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Wrong to blame team
• TORY Gallagher’s letter (Shocking Failures, August 22) about the level of supervision of Martin Dinnegan’s killer, Joseph Chin, and your front-page articles (August 15 and 29) are highly misleading and should be corrected.
It is not correct that Chin was “supposed to be under strict supervision”, as reporter Tom Foot claimed (August 15). It is not correct to say that the supervision of Joseph Chin had been reduced, as was alleged in the letter.
It is not correct that the judge in the case criticised the council in relation to this, or indeed implied criticism of the council.
It is not correct that the requirement by inspectors for training at the youth offending team, which was addressed at the time in 2004, was somehow connected to Martin Dinnegan’s death. The council’s youth offending team in no way “failed in their duty” to monitor Joseph Chin and it is misleading of your reporter to suggest otherwise.
For the record, Joseph Chin was under supervision for 12 months from September 1, 2006. The first 90 days of this supervision was an intensive supervision and surveillance programme ordered by the court.
Ninety days is the maximum legal period for this type of supervision. His tagging and curfew period expired at the end of March 2007. He was not “supposed to be under strict supervision” at the time of the murder of Martin Dinnegan.
The sad truth is that Chin had been making good progress, and had fully complied with his supervision order.
Understanding the circumstances which led to Martin Dinnegan’s death is not helped by people muddying the water or indeed attempting to make party-political points like Mr Gallagher.
Your newspaper should correct the misleading impression you have created and not imply that the council’s youth offending team, which in fact has a strong record for preventing re-offending, well above the average, was somehow at fault.
CLLR URSULA WOOLLEY
Lib Dem executive member for children and young people
• YOUR front-page article was right to highlight the huge risks to safety in Islington posed by the council’s proposed Safer Islington Partnership staff cuts (Team that failed Dinnegan boy faces job cuts, August 29). The axing of these seven jobs, including two front-line posts, will mean a significant reduction in the resources going into the fight against knife crime at a time when there is a graver need than ever for increased investment in these services.
Councillor Terry Stacy’s claim that these cuts can be made “without having a negative impact on community safety services” is dubious at best. Islington Labour believes tougher action on violent crime is urgently needed, and is calling for these cuts to be reversed with immediate effect.
CLLR LISA SPALL
Labour, Caledonian ward
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