‘It just feels like it's always us’: young people, peer bereavement and community safety

Abstract

This article draws from ethnographic research that examined the impact of neighbourhood based community safety policies on young people living in social housing in the south of England. It begins with a brief examination of what local community safety practitioners considered the primary crime and disorder ‘problem’ on the estate – youth ‘anti-social behaviour’. It then shows that the most significant generator of fear and insecurity amongst young people themselves was the sudden, and often violent, deaths of peers. This article examines the extent of the peer bereavements that punctured the lives of the young people in Hillview and demonstrates that these experiences left them feeling profoundly vulnerable and acutely fearful of their own safety and for the safety of friends and family.