Working with the Mayor and the police to make London safer

We all want to live in safe communities, where our children and elderly neighbours feel confident and unafraid in their neighbourhoods. In this vibrant, busy and often frenetic city of ours, millions of people go about their business untouched by crime or the fear of crime. But, there are still too many acts of violence that take and destroy lives, families and communities. Too many weapons, too many incidents of brutality and hatred and the all too often hidden violence against women and girls (VAWG). According to MPS data, during 2015/16 there were a total of 148,276 recorded domestic incidents across the 32 boroughs, with half of these recorded as notifiable offences. There were 26 recorded domestic abuse homicides across London in 2015/16, over two a month. While this is a reduction of 44 per cent compared to 2014/15, it is still far too many.

Tackling crime and the fear of crime falls to all of us – councillors, community leaders, schools, police and other partners. So I am honoured to be London Councils’ Lead Member for Crime and Public Protection, in which role I’ll be working with the Mayor of London and the Metropolitan Police to shape the new Police and Crime Plan which will be published next spring. The plan explains to Londoners what they can expect from the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) and the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) and will focus on themes that affect us all:

• neighbourhood and local policing
• keeping children and young people safe
• tackling violence against women and girls
• tackling violent extremism, terrorism and hate crime
• ensuring an effective Criminal Justice System (which may extend to seeking devolution and reform in relation to youth justice and community rehabilitation).

Underpinning these is the aspiration that ‘the place that you live in, the communities you belong to and the individual that you are should not disproportionately impact your exposure to crime’. In other words, it doesn’t matter who you are or where you live, what age or gender you are, how you dress or the faith you follow – everyone should rightly expect to feel safe in London.

I’m delighted that Sophie Linden has been appointed by Mayor Khan as the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime – she also co-chairs the VAWG Board, where I represent the boroughs. Sophie’s background in community safety means she has a clear idea of the challenges facing boroughs which include the threats to supported housing from welfare reform which covers refuges as well as sheltered housing. London Councils is working to ensure the impact from welfare reform and changes to housing benefits levels does not affect this vital sector.

Boroughs must continue conversations around joint or sub-regional commissioning at a pan-London level where appropriate, especially with regards to refuge provision. The work in Lambeth, particularly around gangs, young people and VAWG has shown how effective partnerships with a common aim can achieve a great deal. At a time when council and policing budgets are hugely stretched, working together, sharing knowledge and targeting limited resources will become even more crucial. Many of you will be aware of the pioneering work of the Gaia centre with victims of VAWG – shaped by the people most affected, listening and learning from their experiences. 

There are many examples of excellent, innovative approaches to crime across London and if we are to adequately address the complex issues of prevention and rehabilitation to make our communities safer, then working together is paramount. I truly hope that as we continue to work and consult on the Police and Crime Plan, all London boroughs will actively engage to share experience, knowledge and ideas. I would like to hear from boroughs about local examples in this area, so do please contact us if there’s a project or approach that you are taking that it would be useful to hear about. To share these examples please contact get in touch with London Councils.