Escaping Gangs: Parole, Prison & Pastors | Spac Nation
This is home.
Seen violence, deaths,
shootings, stabbings,
but, look, we was once the cause of it.
So, who else is best to solve the problem?
I went to prison for murder.
I went to prison for attempted murder - twice.
I went in prison for shootings countless amount of times.
All my life has been a trail of violence -
violence, violence, violence -
and I've only changed in the last year.
I stopped because I saw a church that could help me.
The gang members that I'm dealing with are the most dangerous guys
in the community.
They're the most dangerous guys in the papers,
they're the most dangerous guys in the society,
that's what I'm dealing with.
My church, Black Nation, is offering gang members everything
that the Government can't offer them,
everything that the authorities can't offer them.
Do you understand? Which is a way out.
He's coming out in, like, 15 minutes.
Pastor Kevin and evangelist Kim are waiting for a former gang associate
to be released from jail.
28-year-old Kevin once led a gang, with Nana by his side.
I've come to pick up my right hand from prison.
I ain't seen him in a while. It's been a long time.
He got nicked for possession with intent to supply.
Kevin and Kim want Nana to follow them out of gang life.
They say a gang... If you want to say gang, this is my gang
because this was someone in whom
I built a relationship from when I was young.
I've got a little present for him as well.
Obviously, usually, I don't know if you've seen
that when people come out of jail, everyone pops bottles...
..or brings them weed, and they start screaming things
like, "Fresh home, fresh home!"
But, obviously, I've got him a present.
It's a shotgun.
It's the sword! That's the sword.
Is that him? Yeah, that's him. That's him!
Wahay!
Yeah! That's good.
Over here, man. Good. Wahey!
Oh, shit. Oh, God! Oh, shit. Whoo!
Wagwan, man. You good?
Yeah, man.
Yo! Yo, tell the world you're out, man!
I'm home now, man. Yea.
Thank God, man. It's been a hard time, you know.
Trust me, man. Yo, the brothers are back, man!
I'm back, I'm back, I'm back. Cheese. Cheese! Cheese!
Gang, gang, gang.
There's no champagne, there's no weed.
This is the Bible, my G. Yes. Yeah? Yes.
This is going to restructure your life, you understand? Yeah, yeah.
And, if I didn't love you, I couldn't give this to you.
I know. You understand? This is change, my G.
That's a better present than anything.
Look what we've got for you.
Yes, yes! Picking up in style, you get me?
That's how we roll.
Yeah.
I used to be a bad boy,
very bad boy,
but now I'm all new things now.
I'm trying to change my life, do good
and, yeah, man, go on the right path.
# Me and the bros just listen, thinking
# We ain't no normal Christians
# No, we ain't no normal Christians. #
I'm happy to be out, man.
What a time to be alive, man! What a time to be alive.
Yes, I'm happy, man.
MUSIC CONTINUES
In Newham, another member of Pastor Kevin's former gang,
Junior, is living in a hostel.
He, too, recently got out of prison.
I was front line. I was really in the gang.
I was really involved in, like, really, really involved.
It weren't no part-time shit.
Kevin has been trying to keep Junior safe and out of trouble
for the past six months.
There are still people out there that are after me.
There are still people out there that, if they did see me,
they wouldn't hesitate to pull out a knife and stab me,
or to come and shoot me.
So even though I'm trying to step out, if somebody tried
to stab me today, I'm going to want to, you know, do something.
Kevin and Junior have arranged to meet in public.
They are both still targets for rival gangs,
so Kevin is always alert.
Sup, bruv? You good?
Who drives a grey BMW with a white girl driver?
Two blackies in the back.
What, no-one in the ends drives that car?
OK.
You go. Be watchful for that car, yeah?
We're in Beckton, known for gang violence,
very highly known for gang violence,
and, you know, any car
that I don't recognise, you understand?
Right now, we're not protected. We're sitting ducks, right now,
do you know what I mean?
Junior's missed the last two church services
and Kevin's worried he might slip back into crime.
The problem with Junior is just that he likes to disappear.
So one minute you'll be talking to Junior, you'll be with Junior
every single day, and then the next week he'll just bounce.
Do you understand? We don't know what he's doing when he disappears.
Prodigal son returns. Yeah.
Kevin finally tracks down Junior.
You're a hard person to get hold of, bruv.
You're going to answer this what I ask you with complete honesty.
What have you been doing, bruv?
I've just been with... Stop lying.
You've already started already. What have I been doing?
OK, so what have you been doing?
Unless I'm with my missus, that's it.
No, you're lying.
I spoke to your girl, you know. So what have you been doing?
Where was I? Where was you a couple nights ago?
With my father.
And we don't know about this. Big problem.
The moment that he doesn't tell no-one about it, it becomes dodgy.
Do you understand? Communication.
Communication.
The surroundings of what was going on in my life just became a bit
too much and I felt like I just needed...
Well, guess what, when you came back,
the surroundings stay the same, so it doesn't mean anything.
It makes sense. What you do is you come fellowship,
you surround yourself with people
that have been in problems, do you understand?
But it's all down to you.
The same person that used to make the bad choices on road
is the same person that can make the good choices.
Do you understand?
And if my life can change, and you used to follow me,
guess what, your life can change, it's as simple as that.
To try and adjust your mind or make a transition
isn't really always that easy.
It's just going back to the drawing board and just trying to make
something of myself, that's what it really is.
26-year-old evangelist Kim is in South London
with a friend from church.
I was adopted when I was ten months old.
