This meeting took place on 14 July 2016. Read the transcript here.
- Serious youth violence[1] has been on the increase in London since 2012-13[2].
- In 2015-16, there were 6,290 victims of serious youth violence in the capital - a 4 per cent rise on the previous year and over a 20 per cent increase on 2012-13[2].
- The use of a knife is flagged in almost half of serious youth violence data[2].
- Females now make up almost a quarter of victims of serious youth violence[2]. The number of female victims has risen by 58 per cent since 2011-12.
- The boroughs with the highest levels of serious youth violence in the last financial year were Newham, Croydon, Tower Hamlets and Southwark.
The London Assembly Police and Crime Committee will tomorrow investigate serious youth violence in the capital.
The Committee will examine the reasons for the increase; assess the potential link with gang activity; discuss levels of under-reporting; and explore the ways in which the Met and other partners are working to prevent violence amongst London’s young people.
The Committee will hear from the following guests:
- Commander Duncan Ball, Metropolitan Police Service
- Chief Superintendent Dave Stringer, Metropolitan Police Service
- Matthew Watson, Service Manager, Integrated Gangs Unit, City of Westminster
- Graham Robb, Youth Justice and Education consultant
- John Poyton, Chief Executive, Redthread
The meeting will take place on Thursday 14 July from 10:00am in the Chamber at City Hall (The Queen’s Walk, London SE1).
Media and members of the public are invited to attend.
The meeting can also be viewed via webcast.
Follow us @LondonAssembly and take part in the meeting discussion using #AssemblyPolice and #YouthViolence.
Notes to editors
- Serious Youth Violence measures the number of victims aged 1-19 of offences such as gun and knife crime, violence against the person, sexual offences and robbery, according to the Metropolitan Police.
- Submission to the Committee: Metropolitan Police, Serious Youth Violence across the MPS between 01/04/2011 to 31/03/2016.
- Full Agenda papers.
- Steve O’Connell AM, Chairman of the Police and Crime Committee is available for interview. See contact details below.
- As well as investigating issues that matter to Londoners, the London Assembly acts as a check and a balance on the Mayor.
For media enquiries, please contact Mary Dolan on 020 7983 4603. For out of hours media enquiries, call 020 7983 4000 and ask for the London Assembly duty press officer. Non-media enquiries should be directed to the Public Liaison Unit on 020 7983 4100.