Children need to feel safer in London

A 2022 survey found that around one in ten young people in London felt unsafe at school, while one in five felt unsafe in their local area, with hate crime, carrying weapons and gangs being of the most concern.¹

This was the most recent Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) youth survey, published in April 2023. The London Assembly Police and Crime Committee recommends an annual survey should be commissioned, allowing for more up-to-date data on children and young people in London.

The Committee heard from one young person that police patrols in their local area created a feeling of fear rather than a feeling of safety. Another spoke of a perception that those from an ethnic minority background were more likely to fear the police, and that it would take a long-term piece of focused work to address this.²

The London Assembly Police and Crime Committee has today published its report - Neighbourhood Policing: the experience of young Londoners – calling for MOPAC to commission and publish an annual, London-wide survey of children and young people on their sense of safety in and around schools, and their experiences of and confidence in policing.

Other recommendations in the report include:

• The Met, with the support of MOPAC, should produce a charter on how it will conduct its interactions with children and young people.
• In 2026-27, the Met, working with young people and specialist youth organisations, should co-design and co-deliver parts of police training on child first and youth engagement.
• By September 2026, the Met should commission an independent evaluation of the delivery of its Child First training to monitor its effectiveness and impact in improving the Met’s policing and interactions with young people.

Marina Ahmad AM, Chair of the London Assembly Police and Crime Committee, said:

“Ensuring our children feel safe, both in their communities and at school, must be a priority for the Met.

“Understanding the views of young people on what fears they have is key to building a strong sense of trust and confidence in the Met.

“However, their views are not being sought regularly by MOPAC, meaning children can feel alienated or not listened to. Having up to date data means the Met and MOPAC have a better understanding of the fears and concerns young people have.

“The Met’s Child First Approach is something we support, but we have concerns around the support being provided to young people by the police, and how safe they feel in their communities. 

“Our recommendations within this report could help bring young people and the police closer together, and help build more trust and confidence.”

Follow us @LondonAssembly.