Gangs and Youth Violence

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Karen Buck

Tuesday 1st November 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mrs May]

As I have said in the House on many occasions about the cuts in police spending that are taking place, we know from evidence from Her Majesty’s inspectorate of constabulary and from other factors that it is possible to make cuts in police spending while maintaining front-line services.

[Ms Karen Buck (Westminster North) (Lab)]

The single most important thing that we can do is to create sustained trusting relationships between young people at risk of gang violence and responsible adults, whether volunteers in voluntary youth organisations or workers in statutory youth organisations. May I make a plea to the Home Secretary that we break with recent tradition and do not just make interventions that last 12, 20 or 30 weeks, which disrupt those relationships and often cause more damage than they prevent, but make sure that the interventions are there for years—for the duration? That is the way in which we shall disrupt the dysfunctional relationships of the street, and sometimes in families, that have led to the crisis.

[Mrs May]

I have made it clear that what I am talking about today is the start of a process; it is important that it is sustained over the long term, because as the hon. Lady says, that is the way we shall make a real difference to people’s lives.