The writer shows the Concept of innocence widely through the

book via the character Harrison. During the beginning of the

novel, we see Harrison as a very innocent character. This can be
shown when Jordan says that he will give Harrison “one million
quid” if Harrison went and touched the blood of the dead boy.
Harrison does not go to touch the blood; however, he does get
the idea of doing so. This is another example of how vulnerable
Harrison is. In this particular setting, it is not usually a setting that
two children would want to play around. However, the innocence
of Harrison willing to touch a puddle of blood could suggest how
he is oblivious to the fact that it is morally wrong to even think of
doing so. As the book progresses, we see that Harrison offers his
bouncy ball to the dead boy. Contrastingly, we see Jordan giving
an offering of a pebble that was found on the ground.  This shows
the Contrast between Harrison and Jordan in terms of Innocence. 
Jordan as a character is seen to be a ruthless teenager that has
been kicked out from his school for kicking a teacher. This shows
the lack of Innocence that Jordan has as a character, as he
seems to be more exposed to the environment than Harrison.
This is evident as we know that Jordan has been much in the UK
much longer than Harrison, who has recently moved to the UK for
only 2 months.

Harrison’s loss of innocence is influenced by the violent people

that he wants to be with. For Harrison, joining groups such as
DFC is not a problem for him, as he wants protection but also
power. This childish nature that Harrison has for power shows
how gullible of a character he is. DFC is a group of year 11 boys
that Harrison sees some of the stairs of his school. Harrison
states that they are at the stairs as it is the best spot for shelter
from the rain, but also because of the influence that he has
gained from other people also wanting to go to that spot. This is
the beginning of Harrison’s loss of innocence. This is due to
Harrison now wanting to join DFC and therefore having to do a
test to join them. Harrison sees these tests as missions that he
has to do to join DFC, but what Harrison does not know is that
these are to see if Harrison is capable to do the task, as they're
thus creating a sense of manipulation. The first test is to pull the
fire alarm at the school. Harrison is completely ignorant at the fact
of why they are using this as a test. This is a way that DFC is
manipulating the innocence that Harrison has. The pulling of the
fire alarm could also link to criminal activity as it is illegal to pull a
fire alarm for no reason, but it can also be used to cover up for
any crime that may be occurring such as robbery, drug dealing
and more. Furthermore, DFC also does the same with the attack
of Mr. Frimpong where they take his grocery and smash his eggs
whilst they tackle him onto the floor. Harrison is shown to lose his
innocence as he is unable to tell Mr. Frimpong after the accident.

Harrison and Dean are two very similar characters in Pidgin

English. This is shown when both Harrison and Dean pretend to
be detectives. Dean and Harrison are similar in a sense that both
of the characters are oblivious to the dangers that they will face
when it comes to trying to find out who the Killer of the dead boy
is. However, Dean seems to find Harrison and his look for the
killer of the dead boy as a joke. Although Dean may be as
innocent as Harrison, he is does not lack as in terms of common
sense. For example, when Dean talks about how Terry Takeaway
should sell the copper pipes to somebody who needs them. Terry
Takeaway responds with him telling Dean to “Calm his boots”.
Although Harrison may not know what the saying means, Dean
seems to understand what it means. It is also to point out that
Harrison seems to be fascinated with the copper pipes, while
Dean does not think much of them. This could evidently show the
relationship between common sense and innocence in the
character of Dean. The contrast between Dean and Jordan is
holding a significant weight when it comes to Harrison's Loss of
Innocence. As the book progresses, we see that Harrison and
Jordan seem to fall apart in their friendship as Harrison's mother
finds him throwing rocks at a bus. This point in the book is where
Harrison has probably the least innocent when it comes to their
friendship, but it is also evident that Jordan has been a bad player
is Harrison’s life. Contrastingly, Dean is a good role model to
Harrison as Dean seems to lead Harrison into the correct
direction, away from the crime.