The Reader: Early intervention is vital for us to tackle violence in London

THROUGH our schools, as well as faith and community groups, we serve tens of thousands of people across north and east London. The country’s attention has fallen on our neighbourhoods as 55 young people have been killed in knife attacks this year. What makes the news is often only one moment in a life’s journey. Sadly, for too many, it’s the last.

We know and nurture children for years before they are picked up by the police for carrying a knife. We support these young people through changes in their schools, their lives and their bodies. We know them before they become one more arrest, one more death, one more headline.

Sometimes it’s hard to step back and ask what we could be doing better. But that’s what we’re doing. As members of London Citizens we are asking ourselves this summer what we can do differently.

We welcome the call to take a public-health approach to violence — taking the emphasis on dealing with violence back to vital early intervention. Alongside action from the Mayor, police and health services we need to see serious engagement by schools, faith and community groups. We are ready to rise to the challenge.

Bishop Rob Wickham, Bishop of Edmonton, Church of England
Dawn Ferdinand, Headteacher, Willow Primary School, Broadwater Farm
Toufik Kacimi, CEO, Muslim Welfare House, Finsbury Park
Susan Grace, Assistant Head, Newman Catholic College, Brent
Rabbi Naomi Goldman, Rabbi, KOL Chai, The Hatch End Jewish Community
Danny Coyle, Headteacher, Newman Catholic College, Brent
Luljeta Nuzi, Programme Director, Shpresa Programme
Fr Olubunmi Fagbemi, Vicar, Holy Trinity Church, Tottenham
Rev. Stephen Poxon, Superintendent Minister, Haringey Methodist Circuit
Rev. Angus Ritchie, Director, Centre for Theology and Community
Fr. David Smolira, SJ, Parish Priest, St Ignatius Church, Stamford Hill
Sanoobar Patel, Marketing Manager, Leyton Sixth Form College
Rev Rod Green, Vicar, St. Peter's, West Harrow
Salim Kassam, CEO, Muslim Vibe
Percy Aggett, Systemic Psychotherapist and former Associate Clinical Director NHS

EDITOR'S REPLY

Dear Rob

THANK YOU for such an inspiring letter — it means a lot that you represent such a variety of faiths and communities. The rise in violence, and the loss of young life, has shocked the whole capital. As our city’s newspaper we are part of this community.So I wanted us to do more than just report the murders; I wanted us to dig into the causes and come up with solutions. That’s what David Cohen has done. It is investigative reporting at its best — and it has pointed to a solution. Yes, we need tough policing. The decisions by the Mayor and the Prime Minister, when she was Home Secretary, to reduce stop and search were clearly mistakes that are now being reversed.

But we also need to adopt the public- health approach to youth violence, so we tackle the deep-seated causes and not just the symptoms. Rather than just standing on the sidelines and calling on government and City Hall to get their act together, we are putting the resources of our own Dispossessed Fund to work. I would like to take up your offer to help, so together — as a community — we solve the problem and save lives.

George Osborne, Editor

Autistic people can contribute in work

WE WERE encouraged to see the disabilities minister launch the first “calm and quiet” session for autistic job-seekers at Kentish Town Jobcentre Plus [“‘Calm and quiet’ sessions launched to help autistic people find jobs,” July 17].

Our research shows there is an autism employment gap. The vast majority of affected people can, and want to, work but only 16 per cent of adults are in full-time paid employment. What a waste of talent.

Kentish Town Jobcentre Plus is making a step in the right direction but we need Jobcentres across the country to offer this service so autistic people get the right support from staff who understand their challenges but also their strengths.
Sarah Lambert
Head of policy and public affairs, National Autistic Society

Jobs must be kept safe after Brexit

The Government has pledged that Brexit will spark a “race to the top” in terms of regulatory standards and protection. There are three steps that can be taken to realise this ambition.

First, the UK should continue to play a big role in institutions such as CENELEC, the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardisation, and EU-OSHA to ensure we remain a rule-maker, not a rule-taker.

Second, the Government should commit to preserving the protection that current EU legislation affords to UK workers. Finally, Brexit offers the opportunity to improve product certification and marking regimes.

We call on the Government to ensure nobody is less safe as a result of Brexit.
Emma Hardy MP
Diana Johnson MP
Lord Harris of Haringey
Leon Livermore, Chief Executive, Chartered Trading Standards Institute
Errol Taylor, Chief Executive, Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents
Jonathan O’Neill OBE, Managing Director, Fire Protection Association
Anne Godfrey, Chief Executive, Chartered Institute for Environmental Health
Thomas Martin, Chairman, Arco Ltd
David Thomas, Director, Heightsayfe Ltd
Stefan Groch, Chair, Health and Safety Lawyers Association
Professor Paul Almond, Professor of Law, University of Reading
Teresa Budworth, Chief Executive, National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health

Press should know it has boundaries

While I agree with the principles of having a free press, the public’s right to know is not the same as the public’s need to know.

And with respect to Cliff Richard, like all other citizens being investigated in advance of any charges being laid, did the public actually need to know? We, and the press, shouldn’t forget that a person is innocent unless (not until) proven guilty. Cliff Richard remains innocent yet the BBC’s coverage seemed to suggest that he was guilty. After all, “there’s no smoke without fire”.

Of course there are times when disclosing an alleged perpetrator’s name before they are formally charged may assist in identifying other victims and/or witnesses but surely an independent judge should make that decision, not the press.
Pete Dobson

Cyclists a menace to pedestrians

It’s a pity that Will Norman [the Mayor’s cycling and walking commissioner] declined to accompany residents on a walk in Chiswick because he could have seen first hand that a lack of time to cross a road need not be the bar to safe and enjoyable walking in London [“Every green man gives pedestrians right of way,” July 19].

Walking has become increasingly hazardous due to a lack of control over illegal and anti-social cycling on pavements, towpaths and in parks and the dumping of bikes by users of commercial schemes. Multiple near-misses are a daily occurrence for pedestrians and I have been deliberately hit, sworn at and spat at by pavement cyclists necessitating police involvement twice in the last eight weeks alone.

Increasing congestion by giving cyclists privileges on main roads can only make it worse than it is already.
Charlotte Kasner