It is hard to imagine a more poignant irony than the Damilola Taylor Centre in Peckham, southeast London, being the site of a particularly nasty stabbing of one young man by another. But that was what happened on 5 February (YPN, 11-18 February, p2).
Friends of the centre, and of Peckham itself, have rallied round to emphasise that this is a good place where good things go on. Southwark Council, the local authority responsible for the centre, has instigated consultation with its staff over violence and safety at the centre.
But is this kind of event the tip of an unacceptable iceberg in youth work? According to the Community and Youth Workers' Union (CYWU), youth centres can be dangerous places. Last year, one CYWU member was threatened with having a 10lb bowling ball dropped on them - other incidents have seen staff stabbed with a hypodermic needle and acid thrown on their car.
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