London Mayor insists partnership work will be crucial to making further progress to reducing violence as cost of living soars

As the cost of living crisis threatens to reverse reductions in violent crime, closer partnership between the Met Police and communities is key to preventing and tackling violence, the Mayor Sadiq Khan said today.

The Mayor visited Engine Room youth centre in Tottenham Hale today to see this partnership work, funded by the VRU, in action.

Sadiq joined a presentation delivered to local young people on the dangers of carrying knives by youth engagement and intervention officers in the Met and heard from youth workers and young Londoners about the their concerns over the summer months, including the rising cost of living.

Alongside a strong investment in prevention, the Mayor believes local neighbourhood engagement must be the cornerstone of the Met’s efforts to keep crime down and rebuild public confidence.

The summer presents fresh challenges for both the police – with more young people outdoors for longer in the warmer weather – and youth-led organisations seeing demand for their services increase.

These challenges come as the cost-of-living crisis continues to impact huge numbers of Londoners – particularly those in insecure work or on low incomes. The Mayor is warning that these factors combined threaten to jeopardise the progress that’s been made in reducing violent crime in the capital.  Evidence shows that poverty and deprivation are key causes of violence with City Hall analysis highlighting clear correlations between deprivation, poverty and vulnerability to crime, with six of 10 boroughs with the highest increases in unemployment over the pandemic being represented in the top 10 boroughs for serious violence.

Tackling violence is Sadiq’s top priority and he is determined to do everything he can to be tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime.

So far, this summer he has already announced a package of measures including:

• An additional £9 million investment in his Violence Reduction Unit’s (VRU) flagship MyEnds community-led programme to empower communities to lead and deliver interventions in neighbourhoods affected by high and sustained levels of violence across London.
• New £5m investment, through his Violence Reduction Unit, to support young Londoners with access to 2,500 summer activities and opportunities in employment, apprenticeships, and training through the Local Village Network App and website.
• Launching a new anonymous survey with the Met to help to improve the service victims of crime receive from the police, diverting hundreds of young away from the dangers of County Lines gangs through his £5.6m Rescue and Response scheme and announcing an extension to his pioneering GPS tagging pilot programme which is continuing to tag knife crime and domestic abuse offenders released from prison.

Thanks to the hard work of the police and the prevention and early intervention work led by the Mayor’s Violence Reduction Unit, knife crime, gun crime and teenage murders have all significantly reduced in the capital.  

But the level of violence in London still remains far too high. The Mayor, the Met Police and organisations supporting young people agree that one death is one too many, with every death leaving lives destroyed, communities hurting and families heartbroken.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “The only way to achieve the further reductions in violence and growth in community confidence we all want to see is through deliberate, well-coordinated and well-funded partnership work.

“From City Hall we are supporting our dedicated neighbourhood police officers and investing record amounts in initiatives to support young Londoners at critical stages in their lives. But more must be done.

“There is no escaping the reality that the spiralling cost of living is exacerbating poverty, deprivation and the lack of positive opportunities for young Londoners, which we know can be both causes and drivers of violent crime. As with poverty, violence is not inevitable and that’s why it’s more important than ever that we all work closely together to help keep our communities safe.”

Superintendent Rhona Hunt said: “Tackling violent crime and what drives it is the top priority for us all in the Met. Myself and my officers have seen first-hand how violence ruins the lives of victims and families, and has a devastating impact on our communities. Over the summer months we are focussing our efforts on tackling youth violence, and ensuring that the most vulnerable children and teenagers at risk of violence, are supported. In Haringey and Enfield we work closely with our partners, to ensure that there are a range of activities available to young people, to divert them away from violence. This includes talks and presentations, workshops,  and  sporting activities as well as many others.

“Partnership working is key to tackling serious youth violence, and ensuring that we have a joined up approach to help those most vulnerable.”

Lib Peck, Director of London’s VRU, said: “London’s Violence Reduction Unit is leading an approach to tackling violence that is rooted in partnership, prevention and early intervention. This summer and beyond, we are investing in programmes which provide activities, guidance and positive opportunities for more than 70,000 young people, their families and communities. This includes measures to support families, funding to keep young people in education, investment in the vital role played by youth workers and mentors, and support and resources for communities – as we’ve seen in the VRU’s MyEnds project in Tottenham today - to tackle the issues affecting their neighbourhoods.”

