Ross Kemp joins a raid as part of ITV documentary Ross Kemp And The Armed Police, in which he investigates the rising violence on our streets and the police response
PUTTING on body armour, Ross Kemp is preparing for one of his most dangerous missions yet.
But the TV hardman isn’t filming a new documentary in Iraq or Syria — he’s heading to a quiet suburban street in Birmingham.
Joining a raid by the West Midlands Police’s tactical firearms unit on the unassuming property in the Billesley area, he is stunned when officers recover a sawn-off shotgun.
Ross, 54, says: “I was wearing the same body armour I had to wear in Iraq and Afghanistan on the streets of Birmingham. It tells you all you need to know about how dangerous Britain is becoming.
“I was shocked by the sheer number of guns out there — and they’re in the most mundane places.
“For this raid we were slap in the middle of Birmingham suburbia and there was a sawn-off shotgun and a pistol behind a Wendy house.”
The raid is part of tomorrow night’s ITV documentary, Ross Kemp And The Armed Police, in which he investigates the rising violence on our streets and the police response.
In the past week alone, 12 people have been stabbed in Birmingham, and last month London launched its 100th murder investigation of 2018.
Our urban areas seem to be in the grip of raging gang violence.
Ross says: “In a lot of inner city areas the drug market has changed.
Even criminals say we’re short of police
“Where you once had two or three big gangs fighting over turf, now you have dozens of splinter groups. And the one that is prepared to be the most violent takes top position.”
During filming Ross spoke to an arms smuggler who makes up to £500,000 a week bringing guns into Britain.
He says: “Unbelievably, even he told me we need to see more police on the streets. He said the lack of police was making his life very easy and claimed coppers had totally lost control.
“It’s a typical cycle — cuts come in, police are removed from the streets and you get a spike in gun violence. That’s why violent crime is up. That’s why gang crime is up.”
The number of armed officers on our streets has increased by 1,500 in two years, in response to the terror threat. But there are 20,000 fewer bobbies on the beat than there were in 2010 because of government cuts.
Ross says: “You can draw a direct link between the number of police and violent crime, but just a sheer number of cops won’t do it.
“The relationship between the police and these communities is totally toxic. Doing this show made me want to do another, on the breakdown of community in Britain.
“You have to have intelligence to target violent gun and knife crime and that is just not happening because the relationship between the police and these communities is currently poisonous.
“More officers out on the street and perhaps even more Community Support Officers would surely go a long way to help this.”
Ross, whose dad John was a Detective Chief Inspector with the Metropolitan Police, adds: “My dad served for 30 years in the Met. He was involved in lots of armed robbery sieges where he carried a gun. He said he wouldn’t trust a lot of the people he worked alongside with a sharp pencil, let alone a firearm.”
But Ross believes that soon all our police will be armed. He says with a sigh: “Unfortunately, that’s the way things are going.
“It may not be five years, it may not be ten years, but I believe that one day all of our police will be armed and that will be a very sad day for my country.
“I do understand why some police want to be armed or feel safer armed if they’re dealing with kids with guns and machetes.
“But most people join the force not wanting to carry a gun and they shouldn’t be forced to.”
For his research, father-of-four Ross also talked to young gang members. Chillingly, they boasted about how “easy it is to turn a child into a killer”.
He recalls: “They were telling me they were first carrying guns at the age of 12. How powerful the guns made them feel.
“I actually had a lot of sympathy for them. Even when I was 20 I hadn’t fully fathomed the consequences of my actions — how are we expecting kids of ten and 12 to know? To them it’s all a game.”
A game that often has horrific consequences.
It’s easy to turn child into a killer
Making the documentary, Ross was particularly moved on meeting Keisha McLeod. Her 14-year-old son Corey Junior Davis, known as “CJ” to his mates, was shot dead on the streets of Newham, East London, 12 months ago.
Just talking about it brings tears to his eyes. Wiping a hand across his cheek, he says: “Sorry, I’m going to go again. You can see me blubbering in the show, too.
“As a father, my heart just broke for her. She had tried so hard to save her son from the clutches of this gang — she’d moved him out of the area and home-schooled him.
“Despite trying so hard, ultimately she couldn’t prevent him from being shot dead.”
CJ died after he was shot in the back of the head as he played with friends in a local playground.
As if her loss was not terrible enough, mum Keisha, 38, had her heart broken all over again when she discovered a “drill” song posted on social media, mocking her grief.
The lyrics said: “Mum’s been shedding tears, somebody tell her I don’t give a f*** that her son ain’t here.”
Visibly angry at the part social media plays in glamorising violent crime, Ross says: “I’m sorry, but it’s just wrong.
“These platforms are making billions but turn a blind eye to their own content.
“A lot of the violence on our streets is about drugs and controlling areas to sell drugs, but a lot of it seems to just be online taunting.
“It’s playground stuff with social media and knives and guns.” Calling for the social media giants to be more accountable, he adds: “If you listen to drill music, these kids are boasting about people they have killed and targeting who’s next.
“We need to take away the glamour of them posting these videos online.
“Social media has a massive impact. We’ve got to think about the role that Twitter and Snapchat and all these platforms have in people killing each other.
“Let’s charge them a fee for every time someone threatens to kill someone on their network.”
