Young People, Big Issues

The Young People - Big Issues conference on crime and community safety held at City Hall on Saturday 14th June was a big success: 200 young people aged 8-14 attended along with those responsible for making key decisions in the capital.

In March 2002, the GLA, in partnership with GOL and other key London crime agencies convened the BME Cracking Crime conference to engage Black and Minority Ethnic communities in the development and delivery of London’s crime and disorder strategies. A clear message coming out of the conference was the need to listen more carefully to London’s young people, particularly those from black, minority ethnic and refugee communities, about their experiences of crime and victimisation and their ideas on how to make London safer.

As a result, GOL and the GLA, with other London partners, commissioned the 1990 Trust and the Black Londoners Forum to conduct a consultation with black, minority ethnic and refugee young Londoners aged 8-14. The study aimed to develop a better understanding of the issues and concerns of black, minority ethnic and refugee young people, around crime, community safety, crime prevention and anti-social behaviour in London.

The conference at City Hall on 14th June started with a welcome from Lee Jasper, the Mayor's Policy Director on Equalities and Policing, before moving on to an interactive session for the young people which asked questions such as "have you been a victim of crime?" and "do you feel safe travelling to school?". Representatives from the Police, Fire Service, GLA and GOL were put in the 'hot seat' and children were able to ask them questions about the things that concerned them the most. An overriding theme was the lack of positive things for young people to do in their area. After lunch there was another theatre presentation which highlighted the pressure that young people are under to get involved with anti-social behaviour, and pressure not to conform (i.e it's not cool to stay at home and do your homework). There were also performances from Kele Le Roc and Romeo who shared positive messages with the audience about the need to stay in school and the importance of striving to do your best.

At the close of the event each young person had the chance to sign the Declaration Against Guns that was launched in April.

More Information

A full report highlighting findings from the consultation study and the event and containing recommendations for those responsible for shaping policing, crime reduction, and social inclusion policies in the capital will be released later in the summer. In the meantime, the summary consultation report can be found at http://www.london.gov.uk/gla/publications/crime.jsp