Dear Editor,
Your recent editorial ‘Knife crime rockets as funding cuts bite’ pinpoints a number of the major factors behind the rise of violent crime on our streets.
I agree with the premise that ‘there is no substitute for prevention’, and it is frustrating that across South London, young people who are most vulnerable to getting caught up in crime and gang exploitation have been left without vital early intervention services.
This is for the most part due to steep cuts made by central government to local authority budgets. Since 2011, Lewisham has been forced to cut almost £1.5 million from its youth service provision, with a further reduction of £200,000 planned over the course of this financial year.
We have also lost hundreds of police officers in our community, and by 2021, the Met Police will have had to make £1 billion in savings due to further government austerity.
The Mayor has taken action to mitigate the situation by investing significantly in young Londoners and protecting local police officer numbers as much as he can. We have also seen communities come together in the wake of tragedy to call for peace.
It’s clear that we all need to play our part in ending violent crime, and yet the Government is clearly failing to pull its weight.
Yours,
Len Duvall AM
London Assembly Member for Greenwich and Lewisham