MPA empowers young people in the fight against crime

24/08
27 May 2008

The MPA’s youth scrutiny report will be presented to the full Authority at its May meeting on 29 May 2008. Listening to London’s young people was an integral part of this scrutiny from the outset. It focused on the causes, effects and impacts of young peoples’ involvement in crime as victims, witnesses and perpetrators and how this influences their interactions with the Met. And it is intended that they will have a voice in the ongoing debate.

Richard Sumray, chair of the youth scrutiny panel said:

“We rarely hear the views of young people themselves. But the MPA youth scrutiny – in contrast to other commentary on youth crime – is firmly grounded in the real experiences of young people themselves. The MPA made a determined effort to listen to them directly rather than through an adult filter, and more than 1,000 young and adult Londoners took part in our various consultations. The Commissioner, Sir Ian Blair, attended the last of the hearings to discuss face to face their concerns about policing in London.

“The scrutiny heard about the problems they face, and how they can work together with the police and partner agencies to solve them. It aimed to find ways to reduce young people’s involvement in crime, improve their confidence to report crime, and improve the Met ‘s strategy towards them.

“The scrutiny makes 53 recommendations in all. We recognise that the Met is working hard to implement its strategy towards young people. It includes a range of initiatives to prevent crime and general anti-social behaviour, as well as dealing with the impact of more serious crime committed by a few young people. The police cannot do it all alone and much of this work involves close collaboration with other agencies. The Met will respond formally to the scrutiny at the July full Authority meeting and we will monitor the implementation of our recommendations.”

Findings from the scrutiny include:

• current public perception overestimates the number of young people involved in offending behaviour;
• fear of crime and personal safety is of equal concern to young people as it is to adults
• young people are often unwilling to report crimes to police and do not consider current criminal justice outcomes as effective deterrents;
• fear of victimisation encourages some young people to carry weapons for self-defence, not recognising the severe ramifications;
• stop and search remains a key concern. While recognising the value of this police tactic, young people are critical of how some officers implement it; and
• individual encounters between young people and officers play a crucial role in how the police service is perceived overall.

Richard Sumray concluded:

“This is not a one-off piece of work and we believe only by working closely with young people in the years ahead will they gain more trust in the police. This is the key to reducing the numbers of young people both as victims as well as perpetrators of crime. We recognise that short term measures do need to be taken, but not at the expense of long term preventive work.”

Notes to Editors

1. MPA members of the Youth Scrutiny panel:

• Richard Sumray – Chair
• Cindy Butts
• John Roberts

External partners:

• Susannah Hancock, London regional manager, Youth Justice Board
• Camila Batmanghelidjh, Director Kids Company

MPS advisor:

• Rose Fitzpatrick DAC

The panel was supported by a diverse group of 26 young Londoners – the Youth Scrutiny Reference Group (YSRG) - who were involved from the outset.

2. Panel members and some of the young people involved will be available for interview at the full Authority meeting on 29 May 2008

3. The MPA Youth Scrutiny report can be found at:
www.mpa.gov.uk/downloads/issues/youth/youth-scrutiny.pdf

4. The list of participants can be found in Annex 6 of the MPA youth scrutiny report

Further media information

For further information, please contact the MPA press office 

Send an e-mail linking to this page

Feedback