‘I’m bringing back youth clubs’, Sadiq Khan declares, as London suffers four murders in a week
Every London borough is set to have a late-night youth club opened, in a bid to keep teenagers occupied and reduce violence.
The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has announced £30 million will be invested in youth services to provide activities, mental health support, and mentorship.
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Every London borough is set to have a late-night youth club opened, in a bid to keep teenagers occupied and reduce violence.
Speaking to LBC, Sir Sadiq said youth clubs “can be both life changing and lifesaving” as he indicated plans for them to open this year.
Four people have been violently killed in the capital in the past week, including 14-year-old Eghosa Ogbebor, who was shot dead in Woolwich on Thursday afternoon.
A 21-year-old man died from stab wounds after a fight broke out at the Primrose Hill beauty spot in North London on Tuesday night.
Just two hours earlier, a man was killed in Shadwell, East London, following reports of an assault and on Monday, a 26-year-old man was stabbed to death in Peckham.
Speaking to LBC’s Lewis Goodall, Sir Sadiq said: “It's always heartbreaking when you hear about a homicide or somebody being at the receiving end of a violent crime, but the evidence shows that our strategy is working.
Read more: Man, 21, dead and another wounded after double stabbing on London's Primrose Hill
“Last year, because we were tough on crime and tough on the causes using our public health approach, we saw the fewest number of homicides per capita, since records began in London.
“And that's why, on top of investing in the police, and on top of the violence reduction unit, I'm bringing back youth clubs in every community in our great city.
“I think a combination of both policing and prevention is important to enable young people to fulfil their potential, but also to reduce crime.
“I've seen from my own experience growing up in South London the difference youth clubs made to me and my brothers with somewhere to not just play table tennis and pool and do boxing, cricket and football, but also in providing a safe space for us to go.”
The Greens have welcomed the investment from City Hall in youth clubs, but the Conservatives and Reform have criticised it, saying the money would be better spent on policing.
A London Lib Dem spokesperson said the programme was a "welcome first step" but "less than £1m per youth centre isn't enough".
Last week, a so-called ‘link-up’ between young people in Clapham led to shops being forced to close early and customers barricaded inside, as hundreds of teenagers ran through the streets. Arrests were made for assaults on police officers and shoplifting, after claims of mass antisocial behaviour.
Bell Ribeiro-Addy, the Labour MP for the area, blamed “the closure of youth clubs and early intervention programmes” for the disorder, in a letter seen by LBC, which was sent to one of her constituents.
She wrote: “It is clear that social media platforms must take responsibility for the role they play in enabling such gatherings.
“These companies have the resources and moderators to identify and prevent content that promotes disorder, and they must be held to account for failing to act.”
She then added: “It is clear that our community urgently needs renewed investment in youth services and constructive opportunities for young people.”
Meanwhile, the Home Office has announced new mapping technology to help police target the areas that are known to have the biggest problem with knives.
Policing minister Sarah Jones said: “Knife crime devastates lives and families and the majority of it takes place on just a small number of streets.”
Data suggests more than half of all knife possession offences are committed in just 4,000 neighbourhoods. London remains the knife crime capital of the UK, followed by Cleveland and the West Midlands.
But police-recorded knife offences fell by 8.6% in the year to September, from 55,149 to 50,430.
Chris Philp, the Conservative shadow home secretary, earlier this week said Labour needs to invest in more police officers and back stronger stop and search powers.
“They created this mess in the first place with their police cuts,” he said.
“Labour have refused to back stronger stop and search powers, even as knife crime in London has surged by 86 per cent under Sadiq Khan.
“The next Conservative Government will triple stop and search, target the hotspots, and back the police with the tools and powers they need, alongside 10,000 extra officers, to take knives off our streets and keep young people safe.”