Monday, January 07, 2008

Gang Murders a Key Issue in May Election



Today the Boris for Mayor campaign comes out fighting with this advert in the Evening Standard. The murder of 27 teenagers last year is a tragedy, but with two more murders already in the first week of 2008, the death rate is increasing, in line with the growth in violent crime.

Boris proposes the wider use of hand held detectors so that police can find knives and guns without the time and bureaucracy required for a physical search. He is also in favour of trialling live CCTV monitoring on board buses, which are viewed as a no go area by some people, following the introduction of free travel for under 18s.

But it's not all about catching criminals. Boris sees a role for community volunteers who do so much good work to keep young people occupied and entertained - without resorting to crime. Some of the current funding for questionable projects could be diverted to support positive activities for young people.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The Evening Standard is publicising the waste of nearly £1mill given by the Mayor to 'friends' of Lee Jasper for apparently doing nothing.

When is this going to be picked up by the wider media, and when is the Mayor going to be confronted by it at an Assembly question time?