‘Youth hub’ held in bid to build trust in local policing

Less than half of Londoners think the Met Police does a good job
By Olivia Opara

The Metropolitan Police held its first ‘youth innovation hub’ in Haringey in a bid to restore confidence in its local policing.

The community engagement initiative is part of new Met Police commissioner Sir Mark Rowley’s 100-day plan to deliver the “best possible policing for London” through his mission statement of “more trust, less crime and high standards”.

The hub was hosted at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where the Met Police was joined by doctors and nurses from North Middlesex Hospital, Haringey Youth Advisory Board, council leader Peray Ahmet, Tottenham Hotspur Foundation, plus other community leaders.

Dr Nnenna Osuji, North Mid’s chief executive, said: “It’s incredibly important that we, as community leaders, work in partnership with young people to reduce 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 reduce this.”

According to data from the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (Mopac), only 49% of residents believe the Met Police do a good job in their local area, falling by 4% from the previous year. Speaking to young people, HCP found there is still a lack of trust in the police and that some dislike the Met’s approach to tackling youth crime.

“Some of them are nice but I just don’t like the way they approach us,” said Tottenham teen, Sherkade. “Some of them take it too far.”

Sherkade believes the force used by police during stop and searches is not always needed and says there’s too much “physical touching” involved. However, he agrees that if someone is resisting and poses a threat, then a level of force is understandable.

“I always communicate with the police when they stop and search me,” said Sherkade. “I am always willing to do it, but don’t put me in handcuffs roughly.”

Mopac data also found that just 53% of Haringey residents agree the police treat everyone fairly regardless of who they are, falling by 13% since June 2021.

In one example, Sherkade and two boys were riding their bikes in his neighbourhood when they were stopped by police. Only Sherkade and the other black boy were handcuffed. “Why wasn’t the white boy handcuffed?” he asks. “This is what I don’t like – it’s their racism.”

The Met Police sees the youth innovation hub as an opportunity to engage and collaborate with young people and local communities in Haringey and Enfield on how the local police can better tackle crime such as youth violence and increase community trust and confidence.

Sherkade said: “If they start changing the ways of what they are doing and how they are doing it, maybe people will begin to start liking them and trusting them. But right now, they are not trusted.”

There are plans underway to host another innovation hub in the new year as the police are currently evaluating the recommendations and suggestions for change made by young people. Sergeant Farhan Asghar said: “It was fantastic to hear directly from young people [but] 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.”

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