Safety & Crime

Catherine West MP chatting to local police officers

Violent crime has shot up over recent years at the same time as devastating Tory and Lib Dem austerity has seen 21,000 police officers taken off UK streets, 760 youth centres closed and schools at crisis point. Boris Johnson’s promised new officers won’t even replace those lost.

In Parliament, I’ve led a debate on violent crime in our borough, met with the Home Secretary to urge an end to police funding cuts and called for a special fund to help children at risk of school exclusion. Hundreds of local people signed the open letter I delivered to Prime Minister Boris Johnson urging him to act now on this national emergency.

My latest updates on this issue

Shooting in Green Lanes, Tuesday 21 September

I was saddened to hear from the Police that a murder investigation has been launched after the tragic death of a young man in Green Lanes, close to the junction of West Green Road, following a shooting on the evening of Tuesday 21 September 2021. My thoughts are with the…

Making Hornsey & Wood Green safer for young people

Every time a young Londoner dies as a result of violent crime, it is absolutely heart-breaking and leaves families and communities devastated. After ten years of austerity and millions of pounds slashed from council budgets, crime prevention programmes have been scaled back and youth centres that provided a safe refuge…

How The Labour Party would tackle Crime and Safety for Women and Girls

In light of the Government’s failure to make our society safer for women, The Labour Party has published a Green Paper on how to end the epidemic of violence against women and girls. You can read the full report here. Under a Labour Government, we would: Make misogyny a hate…

Women’s safety on our streets

The horrific murder of Sarah Everard was a monumental moment for everyone in this country, especially for women and girls who do not feel safe on our streets. As more and more details emerged about the horrific disappearance and brutal murder of this young woman and after the arrest of…

Survey: Please share your views on safety in Hornsey & Wood Green

Ten years of Tory cuts to our courts, police, vital youth services and mental health support has seen violent crime rise and victims left waiting far too long for justice. Nothing is more important than keeping you, your family and our neighbourhood safe and I know how worried people are…

Urgent action needed to tackle violent crime

This month has seen yet more violent crime on Haringey’s streets, including a double shooting and a number of stabbings. I have attended the Police Gold Group meeting, carried out community reassurance visits and written to the Home Secretary Priti Patel to urge action to combat this growing menace. That…

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