Mayor Boris launches YOU.matter
January 20, 2012Young people from the uniformed groups participating in the YOU.matter project rallied at Merton Sea Cadets Centre yesterday for the official launch with the Mayor of London. Following a combined drill led by Army Cadet Regimental Sergeant Major Brogan Twite and an inspection, the Mayor participated in a range of activities organised by the groups and was evidently hugely impressed by the young people. Police Cadet Karolina Falkiewicz and Volunteer Leader Dale Robinson spoke about their respective backgrounds and what inspired them to get involved which illustrated very effectively how much enjoyment and satisfaction they derive from participation. The project has already attracted 100 new adult volunteers and 1,000 young people have been recruited, but the targets are 1000 adults and a minimum of 8,000 young people, many of whom are likely to be at risk of being Not in Education, Employment or Training.
Safer London Foundation manages this £1.38m pan-London project for the GLA which is focused on increasing the number of adult volunteers and young people taking part in activities with uniformed groups in high crime areas. Our projects are primarily aimed at young people from London’s disadvantaged communities who demonstrate risk factors that indicate there is a likelihood they will be potential victims of crime or violence or may enter into criminal behaviour. The YOU.matter project is targeting these same young people and reaching out to them in London’s 12 most deprived boroughs. Our experience tells us that they would not normally get access to or dream of getting involved with uniformed groups. So, by raising awareness of the activities on offer as well as the chance to receive training to improve their communications and leadership skills, amongst other things, those who get involved are developing capabilities that are likely to improve their prospects. View YOU.matter
Rena Sodhi: ‘Our projects are all about supporting young people and giving them the opportunity to approach their lives differently. We are proud to be leading on a flagship Team London project and working with the uniformed groups and our Youth Advisory Board to encourage young people to access activities they would not normally have the chance to try. Adult volunteers are vital to the success of YOU.matter, as they mean new groups can be established and it is evident that Londoners are rising to this challenge. Anyone interested in adult volunteering should visit www.youlondon.org.uk where there are also links to the uniformed organisations involved in this project.’
The participating uniformed groups are: Air Training Corps LaSER, Army Cadet Force, Boys’ Brigade, Girlguiding LaSER, Girls’ Brigade, Sea Cadet Corps, St John Ambulance London (Prince of Wales’s District) and Volunteer Police Cadets.
Project Manager Elisha Augustin and Director of Projects & Partnerships Claire Hubberstey met the Mayor
MOPC oversees Met Police
January 16, 2012The Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPC) has replaced the Metropolitan Police Authority and now oversees the Met Police’s overall performance and annual policing budget. Met Police Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe is now responsible to Mayor of London Boris Johnson and Kit Malthouse, Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime.
London is the first city in the UK to have an elected Mayor with unequivocal responsibility for overseeing the police and his existing powers to set police priorities have been significantly strengthened. A Police and Crime Committee consisting of 12 elected members of the London Assembly will scrutinise the work of MOPC and meet regularly to question the Deputy Mayor of Policing and Crime.
Key areas of work of the MOPC will be:
- Operational Policing and crime reduction – including the 2012 Olympics and Paralympic games, Counter terrorism, stop and search
- Gangs – ensuring the Met Police effectively reduce gang crime and violence in London and co-ordinating support for communities and local organisations to tackle gangs
- Criminal Justice – preventing reoffending, reducing crime and decreasing demand within the criminal justice system and tackling alcohol and drug abuse
Department for Education Announcement
November 24, 2011Department for Education announced another increase in the number of 16-24 year olds in London who are Not in Education, Employment or Training. The first quarter of 2011 gave this figure as 105,000, this increased to 133,000 in the second and by November it had risen to 159,000. View Resources
Posted in NewsHackney Young Women’s Project
November 24, 2011Lynne Featherstone, Minister for Equalities and Criminal Information visited Hackney police and local authority to review their work on girls and gangs and learn more about the issues being addressed in the borough. Lisa Bellis, our Project Manager for the Hackney Young Women’s Project had the opportunity to talk to the Minister about our partnership with Hackney and work. Read about Empower: Hackney Young Women’s Project
Posted in NewsEnding Gang and Youth Violence
November 11, 2011Ending Gang and Youth Violence: A Cross-Government Report was published. This first analysis report of the problem of gangs and the interventions that work quoted the Home Secretary as stating that ‘we need to do more to prevent young people joining gangs or getting involved in violent activity’. The overall report proposals were described as ‘wide-ranging’ and focused on five areas: prevention, pathways out, punishment, partnership working and providing support. Comments made by the Work and Pensions Secretary referred to the need to ‘bring perpetrators of violence to justice’ but also to provide a ‘robust offer of support to exit gang life and an equally intensive prevention strategy’.
View Resources
Chief Executive Rena Sodhi , who sits on the Home Office’s Girls and Gangs Working Group: ‘all the work we are developing and delivering both in Operation Connect boroughs and pan-London directly addresses these issues. For example, our Aspire project in Waltham Forest involves working with the local authority and police to support their Enough is Enough strategy, where we are involved in providing mentors to young people wanting to exit gang activity who have been identified through their Going the Distance project. Read about Aspire – Waltham Forest Gangs Initiative
Posted in NewsHome Secretary Visit
October 6, 2011Home Secretary Theresa May and Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith met Safer London Foundation’s Youth Advisory Board. Their visit involved participating in debate around young people’s views on the August riots, perceptions of the police, what might constitute an ‘ideal’ relationship with them and how this might be achieved.
Rena Sodhi felt the visit provided an opportunity for young people who live in some of the capital’s most deprived high crime boroughs to air their views so that the visitors could understand the challenges they face on a daily basis. ‘The young people were keen to let the Home Secretary know their experiences of the police and how relationships could be improved.
‘The meeting has since prompted at least one of the group to arrange a visit to the Houses of Parliament for members of another borough based panel. The insight we get from young people involved in our various Youth Engagement Panels is invaluable to the police and is intended to have a bearing on their future local community activities’.
Read about our Youth Engagement Panels
Posted in News