Sadiq Khan’s approach to tackling violent crime in London won’t work

Recent reports that London’s homicide rate has surpassed that of New York sparked debate. Some said the high murder rate was caused by social media and music; others say it is down to poverty and lack of opportunity for disadvantaged communities. In the first 100 days of 2018, 50 people were murdered in London, with more than 20 of the victims aged 25 and under. The majority were stabbings, though some of the deaths resulted from gunshot wounds.

David Lammy was one of several politicians to weigh in on the debate. He took to Twitter to express his frustration over the handling of violent crime by the Home Secretary and Mayor of London. “Why is the conversation just about stop and search? Or police numbers and law and order? Why do we only get a scrambled response? What about years of cuts? What about generations of neglect of my community? It’s the same old sound bites that don’t cut it.”

Labour MP Sarah Jones also shared her thoughts on the knife-crime epidemic: “We know the causes of knife crime and violence are multiple, but one factor impacting the scale of the problem is social media because it is fuelling a cycle of violence.”

Final decision-making powers lie with the government, but as mayor Sadiq Khan has jurisdiction over policing and crime policy in London. To tackle the rise in violent crime, Khan has called for more officers on the streets and has even pledged to increase stop and search. His focus on police cuts is the wrong approach – particularly as the relationship between the current police force and the community has broken down. Both the government and mayoral team must look at how this can be changed. A period of mediation is needed, where officers on the ground can meet with community members to deal with the underlying issues.

Scotland is proof that Sadiq Khan’s approach will not work. Over a decade ago, Glasgow was known as the murder capital of Europe. Then the police set up a violence reduction unit bringing together health, education and social work organisations. Its aim was to establish a long-term plan addressing both cause and effect, rather than a quick fix.

The strategy in Scotland worked well because trust was built between police and the community — people genuinely care and are playing a part in tackling the root causes of violent crime. In London, people blame the black community, and this mentality needs to change. We can identify four key areas that shape a person’s life: their home, peer group, education and surroundings. If they feel safe and supported across all these areas, they have every chance to achieve their potential. Being provided with job opportunities, housing, training and mentoring as in Scotland changes lives.

Since the public health approach was launched, possession of an offensive weapon has decreased from around 5,470 in 2003/04 to around 1,160 in 2016/17 – a 79 per cent fall. Although knife crime is still a big problem in Scotland, of the 35 young people killed as a result of knife crime in the UK, in 2017, none were in Scotland. London must look into adopting the model.

For far too long politicians and some older community leaders have been passing blame and have not listened to the voices of those who are truly affected by this epidemic. If London adopts the model used in Scotland, it is important that the voices of young people are heard. They should be consulted at every stage and invited to important meetings, summits and roundtable discussions to voice their opinions.