Ripples: The Human Impact of Knife Crime. C.J. Caroll on his YA debut inspired by real events

C.J. Caroll is an Irish teacher and writer who has spent a significant portion of his career working with vulnerable young people and families in South London. Throughout this, he was shocked by the knife crime he witnessed and how it affected the community. Inspired by these experiences, he has written a powerful YA novel that he hopes will play a part in breaking the cycle of youth violence. Read on for more on the author’s inspirations...

I moved to South London in June 2019 and started teaching in a secondary school in Lambeth in late August. During my first summer there, four people were murdered in the local community. By the end of the year, a total of seven people had been killed in the borough. Eight had been killed in

neighbouring Southwark, where many of our students also lived. The year ended with the murder of a talented young rapper from Kennington in December; two of his cousins were students of mine and his murder sent shockwaves through the community.

To be completely honest, I lost count of the amount of young people murdered in Lambeth during my time there.

I could go on to list some of the shocking and tragic incidents that occurred around the school and in the community while I was there but I won’t, for fear of sensationalising these incidents or reducing those involved to examples. However, my time in Lambeth opened my eyes in so many ways and had a profound, lasting impact on me.

I moved back to Dublin in July 2021 after seven years in London, to be close to family and because I met my now-wife. However, the time I spent in Lambeth were some the most formative years of my life. I taught some of the funniest, talented and incredible young people that I have ever known. They made me laugh, they made me cry more times than I care to admit and they made me proud every single day. I talk about them more than they will ever know and I miss them immensely. However, my work there also saddened me to see so many young people who were faced with obstacles that most of the population will never understand. Young people who faced trauma and grief so regularly and who had to overcome adversity that most people will never face or even hear about in their lives. Violence, death, fear and upheaval is part and parcel of the lives of the young people in communities like Lambeth and these issues are nothing new. They have been the same for decades. And despite being home and somewhat removed from London, it still concerned me greatly. I was disappointed and I was frustrated. But above all, I was angry.

So I began to write.

It was the best way I could think of to make change from where I was. As an English teacher and as someone who grew up in a household of books, I understand the power of words and have always appreciated the capacity for change through writing. It’s something I always taught my students and it’s something I wholeheartedly believe in. I was also greatly inspired by my parents, both of whom spent their entire lives trying to make change in the world. So initially, I wrote emails. I wanted to speak to those affected by youth violence. I wanted to speak to the people who were most impacted by the continuous violence in the community that I called home for those years. I also wanted to speak to the incredible people who have suffered trauma and loss but continue to do amazing thing in their communities; people who have used their grief to inspire, encourage and, most importantly, to make change. I didn’t really know what I wanted to write or what shape it would take but I knew (or hoped) that if I connected with the right people, things would come together.

This is how I met Tayo.

I knew of Zac Olumegbon, Tayo’s brother, from my time in London. As a teacher in the borough, I was aware of the reverberating impact that his murder had in Lambeth. I had read newspaper articles from 2010 when he was killed and even watched the BBC documentary that was done on him following his death. I knew of Park Campus PRU as a place where we sent students who had been permanently excluded and I knew of the reputation it had amongst the students and community. I have always been, and continue to be, incredibly critical of the deeply flawed PRU system and how destructive a role it has played in so many young people’s lives, including Zac’s. So, when I came across a memorial profile to Zac on Facebook, I messaged the page, briefly explaining what I was trying to do. Tayo replied and three weeks later, I flew to London to meet her. Since then, I have been lucky enough to form a very close relationship with Tayo and would now consider her an incredibly close friend. I don’t think she quite understands just how much she has impacted my life and how much she inspires me. Her journey to forgiveness is nothing short of incredible and her early intervention work though Operation Forgiveness is so badly needed in the city. Her story needs to be heard by everyone.I am truly blessed to have met her and feel honoured to call her a friend.

After our first meeting, I began writing what would become my debut novel Ripples; a story inspired by Zac and Tayo. My road to publication was a long, winding and complicated, just like every other writer, but my goal has always remained the same: to use my writing to open up conversation around serious youth violence, knife crime and most importantly, forgiveness. In the long run, I hope to get Ripples into mainstream schools, PRUs, prisons and Young Offenders Institutions to create dialogue with the people most affected by the issues and themes that the book raises.

To put it simply, writing changed my life and I feel honoured to have been able to bring a story like this to life.