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North Mid joins forces with the Met and Spurs to engage young people on reducing youth-on-youth violence

Doctors and nurses from North Mid, local Metropolitan police leaders in Enfield and Haringey, and representatives from the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation came together with local young people to pledge to work together to reduce youth-on-youth violence.

The ‘Youth Innovation Hub’ took place at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and forms part of Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley’s 100-day plan where he wants to deliver the best possible policing for London, through his mission of ‘more trust, less crime and high standards’.

Community leaders and young people heard from North Mid staff about the health impact and the long-term consequences of youth-on-youth violence, including knife crime, in the local area. From October 2021 to October 2022, North Mid treated 831 people due to violent crime, including blunt and penetrating trauma injuries.

Following talks from staff at North Mid, the Met and the Spurs Foundation, young people took part in sharing ideas on what more could be done to better improve relationships with community leaders and how to make the local area safer. Community leaders made a commitment to use these ideas and align efforts across the public and voluntary sectors in order to make a genuine difference.  

Dr Nnenna Osuji, chief executive at North Mid, said: “It’s incredibly important that we, as community leaders, work in partnership with young people to reduce the violent crime in our local communities. Our teams treat far too many people who have been victims of youth-on-youth violence, including knife crime, and everyone at North Mid is committed to helping to reduce this.

Young people listening to North Mid staff

“This event was a good opportunity to share ideas and hear directly from young people about what more we can do, and it’s vital that all organisations that come into contact with children and their families use these insights to tackle the issue.”

Tara Tewarie, programme manager at Tottenham Hotspur Foundation, said: “We know that youth violence continues to impact our community and it is incredibly important that young people are involved in discussions.  

“The Youth Innovation Hub was an effective way to explore solutions and we were pleased to utilise our stadium to help facilitate constructive conversations between young people and the Met Police”.

Sergeant Farhan Asghar said: “Strengthening community policing is at the heart of the Commissioner’s 100-day plan. Community engagement events, like the youth innovation hub at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium are crucial to truly focus and prioritise our activities and initiatives to deliver the policing that communities want.

“It was fantastic to hear directly from young people, and we were privileged to hear from their lived experiences, which we hope will help to improve trust and confidence among young people. It was also important for us to give them a voice to effect changing in local policing by looking at innovative solutions to tackle knife-crime.

“The work doesn’t stop here – we are going to write up a report of the recommendations suggested and will actively work on delivering those that are achievable and realistic and continue to engage with the young people involved in the new year.”

North Mid staff presenting

The event 

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