Message from the Mayor about violent crime

I know many Londoners are deeply concerned about violent crime. So am I. 

The causes of serious violence are often decades in the making. Yet we know that intervening early in young people's lives and giving them better opportunities diverts them away from crime. 

Our new Violence Reduction Unit, which met for the first time this week, builds on our public health approach to tackling violent crime. This means treating crime like a disease - first stop it spreading, then address the underlying causes to prevent it happening in the first place. Our new unit brings specialists from the police, health, local government, charities and community groups into one room to work together.

I want to be honest: this is a long-term approach and will not bring about results overnight. And police enforcement remains a top priority - that's why we funded a special Met Police team to tackle violent crime. In just seven months, it's made more than 1,800 arrests and taken hundreds of knives off our streets.

But it's only by addressing the complex root causes that we can reduce crime in the long term. That's why we're also spending £45 million on youth projects to give young Londoners positive things to do, and it's why we've set up this new unit to reduce violence.

My team at City Hall needs Londoners' views to make this work better informed and more effective. More than 1,200 Londoners have already shared their thoughts on making their neighbourhoods safer through Talk London - our online community where you shape our plans. I'd like you to join them and speak up too.  

Share your thoughts on making your neighbourhood safer by signing up to our online community, Talk London. This particular survey is only open until Wednesday 7 November, so take this chance now.

These are just some of the steps we've taken to deal with violent crime. Read about others here. 

Thank you,

Sadiq