Friend of murdered Stephen Lawrence vows to drive out gangs He believes that his personal struggle since Mr Lawrence's murder in April 1993 means that crime families respect him and will take up his offer. He said: "Gang members will be told to come and see me. There'll be two choices. One will be to engage and come on board and follow me to help make Lewisham a safer place. Or, if you want to continue in this gang stuff, then I'll get rid of you and your family. He added: "It will be a life of misery, simple as that. I'm not going to allow you to cause misery for others in my borough. The Lib-Dem councillor predicted that it would be "easy" to implement his plan because he already knows many gang members in Lewisham, having grown up in the area. If I don't know you directly, it's indirectly through one or two people. But they all know of me," he said. They respect me already and it's that which will encourage them to engage. My aim is to ensure no parent has to get that dreaded phone call saying your child has been stabbed or caught in crossfire. Gary Dobson and David Norris were jailed for life at the Old Bailey last year for the murder of Mr Lawrence. Norris is appealing against his conviction.