Cllr Georgia Gould

• LAST week two young men lost their lives in separate incidents, in what was a heart-breaking night in Camden. I know our whole community is devastated and all of our thoughts are with the family and friends of those affected.

I am appalled that these young people have lost their lives in these circumstances, in the very midst of our communities.

I want to reassure all our residents that the safety and wellbeing of our young people and our broader community is our highest priority, and that we are directing all of our attention and available resources to keep you safe.

Since that terrible night extra police officers have been providing 24-hour patrols, with additional police officers providing reassurance to our communities, schools and youth centres.

This has been in partnership with the council’s community presence officers and detached youth team who have also increased the available support.

The Metropolitan Police have now charged an 18-year-old with the two murders but believe other people could be involved and continue to investigate.

So, if you have information about the incidents or ongoing concerns, please make contact with us or the police.

The safety of our young people and the need to tackle the long-term causes of youth violence in Camden is our absolute priority.

We spent £5.1million on integrated youth support services in 2016 to 2017, including services aimed at addressing youth offending.

We have also recently set up a youth safety taskforce, to help us understand the underlying causes and look at what more can be done to keep our young people safe, as well as to see what we can learn from initiatives in other cities.

We have announced an extra £540,000 investment into safety teams to combat youth violence, anti-social behaviour and support rough sleepers and an extra £400,000 for projects to support young people at risk of offending.

I have been overwhelmed by the response of our community groups and residents to Tuesday night’s tragedy and we will be having further community conversations in the next few weeks.

Our young people represent our future and every single young person in Camden is an important part of our community.

The loss of two young people calls on all of us to redouble our efforts to keep young people safe. We know this is a complex and difficult challenge but we are deeply committed to working alongside the police and our communities to put an end to knife crime in Camden.

CLLR GEORGIA GOULD
Leader of Camden Council