An initiative that gave local residents and community organisations a say in finding solutions to tackling crime in a London borough has called for greater investment in early help for vulnerable young people.
The Redbridge Community Crime Commission has, according to its chair, former Barnardo’s chief executive Javed Khan, brought “fresh eyes and new energy” to tackling the systemic issues that frustrate professionals and residents when it comes to tackling and preventing crime.
“Resident engagement is not new – but an approach that gathers the input of a range of local specialists to directly influence strategy and spending is a world away from tick-box consultations,” says Khan, who left Barnardo’s last November after seven years in the post.
“Local people highlighted street crime and their fears for young people as a priority for our investigation and it is clear that too many are falling through a diminishing safety net with no hope for the future.”
The commission, established by Redbridge Council in spring 2021, was made up of 16 commissioners (see boxes), all with a close connection to Redbridge, who listened to evidence on five priority areas that were identified by the public: women and girls’ safety on the streets; domestic abuse; drug-related crime and street violence; antisocial behaviour, and burglary and public confidence.
The commission’s findings were published in March. They were influenced by a set of principles which, it says, should influence all aspects of services in Redbridge. These include listening to people with lived experiences of issues, understanding the challenges faced by children and young people both as victims and perpetrators of crime, and recognising the importance of early intervention.
As it gathered evidence from 40 witnesses, familiar themes emerged: work took place in isolation when joining up resources would make interventions more effective; information wasn’t shared across agencies or with communities; opportunities to intervene early were often missed; and there was a lack of accountability when things went wrong. Addressing these “golden threads” became the basis for the commission’s recommendations.
Domestic abuse
An estimated 10,000 people in Redbridge experience domestic abuse from an intimate partner every year and 4,913 domestic abuse incidents were reported to the police in Redbridge in the past year. Many also experience other problems such as financial difficulties, mental health problems and poor physical health. A fear of losing children was cited by a third of parents as a factor for not reporting incidents, and the commission gathered evidence about the impact on children of witnessing abuse.
One charity told the commission: “We see a lot of children who witnessed or heard domestic violence, or whose lives are uprooted or changed because of it…there’s limited services for those children.”
The commission recommends the creation of a Domestic Abuse Support Service with the long-term resources and staff it needs to support people at risk. This should incorporate independent domestic violence advisers, a service currently provided by Refuge; increased resources in children’s services and GP practices; and include mental health support for victims of domestic abuse.
It calls for the development of a five-year training strategy for council staff, workers in other public services and the voluntary and community sector so that they can spot the signs of domestic abuse, support children and adults at risk, refer them to the services they need, and provide long-term support for people who commit domestic abuse, helping them to change their behaviour.
The commission also recommends the borough’s children and young people have education about healthy relationships at an age-appropriate level. It advocates the creation of a five-year Domestic Abuse Communications and Engagement Strategy so that the topic can be spoken about freely, “removing the stigma that surrounds it”, the report states.
Drugs and violent crime
Testimony about drugs and street violence “was particularly harrowing”, according to the commission. “We heard about young people experiencing violence and family breakdown, falling through the cracks between support services and being groomed into a life of criminality,” the report states.
While youth workers know how to respond to such issues “the systems in which they work are poorly co-ordinated and lack the resources they need to meet a growing challenge”, it adds.
The report quotes a pupil referral unit worker as saying: “We’re not proactive enough in putting the early intervention in place to prevent those young people from being involved in things. Caseloads are so high that it’s not possible [to see] every young person. Lack of a multi-agency approach often results in a failure to protect some young people from being exploited.”
The commission says there needs to be a shift in focus to support children and intervene early when things start going wrong in their lives.
“Thresholds that mean young people only access help after tipping into criminality make no sense,” says Khan. “Too often we observed opportunities to intervene, to make a difference, but agencies are hamstrung by procedures that prevent sharing information among schools, police and others; or systems, long underfunded, that grind slowly when speed is an imperative.”
The commission calls for a borough-wide approach to joining up services, that reacts to what is happening in homes, schools, workplaces and online, as well as responding to their actions on the streets. Where new services are created, these should be co-designed “so they respond better to their needs”.
It also advocates for empty high street buildings and community hubs being used for services such as Box Up Crime – a council-funded project that offers free fitness and boxing sessions with mentors for seven- to 19-year-olds. In a recent evaluation, 56 per cent of respondents said that without Box Up they would be taking part in a negative or criminal activity.
