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‘Big Brother’ set to visit ‘known gang members’
TEENAGE “gang” members are to be visited in their homes by council staff and police in a bid to steer them away from knife crime.
The idea of home visits was revealed on Friday after council chiefs from both sides of the Camden and Islington border met to discuss their response to the murders of Sharma’arke Hassan, 17, in Camden Town in May and Ben Kinsella, 16, who was stabbed two weeks ago in York Way.
The scheme is already up and running but it is not clear who at the Town Hall or in Camden’s police rooms will decide which teenagers should be categorised as – to use the council’s own words – a “known gang member”.
There were concerns last night (Wednesday) that the visits were “too Big Brother” and risked labelling youths as gang members without justification.
Labour deputy leader Councillor Nasim Ali, who has worked with teenagers for 25 years, said: “I’m not in favour of ad-hoc visits and the Big Brother approach of looking over what people are doing. It has to work over a longer time and before kids get involved in crime.
“If you are going to visit them in the homes you have to look at what you are offering them when you get there. What’s on the table?
“If there isn’t an alternative then it won’t work. I’m in favour of more proactive work rather than reactive work.”
Cllr Ali said the council’s decision to cut funding to youth services in the south of the borough was one of the roots of the problem.
“The cuts were made in places like Gospel Oak, in Camden Town, where there have been the headlines about youth crime,” he said. “Cuts were made in Somers Town and Regent’s Park, which both have a history of youth crime. Funding for youth services shouldn’t be about how well you fill in an application form – it should go to where it’s needed most.”
Cllr Ali warned against exaggerated use of the word “gang”, claiming that it could give loose groups of teenagers “a buzz, and a sense of that there was some sort of glory to it”.
The home visits are part of a raft of measures announced on Friday which Camden and Islington hope could avert another violent tragedy – and the series of pledges came with a plea for youths to give up their weapons.
Camden’s Liberal Democrat leader, Councillor Keith Moffitt, said: “We don’t want any more lives to be wrecked or lost through pointless violence, so we’re asking for all young people to put the knives down.”
Ben, a well-known pupil at Holloway School, whose sister Brooke once starred in EastEnders, was stabbed in the road which splits the two boroughs to the north of Camden Town shortly after leaving Shillibeers bar in North Road.
His death the following day at the Whittington Hospital has left a community grieving.
Residents on the estates around the murder scene have warned that tension may take months to lift, even though Ben’s friends and relatives are already into a second week of campaigning against knife crime.
Ben’s funeral is expected to be held next week.
The council’s summit came less than a week after his death, and was also attended by senior police figures.
Other measures to be used in Camden are a crackdown on shops that sell knives to teenagers and checks on pubs to see if young drinkers are being allowed in with weapons.
Specialist teams will also head to youth clubs to spread awareness about the dangers of carrying knives, while an activities programme catering for 1,000 youths over the summer holidays is planned.
Cllr Moffitt said: “This latest violent and mindless act has highlighted even more the need for cross-border working and co-ordination from all agencies, much of which is already in place.
“The majority of young people in both Camden and Islington are not involved in youth crime – in fact crime in Camden is down by 22 per cent – but for the minority who do carry weapons they are not only risking getting caught but increasing the danger of getting hurt or even killed themselves.”
His opposite number in Islington, Councillor James Kempton, added: “We realise crime doesn’t stop or start at Islington’s boundaries and are making sure that we are working closely with Camden and our other neighbours, as well as with the police, on a joined-up response.” |
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