Responding to the Government’s refreshed anti-gang strategy, Darren Johnson has raised concerns that the pilot borough for the Metropolitan Police’s anti-gang "Connect" project is short of funds for offering help for young people wishing to leave gangs. Waltham Forest have said that they will have to "consider closing the programme" unless a £1m funding gap for years 2 and 3 of the initiative is forthcoming.
Darren Johnson commented:
"The scheme in Waltham Forest has built on international best practice to tackle gangs using a carrot and stick approach. These partnership schemes have been proven to work but they do rely on local authorities having the money to fund preventative work, otherwise it risks being all stick and no carrot. The Mayor and Met Commissioner have both praised the scheme in Waltham Forest. Now, due to budget cuts, that scheme faces closure if the funding deficit cannot be remedied. If the Government and the Mayor really want to tackle the long term issue with gangs then they need to provide the money necessary to do so."
ENDS
Notes
Darren Johnson wrote to the Leader of Waltham Forest Council in October 2011. The following is an excerpt from the borough’s response:
"As a consequence of funding cuts the programme has an underlying deficit of £1 million in years 2 and 3. If that deficit cannot be remedied the Council will need to consider closing the programme as the scale of the reductions that would be needed would render continuing uneconomical."