Press Release
April
20th 2016
Youth
violence in London is rising and too many young Londoners are living their
lives in fear of violent crime. The safety of your young and their right to
equitable access to the privileges and freedoms offered to their more fortunate
peers is now the number one political concern of black Londoners.
The
recent murders of Myron Yardie and Lewis Elwin has left a community
traumatised, angry and anxious. Such crime disproportionately affects London's
African and Caribbean Communities. Research shows that such crime is
symptomatic of the extraordinarily high rates of unemployment, poverty and
socio-economic exclusion in the capital and across the country as a whole. We
are deeply concerned about the disproportionately high numbers that are
excluded from school without appropriate support who then become part of the
schools to prisons pipeline or worse end up murdered on the streets of
London in greater numbers than any other single ethnic group.
Operation
Black Vote, National Black Police Association (NBPO), Blaksox
(Social
Action Movement), The Association of Black Police Officers (ABPO), and Voyage
(key community based service provider) in partnership with many leading black
organisations and community groups are now urgently considering what
both they and the next Mayor of London can do, in partnership,
to address and stem these rising rates of violence.
Last
year witnessed a massive spike in the numbers of teenage black
men murdered in London. By 2015 years end this figure had risen to 19.
What is less publicised and debated by politicians is that in addition to
these horrific figures, there are countless numbers of walking wounded,
those who survived violent attack, but remain emotionally and psychologically
traumatised and living in fear.
It
has come as no surprise to our police,
nurses, community workers, teachers and others that live and
work in some of the most economically disadvantaged communities in
London that we now find ourselves in this position.
Bernard
Hogan-Howe Commissioner of Police for London amongst many
others, warned about this growing violence trend and advised that it
was simply not possible to 'police our way of out' of this issue. Our
concern is that as a result of increased rates of inequality, poverty and
unemployment, we are revisiting the shockingly high levels of youth violence
that were first seen in London when Boris Johnson became Mayor in
2008.
We
contend that in the last 8 years very little has fundamentally changed. In
fact, post the 2011 riots some would say the socioeconomic issues
that were identified as “the drivers” that sparked the subsequent violence and
civil unrest, have actually become much more acute.
Black
Londoners and Londoners as a whole, urgently need to know what the next Mayor
of London intends to do to address these critically important issues that
continue to blight the image of London as a safe city and good place to live
and raise a family. We will also be seeking meaningful answers from decision
makers across the most affected London boroughs in addition to those regional
and national services who have been commissioned to address and tackle these
issues, but have not had a meaningful foot-print in our communities.
Note to editors and other interested parties:
For
further information please contact:
Viv Ahmun: 07985 395 166
Ashlee Gomes 07887 635 375
