And yeah, like it's, you've got to just like think twice to be honest with everything you do.
03:34Now I've changed my life about because it can be one thing that can get me straight involved back into what I was involved in.
03:40Yeah.
03:41Well, I was going to say that, is it like, you know, like an alcoholic will say, yeah, I've been clean for five years, but you know what?
03:47I could, I could go back.
03:48So I have to kind of work on it all the time.
03:51Yeah.
03:52Is it like that for yourself?
03:53Do you feel it?
03:54You know what I mean?
03:55Again, when you like, when you live a type of lifestyle, you're, it's, again, it's like addiction in a way.
04:00Yeah.
04:01Like you used to do certain things, eat every day, wake up doing the same thing, same mindset, speak to the same people.
04:07And yeah, it's kind of like the same thing.
04:09And then, and it's easy for me to go back and say, to go back and do what I was doing.
04:15Yeah.
04:16Yeah.
04:17Again, it's about to strengthen your mindset to not do it.
04:19Yeah.
04:20It's reaching up in addiction.
04:21Don't do the same thing, the same thing.
04:23Yeah.
04:24You get used to it and it feels natural to you.
04:26And I had to break out of that.
04:27Do you worry, Warren, that you've broke that cycle for life or, or, you know, is it the same, is it the same for you where you have to watch who you're knocking about with still?
04:36Yeah.
04:37And so you don't get pulled back in.
04:38I, I have to work at it every day.
04:41Yeah.
04:42You know, I'm 56 years old.
04:43I was, I've been involved in gangs of criminality from the age of 12.
04:47I was, you know, I did my first prison sentence in 1987, 1988.
04:52Yeah.
04:53And I was a career criminal.
04:55I made no bones about it my whole life.
04:57I was surrounded by criminality.
04:59Yeah.
05:00And every day I walk around Wolverhampton, I see somebody who will remind me of the old me.
05:06Yeah.
05:07But when you ask Cairo, like, about how do people take it?
05:11I now volunteer with a company called Suits, the service usual environment team.
05:16And people see me now helping others.
05:19Yeah.
05:20Through my lived experience.
05:21And the respect I get actually blows me away.
05:25Yeah.
05:26I feel like what I do now, I got, I get more respect than what I did when I was on the road.
05:29Yeah.
05:30Yeah.
05:31And that's, that's, that's all authentic.
05:32Yeah.
05:33And the people who sort of show you that respect now, you actually realise that they're, they're
05:38your true friends.
05:39Yeah.
05:40They're the ones that back then probably took a back, a bit of a backseat to what you were
05:43doing.
05:44Yeah.
05:45But now they see you're doing the right thing.
05:46They're front row.
05:47Yeah.
05:48They're, they're championing your course.
05:49And it is.
05:50Yeah.
05:51It's humbling to be quite frank with you.
05:52It's really humbling because I've made many mistakes and I've done many wrong things.
05:55But now I'm trying to rectify all of that.
05:58I'm not going back to what you said.
06:00I use all the stuff I learned as a criminal.
06:03Hmm.
06:04Now to do the right thing.
06:05Yeah.
06:06To manipulate people and whatnot.
06:07Yeah.
06:08And now persuade people.
06:09Yeah.
06:10That there's a better way of, of living.
06:12Yeah.
06:13It's not following the negative stereotypes.
06:15Yeah.
06:16Which is easy.
06:17You ain't got to stay in that lifestyle.
06:18Yeah.
06:19You just got to have the strength to get out of it and believe you can do better, live a
06:22better life.
06:23And it isn't easy.
06:24Yeah.
06:25Let's get it straight.
06:26It isn't easy.
06:27You know what I mean?
06:28And the temptation's always there.
06:29And people always try and tempt you back.
06:30But do you know what?
06:31You, you've got to start thinking about what you want.
06:34Yeah.
06:35You know, it, it, it, it's got to come from within.
06:37And the day that happens.
06:38Yeah.
06:39The day that happens, you grow as a person.
06:42The strength.
06:43The strength.
06:44You, you, you feel bigger.
06:45Thanks.
06:46Well, thank you so much gents for what, what you're doing here today.
06:49Awesome work.
06:50Thank you lads.
06:51Brilliant.
06:55And the answer is D.
06:56One in every 1,000 cases.
06:57Okay.
06:58And the answer is D.
06:59One in every 89 cases.
07:00Okay.
07:01Interesting.
07:02So, the answer actually is, one in every three cases.
07:06Okay.
07:07Here at the Molyneux Wolves Ground and it's a My Tomorrow event and it's all about trying
07:16to set youngsters on the right path when there's so much crime and knife crime about.
07:21Three youngsters from St Luke's School in Blakeneal.
07:23How you doing guys?
07:24Good.
07:25Yeah, cool.
07:26Shout out your first names.
07:27Giuseppe.
07:28Giuseppe.
07:29Giuseppe.
07:30Harry.
07:31And Maria.
07:32Cool.
07:33So you've listened to a few speeches.
07:34What have you thought about what you've heard?
07:37It's been interesting.
07:38Yeah?
07:39Why has it been interesting?
07:41It's not an overview.
07:42It seems to really like...
07:44Yeah?
07:45The community has been quite interesting.
07:49Yeah.
07:50Yeah.
07:51And what about you guys?
07:54Yeah?
07:55Go on Giuseppe.
07:56What do you think about what you've heard?
07:58We've been hearing from some people who've been involved in gangs before.
08:01The one lad was even stabbed, wasn't he?
08:03Yeah.
08:04So when you're hearing stories from people like that, you know, is it...
08:08What are you thinking?
08:09It's probably quite emotional.
08:11Yeah?
08:12Experiencing that at a very early age.
08:15Yeah.
08:16And...
08:17I think, like, being stabbed must be devastating for you.
08:24Yeah.
08:25And does it kind of make you realise how easy it can be to fall into that world?
08:30Do you know what I mean?
08:31Yeah.
08:32Yeah.
08:33So you're going to take some lessons from today away, are you, young man?
08:36Yeah?
08:37Yeah.
08:38What are you going to take away from today?
08:39What do you think you'll be overriding for to be?
08:41If someone's trying to get you into trouble or a gang, it doesn't look so cool, does it,
08:45when you hear them talking?
08:46What do you think?
08:47Yeah.
08:48So, like, erm...
08:49There's, like, kind of...
08:50How do you say it?
08:51Like, different...
08:52Like, people...
08:53Yeah?
08:54Do these things...
08:55But sometimes they don't really know what they're doing.
08:56Yeah.
08:57And sometimes they just need to have a little talk and stuff like that.
08:58Exactly.
08:59Yeah.
09:00So, just so...
09:01And try and have a new life and stuff.
09:02Yeah, yeah.
09:03Just seek that advice from the right person.
09:05Just pause and have a think, yeah.
09:07Well, cheers, guys.
09:10You too.
09:11For our family, we lost pure happiness.
09:13And everything we know before that.
09:17We lost everything about it.
09:18So, just so...
09:19Just so...
09:20And try and have a new life and stuff.
09:21Yeah, yeah.
09:22Just so...
09:23And try and have a new life and stuff.
09:24Yeah, yeah.
09:25Just seek that advice from the right person.
09:27Just pause and have a think, yeah.
09:28Well, cheers, guys.
09:32For our family.
09:33We lost pure happiness.
09:34And everything we know before that.
09:37We lost everything about it.
09:38Ronald was a most amazing happy 16 year old full of dreams and hopes and he would definitely
09:49make a great lawyer because that's what he wanted to be.