Steve has repeatedly demanded urgent action to tackle London’s knife crime epidemic. He pioneered a new approach to tackling youth crime in Lambeth, successfully cutting violent youth crime by a third in just 18 months.
Steve successfully pioneered a ‘public health’ approach to tackling violent youth crime when he was Leader of Lambeth Council. It involved investing in better mental health and youth services, reducing school exclusions, supporting struggling families, and giving a real voice to young people from the most deprived communities. Working closely with the community, this approach succeeded in cutting youth crime in Lambeth by a third in just 18 months.
Steve called for this approach to be introduced in Croydon following a spate of knife crime attacks, including the death of a 15-year-old girl. Steve wrote to the Mayor of Croydon to call for urgent action to tackle the violence on our streets.
Steve said:
“I’ve met too many parents in Croydon North who’ve had to bury their children. We know what works, but instead the Conservatives have cut the police, cut our schools, cut youth services and cut social workers. I’m working with community groups in Croydon North to provide what support we can, but the only real answer is a Labour government that will end austerity and tackle the inequality that has caused these problems in the first place.”
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