Last Thursday’s meeting was a powerful one. Different voices brought their pain and passion to talk about the need for communities, parents, police, education, youth services, social services, local and central government to come together to address the horror of knife crime – which impacts all of us.
We remembered and reflected on the recent deaths in Croydon and Wandsworth. Representatives from police (our BCU Commander, Clair Kelland, along with a detective chief inspector overseeing violence and two schools engagement officers), social work, schools, counselling services and those bereaved by or personally injured through knife offences joined together to share about the pain and trauma, not only for victims, but for those who witness attacks or are connected to them.
Different people put into words our deep desire: for more youth services – giving safe places for young people to be; more access to services that offer trauma advice and therapy; more working together in early intervention to assist children and families from their earliest years; more proactive police engagement with young people and a greater coming together of communities calling for effective measures that address this issue as a matter of priority and urgency. We recognise that not everyone works directly with young people, but that each of us can hold our local and central government to account – to provide safe and effective youth services and an effective response to keep young people safe.
We’re grateful to those people who have offered their skills, expertise and passion to help RTK respond with actions to further develop RTKs impact. Please get in touch via our contacts page if you feel you have an idea, suggestion or skill to advance our work.