Too many young people are losing their lives or facing serious harm because of violent and knife crime – a complex and tragic issue, says campaigning body London Citizens, which has made youth safety part of its manifesto ahead of the elections for London Mayor.
That manifesto calls on the next London mayor to ‘fund a compulsory, externally-delivered, evidence-led training programme, that recognises and reduces systemic patterns of police bias and community disconnect – with a pilot in two boroughs in place by 2021’. It asks for a taskforce ‘to review accountability and establish youth IAGs, for better relationships with communities disproportionately impacted’. It seeks Stop Monitoring Groups to have power to move officers onto temporary ‘restricted street duty’, and a ‘strike system’ for misuse of stop-and-search powers. The document also wants a review of hate crime reporting.
The campaign group also wants wages ‘that meet the real cost of living’. It quotes an unidentified security guard: “Being on a zero-hour contract is very challenging. I don’t know when I will be asked to work. Or how much money I will have at the end of the month for my family. It means I cannot plan, which is very stressful.” The manifesto wishes to go beyond the Living Wage campaign to tackle insecurity and under-employment, asking for at least four weeks notice for shifts; and a minimum beyond ‘zero hours’.
For the full London Citizens manifesto visit https://www.citizensuk.org/london_citizens_manifesto_for_change. London Citizens is holding a mayoral assembly for candidates at the Olympic Park on April 21, ahead of the mayoral vote on May 7.
The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan recently launched a ‘£55.5m package to tackle the root causes of crime by reducing school exclusions, providing more mentors for young people creating more positive opportunities for disadvantaged young Londoners’.
Meanwhile former Conservative MP and prisons minister Rory Stewart, now an independent mayoral candidate, has suggested a London Youth Corps, a citizenship and volunteering programme, for teenagers. He said: “The current mayor could have done far more to back and develop youth clubs and services across the city, but he hasn’t. Our young people need worthwhile and engaging activities outside school, and they need to be shown broader opportunities. We must provide these opportunities for young people urgently: with action, not words.”
