Enfield
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Traumatised residents demand action to end their 'nightmare'
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| Andy Love speaks at the opening of a community facility in Montagu Road last year, which provided a new home for Edmonton Eagles Boxing Club. The Edmonton MP says that more groups like these are necessary to combat youth crime and resolve the situation which has seen five young people murdered in Enfield this year |
THE residents of Enfield demand action.
That was the message from Edmonton MP Andy Love to other Members of Parliament after the "nightmare" of five youth murders this year which have left a whole community traumatised.
His comments came in a debate with Home Office Minister Vernon Coaker on the problem of youth violence.
It was attended by MPs from Haringey, Islington and Hackney, all boroughs where there have been fatal stabbings involving young people since the beginning of the year.
Despite the strength of this language and the fact there had been a "remarkable consensus" among the MPs present as to the nature of the problem and the need for action, Mr Love said he had produced a range of suggestions for discussion but was only "mildly optimistic" that some of these would be adopted.
Mr Love, who has previously said that he thought hard-to-reach young people - particularly those outside of education, employment and training - had been "very much ignored" by the authorities, said he favoured a carrot and stick approach.
The stick included the lowering of the criminal age for possession of violent weapons, increasing the use of knife amnesties and other targeted police schemes, and also called on the Government to include evidence from under 16s in the British Crime Survey as recommended by children's charity NCH.
The survey is widely thought to give a more realistic picture of crime than police statistics because these do not take into account unreported crimes.
Mr Love said: "But the carrot, in the long term, is much more important.
"I could point to many, many good examples of good projects - Edmonton Eagles Boxing Club, Ghetto Youth Theatre - that are giving self-confidence to young people."
But Mr Love said while there was a need for specific projects, he "wanted to lay on the table... the need for a comprehensive local youth strategy" for councils which would aim to address the problem of hard-to-reach young people.
He said that recent figures from charity the City Bridge Trust showed that one in four children feels the need to carry a knife for their own protection.
And Mr Love added: "We need to be much more serious about hearing young people's voices in all this.
"Let's start giving some limited finance to young people themselves. In my view this would deliver value for money for the Government."
Mr Coaker said "Too often in this debate people are either portrayed as a hanger and flogger or a wishy washy liberal."
He said the Government was looking at including under 16s in the British Crime Survey, was going to extend the use of knife arches and there would be an advertising campaign starting in a few weeks' time to let young people know they are more likely to become the victim of crime if they carry weapons.
He said Mr Love's commitment to the dedicated youth strategy for councils would be taken back to ministers at the Department for Children, Schools and Families for discussion.
11:18am Wednesday 7th May 2008
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