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Perry passes knife crime responsibility to community groups

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Another announcement from the council appears to confirm the abandonment of the authority’s attempt to establish a violence reduction unit, and showed Mayor Jason Perry  abrogating responsibility for dealing with one of the most pressing issues in the borough today.

In 2021, Croydon recorded the most murdered teenagers of any London borough. That year five teens, the youngest aged just 14, lost their lives on the streets of Croydon. And in 72 hours over one weekend last month, there were four incidents of youth stabbings in Croydon, a chilling reminder of the recent death toll.

The council’s response has been to offer a meagre fund of just £60,000 to community organisations “to support young people at risk of becoming involved in violence or antisocial behaviour, and help them to stay safe”.

This comes in the same month that Mayor Perry has cut all funding grants to the borough’s voluntary sector.

The fund is less than three-quarters of the amount paid each year in allowances to part-time Perry.

The council chief executive, Katherine Kerswell, is paid a salary of more than three times the amount being offered in the anti-violence fund.

In 2019, before covid and the council’s financial crash, the then Labour-controlled council created a new role, a director of violence reduction network, on a salary of approaching twice the fund’s £60,000. They handed the job to the completely under-qualified Sarah Hayward, who had been ousted as the Labour leader at Camden Council. Many suspected Tony Newman, the discredited council leader, of doing a favour for a Blairite chum.

No impact: Sarah Hayward

Despite being in the role full-time, Hayward delivered the council’s community safety strategy, a legally required document under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, more than two years after it had been due. The “new” strategy, once it appears for 2022 to 2024, was barely changed from the old strategy, and even relied on outdated data from the 2011 Census.

After the council’s financial collapse, Kerswell moved Hayward on, from one well-paid interim role to the next acting directorship. Six months here, nine months there. It looked suspiciously like she didn’t know what to do with Hayward.

Then, for 11 months, Hayward was “director of corporate improvement”, whatever that’s supposed to mean, until February this year, at which point she took on a new job at another local authority. Hayward is now “executive director” at Slough, another bankrupt borough that must be more desperate to recruit staff even than Croydon is.

Since March 2021, Kerswell’s Croydon Council has made no announcement of a replacement for Hayward as director of violence reduction. Any notion of violence reduction appears to have been abandoned, clearly not a priority for those in charge of the ivory tower that is Fisher’s Folly.

Instead, they have come up with a woefully inadequate pot of cash, in an effort to outsource some of the responsibility for curtailing youth violence to the voluntary sector, the same voluntary sector that Mayor Perry has completely defunded in his latest council budget which included his 15per cent Council Tax hike.

The fund, according to the council, is for local organisations “to bid for grants to deliver targeted activities for young people in two priority areas – the town centre and New Addington”.

The council press release states: “The funding is aimed at groups that have a trusted relationship with local communities and a strong track record in helping to improve young people’s lives.

“The grant programme is part of the council’s commitment to work in close partnership with residents, businesses and the voluntary, faith and communities sector to help children and young people stay safe.” Note that: a “commitment”. Just not much of one.

The money is coming from London’s Violence Reduction Unit and “will be available through an application process with organisations able to come together to bid if they wish to partner up”.

Applications can be submitted to safercroydonadmin@croydon.gov.uk before a deadline of April 16.

“The funding will be awarded to help young people between the ages of 12 and 25, with organisations providing tailored support to those who are drawn into anti-social behaviour or at risk of being exploited,” the council said.

“One part of the project will be to work with people over the age of 18, helping them with things like finding a job, dealing with substance misuse, and addressing the underlying issues that may lead to getting involved in crime.

“Another part of the project will focus on young people between the ages of 12 and 18 who are vulnerable to exploitation and criminal activity.

£370,000 per year: between them, Perry and Kerswell are paid more than six times the amount being offered in the meagre anti-crime fund

“Croydon Council will work closely with local outreach teams, the police, and schools to identify areas where young people spend time, and engage with them in a positive way.

“Regular meetings will be held with partners to track the progress of this endeavour.
Overall, the project aims to make the community safer by providing support and resources to young people who are most at risk of being drawn into anti-social behaviour or being exploited.”

Perry, meanwhile, washed his hands of dealing with the issues, claiming that Croydon is “fortunate” – his choice of words – “to have many local organisations who know their communities well and are best placed to reach young people”.

Read more: Judge orders CEO Kerswell to face tribunal over racism claims
Read more: Here’s the Mayor and 33 Croydon Tory councillors who THREE times voted in favour of hitting you with a 15% Council Tax hike

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