Redbridge Council has pledged £1.2m to implement the recommendations in the commission’s report, which also include calls for a review of children’s mental health support locally and for the removal of the “cliff edge” between care and independent living. However, Khan says the lessons from the review have wider relevance.
“Some of our greatest resources including our expert professionals and ambitious residents have shone a light on the need to work more effectively, to share and create solutions together – there is no time to waste,” he adds.
YOUTH PANEL VIEW
YOUNG PEOPLE NEED DEDICATED COUNSELLOR
By Syed Hussain-Kazi, former member of Frenford Youth Club, and commission youth panel member
Perceptions of crime are split down the middle – you either don’t want anything to do with it, or you just think it is normal. In some circles it’s glamourised and people who want to provide for the family see it as a way to make money fast. There were times that my friends and I were all involved – whether as victims or perpetrators.
Most of it stems from issues at home, I didn’t feel like I could approach my parents about stuff I had bottled up. I couldn’t talk to anyone about how I was feeling and what was going on, most of all not at school. I wasn’t the typical “naughty kid” so I think it slid by them.
Within schools, they need to really make it mandatory to have a counsellor or someone who would check in with all students who only deals with these issues. They need to be trained to identify certain problems, patterns of behaviour that might be problematic in future – talking can only go so far, they need to know how to notice certain patterns. It needs to be universal and apply to all kids, not just the ones who obviously behave badly – you can’t predict that a child will be a criminal one day.
EDUCATION VIEW
GIVE SCHOOLS ACCESS TO EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGIST
By Joanne Hamill, head teacher and community crime commissioner
Early intervention to provide the necessary expertise, which could be considered outside of the remit of a school setting, needs to be made much more available to schools. For example, having greater access to a specialist educational psychologist early on in a child’s schooling would make a huge difference to help prevent adverse childhood experiences from defining their future self.
Currently, it is very challenging for schools to have access to this support due to the lack of capacity available. This expertise needs to be made much more widespread in all schools.
Another significant barrier is the lack of a robust communication channel to ensure the essential sharing of information between schools and across services. This barrier limits the speed and effectiveness of the agencies being able work collaboratively together at all different intervention possibilities to provide the whole of the child-centred approach that is so vital.
If there was a better communication system or database where all agencies could share and access key pieces of information across areas, then this could really support early intervention.
POLICE VIEW
INTERVENE EARLIER TO PREVENT CRIME
By Peter Terry, former police officer and community crime commissioner
Youth offending doesn’t start with the criminal justice system – there is sufficient evidence that shows that it starts with adverse childhood experiences, fallout from education, inability of society to help parents bring children up in a manner consistent with good behaviour and other factors. What we are trying to portray in the Community Crime Commission report is that the criminal justice system and police are at the end of this line. Trigger points for intervention should be far lower and more supportive, as opposed to a punishment-based regime. The key is for other agencies to gain the trust of society in their professional judgment to be supportive and not detrimental to the family. Alarm bells ring at certain thresholds of behaviour – but these should be ringing sooner.
It is a holistic societal failure that the police are involved at the end of the line – the point of time of arrest is a point of failure. The police may have a role, but they must be part of a joined-up system and work across a range of targets and with other agencies. We have highlighted the need for agencies to work together rather than saying “What can the police do?”.
YOUTH WORK VIEW
MAKING A YOUTH CENTRE A COMMUNITY HUB
By Irfan Shah, senior youth worker, Frenford Youth Club
Youth centres play an essential part in providing wraparound targeted support for young people. Youth Clubs provide a safe space for attendees, many of whom will be struggling with poverty and life’s challenges. Too often youth work is seen as an afterthought but often it is the only way to bridge the gap between schools, streets and home life.
Many attending look to us to create opportunities to enjoy and develop with some just wanting safe affordable facilities. Some need specialist advice to develop their confidence or to imagine a life beyond their troubles so we provide an alternative from sadness, crime and exclusion.
Youth centres need to be a key part of the overall picture outside of school hours. We need proper funding and closer working relationships with schools and those responsible for the criminal justice system. Youth organisations need support in becoming sustainable and less reliant on restrictive short-term funding pots. We can’t let “no” or “you can’t” stop us from helping young people laugh and enjoy their youth. We want them to focus on achieving great things but we will always catch them if they fall.