Obi Onyido, a youth worker who works with Young People impacted by violence in Tottenham said: “It’s incredibly rewarding working with young people and helping to steer them away from the dangers of crime, violence and exploitation. The cost of living crisis is impacting everyone of all backgrounds and ages but is hitting our young people hardest – this makes the work we do in communities more important than ever.

“I’m really pleased that through the funding from the Mayor and London’s Violence Reduction Unit we are able to sit down and talk to young people and be there for them when they need it most and help keep them on the right path this summer.”

Rachel Hughes, Chair of The Bridge Renewal Trust, which hosted the session at the Engine Room youth centre, said: “Thanks to the £750,000 funding from the Mayor’s London Violence Reduction Unit to our Home Cooked MyEnds partnership, we have brought together local young people, wider community and partner agencies to tackle the root causes of violence in Tottenham Hale. Our programmes are community-led and build on the passions and lived expertise of local people. They range from a variety of summer activities to other early help and prevention programmes to improve trust with the police, family relationships, mental health, educational achievements, job prospects and address exploitation.”

ENDS

Notes to editors:

Crimes which have fallen over the total of the Mayoralty (12-month period to May 2016 as compared to twelve-month period to June 2022):  

• Knife crime with injury down – 10%
• Knife crime with injury under 25 down – 23%  
• Gun crime down – 30%  
• Burglary down – 22%  

City Hall analysis conducted last year highlighted correlations between deprivation, poverty and vulnerability to crime: (https://data.london.gov.uk/dataset/serious-youth-violence)

Met Led intervention: Tackling youth crime is one of the Met’s top priorities. The Met now have around 478 officers dedicated to youth engagement and diversion. The officers work in partnership with London’s schools and local authorities to help divert those most vulnerable and at risk from violence, away from a life of crime. There are a range of activities that officers are involved with, including delivering prevention and engagement workshops in schools and youth centres, working with local partners to identify those most at risk to deliver early intervention work, conducting outreach visits to young people and their families who have been identified as requiring extra support, as well as delivering sporting, mentoring and music activities.  

The Met also runs the VPC (Volunteer Police Cadets) programme which currently has over 3,800 cadets aged between 8 and 18yrs old (half of those involved are female, and half from ethnically diverse backgrounds). It is the MPS primary youth engagement and diversion program offering young people all across London the opportunity to make new friends, learn new skills and volunteer within their local communities all whilst creating a greater confidence in and understanding of policing in London.

Home Cooked is a violence reduction programme being co-produced and delivered in Tottenham Hale area. It is part of the Mayor’s London Violence Reduction Unit ‘MyEnds’ which supports neighbourhoods affected by high levels of violence. It is about increasing trust and collaboration between local communities, stakeholders, key local institutions and statutory partners. The programme is being delivered by a consortium led by the Bridge Renewal Trust with Father2Father, The Godwin Lawson Foundation, Mind In Haringey and the North London Partnership Consortium (NLPC). Home Cooked were awarded £750,000 funding (April 2021- March 2023) by the Mayor’s London Violence Reduction Unit and have been developing a local impactful and inclusive partnership to tackle serious youth violence in the Tottenham Hale Ward area. Home Cooked is about bringing young people and the wider community together and working in a collaborative way to reduce violence. In order to do so, we will use a bottom-up approach to build a stronger, safer and inclusive Tottenham Hale.

Mayor unveils £5m funding package of positive activities and opportunities for young Londoners this summer: https://www.london.gov.uk/press-releases/mayoral/mayor-unveils-5m-summer-funding-package

Mayor’s additional funding for VRU to build on progress of MyEnds: https://www.london.gov.uk/press-releases/mayoral/mayors-additional-funding-for-vru

The Mayor and Met police launch new Victim Voice Survey: https://www.london.gov.uk/press-releases/mayoral/mayor-and-met-launch-new-victim-voice-survey

Mayor’s GPS tagging of offenders keeping Londoners safe https://www.london.gov.uk/press-releases/mayoral/mayors-pioneering-gps-tagging-scheme-extended

Hundreds of young Londoners saved from dangerous County Lines gangs: https://www.london.gov.uk/press-releases/mayoral/young-londoners-saved-from-county-lines-gangs