Out of the Box - The Story of Leroy Smith

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Leroy Smith from Clapham, south London, is an ex-drug dealer who was sentenced to 25 years in prison for shooting two Metropolitan Police Constables in Brixton, south London, in March 1993. At the age of two his mother was murdered and he grew up in a deprived Brixton council estate where he gradually drifted into a life of crime. It was the kind of place where everyone was obsessed about getting money because nobody had any, apart from the drug dealers and other criminals. I was on the run for like a year, I was arrested in America by the FBI Swat Team,” Mr Smith explained. The unlikely friendship has blossomed into something incredibly powerful and both men now regard the other as a friend.

He fled the UK using fake travel documents and went to Holland and five days later he ended up in New York. Tough childhood Out of the Box is an excellent read, a brutally honest account of the making of a criminal, which pulls no punches, or makes excuses, just says it as it was. This is a fascinating and valid account of the cost to society when young, damaged lives are not repaired. It deserves to be very widely read. Now out of the box and free, Leroy Smith is setting out on a new and straighter path. I wish him every success. He has more than paid his dues.' My mum was murdered when I was two [and] growing up in South London with my nan I was always going to turn to crime, what else are you going to do?” Leroy said. I never hated [Leroy], I certainly didn't like him. But I didn't hate him because it wasn't personal. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”After all, the next encounter with the man who’d shot him was in court. There an unrepentant Leroy had taunted him, pointing an imaginary gun across the room and pretending to shoot. One of Leroy's three shots hit Met Police officer James Seymour (Image: Facundo Arrizabalaga/MyLondon) It is a wonder Smith is alive at all. His mother was murdered when he was two and by the age of 12 he was bunking off school, driving stolen cars, thieving and smoking weed. Leroy Smith and James Seymour, the police officer he shot in 1993, are now friends (Image: Facundo Arrizabalaga/MyLondon) Once in New York he became involved with Jamaican drug dealers and got embroiled in a conflict between rival suppliers.

His then partner agreed, she supported him financially for the year it took to write the book and helped him with parts of the text. He had escaped in April 1993 while being transferred from Leicester to Brixton prison after his arrest on gun charges. I never hated Leroy. I certainly didn't like him. But I didn't hate him because it wasn't personal. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.Through the Victim Support charity, James had been keeping tabs on Leroy's life and, out of natural curiosity, read his book that detailed a life growing up in 1980s Brixton after his mother had been murdered when he was just two years old. Although most of Leroy’s immediate family and his daily influencers at home were law abiding citizens, he chose a different path, driven by a need for ever more money. By 12 years of age, Leroy had stopped going to school, started using drugs and dabbling in crime. At the age of 14, he was sentenced to a stint in a young offenders institution. They now work together to influence younger generations of Londoners at risk of being involved in the violence which had such a devastating impact on both of their lives.

Both Mr Smith and Mr Seymour welcomed the use of their story being used as a training tool for new recruits in The Met. As I looked across, I [saw my colleague] Simon struggling with Leroy rolling around [and] Simon nearly had the better of him,” he told MyLondon. As reported by MyLondon, James Seymour now regards former drug dealer and armed robber Leroy Smith as a friend and the pair have even written a book together called Out of the Box. Out of the Box will also take you outside of these Boxes and provide you with some eye-opening analysis and insights into the activities of those who rule over us – politicians present and past, such as David Cameron, Michael Howard and London mayor Sadiq Khan. New recruits initially undertake 17 weeks of extensive and wide-ranging learning. This includes a classroom-based session on how restorative justice can be used to repair harm caused by criminal behaviour and to help deter people from committing further crimes.I think it can be resolved easily, there are people in every community who know these youths and who they listen to and respect,” he said. As he got older Smith began to do small-time burglaries and ended up in a borstal for his troubles. But the strict regime didn’t reform him; it just made him stronger and more determined to be a criminal. Mr Seymour who retired from policing in 2014, said the harsh upbringing and the racial inequalities Mr Smith faced, made forgiveness the only option. Having been released from prison for a second time his then partner provided the support and inspiration for him to change course.