A smartphone repair company staffed by young ex-offenders is helping guide people away from crime and into fulfilling employment.
Cracked It, which operates from Dalston, east London, has been hailed as "London's best iPhone fixers" and praised by the likes of Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn.
Founded by social entrepreneur Josh Babarinde in 2016, the company is a grassroots movement resisting the youth violence which has devastated the capital this year.
One of its technicians, 21-year-old Jake, told the Standard this week: “It keeps me out of trouble, I’m motivated to come to work.
“I’ve put down my knife. I’m now picking up my screwdrivers to repair phones.”
Cracked It employs up to 12 ex-offenders, or young people at risk of offending. They work at the company for six months, building their skillset, before moving on.
Technicians visit workplaces across the capital, ranging from City banks to Parliament, and run pop-up clinics repairing people’s phones as they work. It guarantees repairs within 90 minutes and at a fair price.
As well as winning praise from Prime Minister Mrs May, who said Cracked It is an example of an enterprise which helps “make Britain a country that truly does work for everyone”, the business has won stacks of awards for its services. The Standard itself has branded it one of "London's best iPhone fixers".
Mr Babarinde had the idea when he was a youth worker in east London, spending time with people involved in gangs.
He told the Standard: “These guys and girls wanted to have money, wanted to feel valued, wanted to belong.
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“Most of us are able to get those kind of things through employment. Unfortunately, these guys and girls didn’t feel work was an option for them. They felt shut out and backed into crime.”
He continued: “Tech is a domain not usually offered to these guys and girls. I came up with the idea of phone repair.
“It’s good income at about £50 profit per phone, a good market as 29 per cent of people have a smashed phone, and it fosters self-worth as it feels good to fix a phone.”
That’s not to say employees like Jake get an easy ride. One of the core values of Cracked It is “tough love”.
Mr Babarinde explained: “I, as the CEO of a phone repair service, expect a lot from our young people. I’m quite tough on them. When Jake has slipped up, I have given him a b******ing, I haven’t let him get away with things.
“It would be irresponsible of us to compromise on quality. We can’t teach people that certain things are OK here, but when they get to the workplace they fail at the first hurdle and get the sack.
“But we also show compassion. If there’s a problem, we will look at what’s driving it.”
Jake, from Luton, did time for assault. He joined Cracked It in August after being referred to a phone repair course by a mentor.
In the space of a few months, he has demonstrated his skills to the likes of Amber Rudd and Woody Johnson, the US Ambassador to the UK.
“It’s made a really big difference,” he said. “It’s been great. I’ve kept out of trouble. I have a future now. I want to make my own business out of this.
“I was growing up around gangs. My mum and dad were arguing, so I was always out of the house, hanging out with the wrong people.
“I now feel more responsible and grown up. I’m in a different environment.”
Mr Babarinde added: "It’s crazy to have got recognition from Theresa May. Jeremy Corbyn came to visit us a couple of years ago and we taught him to repair smashed phones. It’s extraordinary.
“This idea has captured people’s imaginations. We’re running an intervention that is a new solution of trying to tackle youth crime. And fundamentally, it’s such a simple idea.”