Sunday, July 24, 2005

ATL (Against The Law)



This graffiti comes from Gurney Road which is the main road that cuts through Mousehold Heath, Norwich Norfolk. The roadsign in question is overlooked by no house and it must have taken all the bravery of a rabbit to spray paint the letters ATL on it.

I first came to hear of the ATL or Against The Law 'gang' about two years ago when I was working as an unpaid volunteer Appropriate Adult in Bethel Street Police Station, Norwich.

They are the result of what happens when the local Darrens listen to too much Tupac Shakur and the like and try to form their own street gang. But the Larkman is not the Barrio and Cotessey is not Compton: these guys if they are involved in crime at all it is of the stealing sweets from newsagents and minor vandalism variety.

As I understand ATL draw their membership from the centre of the City, the orbital estates such as the Heartsease, the Mile Cross, or the Larkman having their own groupings. There have been a loose knit collection of Teenagers calling themselves the Lakenham Boys since the sixties.

There are stories currently going the rounds that ATL are involved in organised bullying at the Hewitt and the Blyth-Jex Schools.

This is a transient local phenomenon that will pass away eventually.

It must be emphasised that these are just local 'lads' kicking their heels around bus shelters and bandstands in parks not tooled up American style street gangs.

2 comments:

sim said...

Do you know iv'e lived almost next to this sign for twenty years ,attended Heartsease, my brother Blythe and iv'e never heard of ATL.

Anonymous said...

lol i did that tag like 3 yeairs ago lol n ust to kick it wid the atl mother-fuckin pig ass bitch we rule norwich n wer not lil kids wer all in our 20's motherfucker n we gettin some real nice free money out of bitches like yoursealth lol .g.k.m.
nuff said