BBC News
By Katharine Carpenter
Published
image captionAn aerial view of Croydon taken in 2007
There s a cluster of about 30 streets around the London Road in Croydon deemed to be the epicentre of violence in the borough. Violence that on one bloodstained weekend in February saw two young men stabbed within the space of 24 hours.
Violence that Met Police Sgt Matt Ratana was working to tackle, before he was shot dead at a custody centre, not too far away. Drugs are sold openly along a 200m (650ft) stretch of road leading from West Croydon station, with dealers relying on spotters to warn them of any approaching law enforcement.