David Aliu in a Stop the Guns Big White T

HOSANA Sportswear is a long term partner of Operation Trident and its 'Stop the Guns' campaign.

The recently launched intiative focuses on younger people, with HOSANA producing a range of product promoting this positive message.

Assistant Commissioner Steve House, the head of the Met’s Specialist Crime Directorate, said: “The aim of this year’s campaign is to challenge the myth that gunmen deserve respect by showing the true consequences of carrying a gun. Trident is concerned that people are starting to carry guns from an increasingly young age. That is why this campaign is principally aimed at 11 to 16 year olds in London, especially those living in gun crime hotspots, with a view to preventing them from becoming the gunmen of the future.

HOSANA's standing within the inner citys' sporting community is helping to use sports such as basketball, football and boxing and its heroes to highlight the futility of gun crime.

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Former boxer Derek “Sweet D” Williams has added his weight to an anti gun crime campaign.

Derek “Sweet D” Williams, the former Commonwealth and European heavyweight champion turned promoter, has linked up with Lucy Cope, chairperson of “Mothers Against Guns”, to promote both his next card entitled “Rep Ya Endz” and a strong Anti-gun message.

The card itself, headlined by the brilliant, undefeated Anthony Small at the Elephant and Castle leisure centre on October 21st, takes its name from the street phrase meaning represent your area. It's used in gang culture whenever local gangs attack each other referring to the sad expectation of representing your gang and its territory with street violence.

Lucy Cope founded her organisation after losing her son Damien in a shooting outside a London nightclub in July 2002 and spoke with immense feeling about the cause, “The boxers are the role-models, they're the idols [of the youth in inner-city areas]. They've got the power both in the ring and in their voices. The message is to put the guns down, get the gloves on and take it into the ring.”

At a press conference held last Thursday at the Elephant & Castle shopping centre and shown on London Tonight, Williams said: “The main focus isn't getting kids in the gym or to the show, it's all about doing something positive and representing your ends in a positive way.”

The aforementioned Small, from Deptford, spoke passionately and from first-hand experience. “Three-weeks ago I attempted to take my two-and-a-half year old daughter to our local crèche, this wasn't possible because there was police tape sealing off the area. The reason being that a group of youths from an area less than two-and-a-half miles away had ridden up on push bikes and fired shots at youths in our area for no other reason than the “ends they represent”. In other words, the areas in which they live”

“However, go to any of these areas and take a look at the youth. You could not differentiate between them. They all dress, talk and walk the same. They have the same interests i.e. music, film and sport and they all have aspirations of being someone someday. However, they look around and they see no hope. They see people with the same aspirations as them come to nothing, other than prison, drug addiction and death.”

“Take into account the danger of individuals who don't have anything to live for, they don't respect or value human life. Time and money needed to be invested in the youth.”

America’s World IBF cruiserweight champion Kelvin Davis, who will be a surprise addition to the show in Elephant & Castle on Saturday, was on hand and said: “I feel what you guys are trying to do with the youth. In the US, we have a lot of problems with our youth too, they have no direction. Throughout the night they have nothing to do except get in trouble. But in our sport, we have a lot of guidance to learn to become a champion which is a good for the mind, body and soul.”

Trident website

Mothers against guns website