Help us keep the lights on Support us
The Bristol Cable

We’ve Got Your Boy: Our latest investigation

A new investigative podcast series on school exclusions, child imprisonment, and the roots of serious youth violence. Starting here, on the outskirts of Bristol, Vinney Green secure children’s home.

We've Got Your Boy

Introduction

In early 2024, three teenage boys were fatally stabbed on Bristol’s streets within 18 days. It was a grim start to the new year – one that thrust the issue of serious youth violence in the city further into the spotlight.

What followed was a very public response from the city’s institutions – the police, the city council – all promising they would do all they can to stop further bloodshed. But the crisis response to tragedies like these is something of a playbook. 

In this new multi-part series, Cable reporter Sean Morrison explores how children and young people are failed by those who are meant to protect them – examining school exclusions, overpolicing and child imprisonment.

Speaking to experts, teachers and youth workers, survivors and families affected, this investigation traces the journey of children on what’s known as the school to prison pipeline – starting on the outskirts of Bristol, at Vinney Green secure unit.

How can we stop serious youth violence if we don’t address the root causes of it?

Listen to the trailer

Cable members get early access. Not a member yet?
Join us and be amongst the first to hear it!

Independent. Investigative. Indispensable.

Investigative journalism strengthens democracy – it’s a necessity, not a luxury.

The Cable is Bristol’s independent, investigative newsroom. Owned and steered by more than 2,600 members, we produce award-winning journalism that digs deep into what’s happening in Bristol.

We are on a mission to become sustainable, and to do that we need more members. Will you help us get there?

Join the Cable today

NEWS YOU OWN
CAN'T BE BOUGHT

Become a member of The Cable to keep news independent.

Join now

Comments

Post a comment

Mark if this comment is from the author of the article

By posting a comment you agree to our Comment Policy.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Related content

Racist and traumatising: inside a Section 60 suspicionless stop and search operation

Officers searched innocent children, disproportionately targeted people of colour and undermined their anti-racism reforms during a 48-hour police operation in February. Their narrative that it was an effective knife-crime deterrent, done with consent, is misleading.

‘Come and find a listening ear’: Seeking solace at Bristol’s Rastafari Centre

We visit the Rastafari Community Centre in St Pauls. How is the legacy and learning of a tradition carried forward when its elders are no longer here?

‘Not as proud as I should be’: How The Church of England’s divide plays out in Bristol

For decades, the Church of England has been divided on same-sex marriage. In Bristol, a city with a vibrant LGBTQ+ community, is the rift widening, or is a united Church still possible?

Behind the buzz: Flawed science, industry influence and the untold harm of energy drinks

The government will ban the sale of energy drinks to under-16s next year. We look back at how research with ties to Red Bull shaped the debate and delayed restrictions, and how Bristol academics played a role

The Bristol Way of Death

Bristol is one of the UK's most secular cities. How do its residents find ways to deal with mourning and mortality?

We are the champions

In the wake of the World Cup, Nikesh reflects on the beauty of the game and what he’s learned from coaching his daughters’ football team

Strange sounds, synagogues and solidarity: Bristol’s radical Jewish artists

From Klezmer to queer folk-punk, Bristol’s Jewish artists are keeping a tradition of antifascism alive

JOIN OUR
NEWSLETTER

Fearless, independent
reporting you can trust.

JOIN OUR
NEWSLETTER

Fearless, independent
reporting you can trust.