“Dear Petitioner
Thank you for the petition submitted on the change.org website about gang and knife crime, and the need for funding from Government to tackle the causes of this.
The Mayor agrees that the Government must urgently increase funding for both the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) and social services, so they can tackle the growing problem of knife crime.
You are right that crime, and violent crime, is rising at an unacceptably high rate across the whole of England and Wales. This is clearly a national problem that requires national solutions from the Government. The causes of violent crime are complex and there is no doubt that we all need to work together to tackle this scourge. This must start, as you suggest, by urging Theresa May to urgently reverse her cuts to the MPS and youth services.
I want to reassure you that making London safer for young people is a critical part of the Mayor of London’s 2017-2021 Police and Crime Plan. In addition, he published a Knife Crime Strategy for London in June 2017 which can be found on the Mayor’s Office For Policing and Crime (MOPAC) webpage at: www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/mopac_knife_crime_strategy_june_2017.pdf.
The Mayor’s strategy supports a comprehensive public health approach, focused on prevention, diversion and enforcement focussing on six key areas;
• Targeting lawbreakers – recognising that knife crime is a major concern for the public, the police, and the Mayor himself. Commitments in this section are focussed on the immediate enforcement response to knife crime;
• Keeping deadly weapons off our streets - addressing the accessibility and availability of knives focusing on retailers and licensing;
• Protecting and educating young people – recognising the importance of prevention and working alongside schools;
• Standing with communities, neighbourhoods and families against knife crime – working with Londoners who want to stand up against knife crime and the harm it does to communities and families;
• Supporting victims of knife crime – ensuring that improving support to victims is at the heart of a holistic response;
• Offering a way out of crime – recognising that young people should be offered interventions which help them move away from criminality towards a brighter future.
Understanding how vital funding is in tackling violent crime, the Mayor has already invested significant amounts in line with the key themes identified in his Knife Crime Strategy:
• The Mayor has provided £110m to the MPS to keep police numbers as high as possible.
• £15m was allocated by the Mayor to form the Violent Crime Taskforce. Formed in April 2018 with 150 officers, this was increased to over 270 officers in September 2018. In the first six months of operation the taskforce has made 1,361 arrests, recovered 340 knives, 258 offensive weapons, and 40 firearms.
• The Mayor has created a £45m Young Londoners Fund over three years to provide young people with positive alternatives to crime.
• A £1.4m fund has been allocated to support 43 grass-root community led anti-knife crime projects across the capital.
• Through the London Crime Prevention Fund, in partnership with 31 London boroughs MOPAC is sustainably funding 38 projects, at a value of approximately £5m, to keep children and young people safe.
In addition to this funding, the Mayor has recently announced plans to establish a new Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) for London. This will include specialists in health, police and local government and will deliver a long-term public health approach to tackling the causes of violent crime. The Mayor has provided an initial £500,000 towards establishing the VRU, following extensive research to understand the approaches taken in Glasgow, where a similar approach to tackling serious violence was adopted. As you may be aware, in Glasgow the approach has been in place for more than a decade and has delivered large reductions in violence.
For those young people unfortunate enough to be involved in violent crime, there are several projects which the Mayor funds to offer a route away from this life:
• London Gang Exit, which offers a holistic service to young people – male and female - tackling each of the key drivers of involvement in serious youth or group violence; including mental health support, employment support, family support, housing advocacy and specialist support for girls and women;
• Empower, which provides Young Persons Advocates to support young women at risk of gang involvement, sexual violence, or exploitation; and
• Youth workers in Major Trauma Centres, to provide support during teachable moments following injuries sustained through violence.
I hope that this provides some reassurance that the issue of funding to tackle violence is taken extremely seriously, and that the Mayor is committed to making London an even safer place for all.
Yours sincerely
Public Liaison Unit
Greater London Authority”
