Hackney launches new initiative to combat knife crime and robbery

Hackney launches new initiative to combat knife crime and robbery

Hackney Council and the Police are carrying out a programme of increased outreach support, enforcement, and educational workshops to prevent knife crime and knife enabled robberies this autumn.

Led by Hackney Council's Community Gangs Team, the project aims to address the underlying social, educational, mental health and employment factors that can lead to violent crime by providing direct support to a range of at-risk groups. This includes training and workshops with young offenders, as well as outreach work in areas where there is a higher than average rate of knife crime.

Alongside this, the Community Gangs Team will work with local agencies to deliver educational workshops in schools and community centres. These sessions are designed to help young people and their parents or carers understand the risks of carrying a knife, including the legal implications, how to spot the signs that someone may be at risk of becoming involved in gang violence, and provide advice on the support available.

The Police and Council's community safety officers will also intensify enforcement measures to target knife crime and knife-enabled robbery. This includes increased police patrols, CCTV monitoring, weapon sweeps to take knives off the street, and pop-up events to distribute mobile phone anti-theft tags designed to make it easier for the police to recover stolen phones and convict thieves.

Funded by London's Violence Reduction Unit and delivered in partnership with the Metropolitan Police, Young Hackney, local agencies and schools, the initiative will take place during October and November, with future phases planned for next year.

As part of the activities, the Community Gangs Team are also engaging with young people to understand their views on knife crime and work together to co-design activities for the next phase of the programme.

The initiative comes in response to a rise in concerns about knife crime and knife-enabled robberies, which have increased across London since 2020 but remain lower than the pre-pandemic level.

It follows the Community Gangs Team's broader strategy, which approaches gang violence as a preventable public health issue. They work as a multi-agency team, including police officers, outreach workers, probation officers, youth offending support workers, and mentoring services, to prevent and divert people away from being involved in serious crime. They do this by providing a range of support services, such as skills-based training, mentoring and sports coaching opportunities, and work with the community to set up local projects to improve the area.