I grew up with a white family, grew up in a white school,
white area, I didn't really know nothing about,
like, the black side of things.
Kim got into gangs as a teenager.
I didn't want to be like a bad girl - that was never the thing.
I just felt loved around these lot, I just felt like I had
older brothers protecting me.
I always had this thing of, you know, when you hear
in the newspaper and that, "Ah, you know, there was a 17-year-old girl
"and she innocently got shot"? And I always used to feel like,
"Kim, you're going to be that person if you don't stop."
I used to get scared a lot.
They're recruiting new members for the church -
catching souls, they call it.
I'm Kimberly. Nice to meet you.
It's a bit random, but we just like to get to know people, you know.
Do you lot go to church?
He does. How did you lot pay for this car? This car's mad.
Listen, you see when you serve God, yeah?
Well, guys, tomorrow, seriously, like, come down, man.
We'll come and get you, guys. You'll have a good time.
What time is it? 11.
We've got Pastor Sam here,
we've got Pastor Kunle here, my mentor,
Pastor Emmanuel here.
The church are taking radical steps
to remove Jaheim from the influence of gangs.
They've moved him to a safe house in a different borough.
This is my room, here.
It wasn't really a choice.
I just went because I didn't want anything to happen to me.
INDISTINCT
As part of his commitment to a new life,
Jaheim handed over the drugs he was intending to sell.
The church gave them to the police and moved him the same day.
That day, I was thinking about I was going to get more.
I could have got arrested that day.
If you don't take the opportunities what come,
you say, "Yeah, I want to wait, I want to wait another week."
That week, something could happen to me.
That is what Pastor Kunle said to me,
said something could happen to me.
OK, I'm following them anyway. He knows what...
He talked to us and said, "Look, I'm giving you guys everything
"I have right now that could potentially keep my belly
"from being empty for the week."
And then, I think, compassion just touched me and I realised
that this gentleman is really trying to take a leap of faith here,
even though he doesn't even know what faith is.
Now, Jaheim has a chance to go back to his first love -
football.
He was on the books at Crystal Palace
before drug-dealing got in the way.
It would be lovely for me to progress in football, to say
that I came from here, but now I'm here.
My family was there and now they're here,
so it would be lovely for me to do something like that.
The church has got Jahiem a personal football trainer
to get his career back on track.
If football don't work out, I will still want to get my mum out
and everyone out of the area.
If I don't prosper in football, that's me failing.
48 hours after his release,
it's Kim's job to make sure Nana comes to church.
A bit hard to wake him up, a little, tiny bit. I was...!
A little bit, I called you, like, six times, and I couldn't hear you.
I was... Morning, man. Urgh!
Had enough, man, had enough of this stupid lifestyle.
No more.
Led by Pastor Toby, the church rents hotels
around London for Sunday services.
Don't be afraid. There's no police arresting anybody here.
I'm just looking for a better life for you.
God is going to use you mightily.
This does have a bad...
For Nana, this is a special day.
He must make public his commitment to renounce gang life
by stepping up to the altar.
Where's Nana?
Come right here. Come willingly. Thank you.
These are not gang members or criminals,
these are men of God, you know?
When we was on the road...and through seeing me
and through seeing Spac Nation,
he has decided to change his life for the better.
Is that right?
Since leaving prison 18 months ago, Junior's had to attend
weekly probation meetings.
Oh. Last day on probation,
I'm just going to go there,
listen to what the woman's got to say for a little bit,
and then just go.
You know, hopefully, wish me the best and I don't come back.
Junior was a gang member for almost 15 years.
His probation office is in Stratford, which is enemy territory.
I take taxis round here because, you know, it's the best way
of ensuring my safety.
This ducking and diving life.
I just know, when I'm in specific areas,
I just know how to act accordingly
because of, you know,
certain things that's happened.
This is...
Turn right.
This is a place where you would not catch me dead around here.
Junior's long relationship with the criminal justice system
could come to an end with this meeting.
The choices he makes from now will determine
whether this is his final brush with the law.
Fantastic!
I had a very good, jolly conversation, you know.
Now, I'm a free man and it's time to get busy.
It's been five weeks since Nana got out jail.
When you're in prison, there's no worries.
The only worry is you're in prison
and you can't do what you want to do - that's your only worry.
But, when you come out, it's like life just hits you.
Yeah. You have to wake up at 8:30 today
because you've got an interview at ten o'clock.
Everything moves fast, everything's going fast, like...
Nana is trying to find work.
Yeah, I've got one here saying, "I'm writing to you to invite you
"to attend an interview on the 25th."
I'll reply. I'll reply.
Most of the time, I'll reply, I'll get to the interview stage,
but when it comes to the criminal record side,
they'll be like, "Oh, we don't take people with a criminal record."
I had a job offer.
It was like, "Oh, well, you've got a criminal record?"
I was like, "Yeah." He goes, "Oh, OK.
"I'm going to have to let you know. I'm going to call you back."
What they need to do is just stop looking at people's pasts
and just look at where they want to go to,
look at their future.
Freedom itself is worth more than money.
Anyone that wants to argue with me about that,
you've obviously not lived that life because freedom is number one.
With, like, money and stuff, I'm all right for now,
but it's just how long?
If I don't get work, if I don't get a job for a year,
and I'm living off the money that I have saved on the side,
it's eventually going to run out, you know what I'm saying?
Jaheim's on trial in front of a Premier League agent...
..and the Church loses one of its members to gang violence.
The pain is on the inside.
His physical being is gone.
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