Abstract
This chapter is discussing the intersection of what is arguably an epidemic, and a pandemic, both of which can be fatal. In recent years there has been an epidemic in youth violence and crime, particularly in East London, and in the London Borough of Newham, where knife crime cases and youth knife injuries in particular have been consistently higher than comparator boroughs and London as a whole between 2013 and 2017. The chapter discusses in some detail the pre-pandemic Newham Keeping Safe (hereafter NKS) intervention aimed at vulnerable teenagers, proposing how this type of intervention could be adapted to the changing conditions of COVID-19 restrictions, and exploring the broader psychosocial implications for future interventions that aim to reduce the criminal exploitation of vulnerable young people, as we ‘open up’, or, at least, travel through new sets of changing conditions and restrictions. Such an endeavour requires that we reflect on what future levels of social distancing combined with more digital connections and practices could mean. Future interventions, we argue, need to include a reflection on the complex needs of children and families, and fathom the impact of interventions and their future post-COVID-19.
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Notes
- 1.
MOPAC Weapon enabled Crime Data Dashboard and population data from ONS.
- 2.
Mayor of Newham’s Youth Safety Board: Report and recommendations, December 2019.
- 3.
Newham Youth Offending Team data 2017/18.
- 4.
Mayor of Newham’s Youth Safety Board: Background and evidence briefing youth safety in Newham, December 2019.
- 5.
Taken from Mayor of Newham’s Youth Safety Board: Background and evidence briefing youth safety in Newham, December 2019.
- 6.
The London Borough of Newham (LBN) were awarded funding by the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) to deliver a pilot to support children and families who were at risk of becoming involved in violent crime and/or criminally exploited, and to reduce the instances of this occurring over time. Funding for this time limited pilot began in July–August 2019 and ended on 31 March 2020, and the resulting NKS intervention.
- 7.
English speakers of other languages.
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Acknowledgements
The evaluation that is reflected upon and summarised in this Chapter was commissioned by the London Borough of Newham (Children and Young People’s Services) with additional funding from the University of East London (UEL) Strategic Priorities Fund. The views and opinions reported in this Chapter are those of the authors and not those of the Borough of Newham. The authors are extremely grateful to: all the families who participated in this evaluation; the Keeping Safe implementation team; and, everyone in the London Borough of Newham who has been involved with and facilitated the intervention and its evaluation. We also acknowledge the contributions of Prof Angela Harden and Prof Eva Lloyd, of London City University and UEL respectively, who advised on and contributed to the evaluation study that is reflected upon in this Chapter.
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Ravenscroft, A., Salisbury, C., Voela, A., Watts, P. (2021). Addressing the Safety and Criminal Exploitation of Vulnerable Young People: Before, During and After COVID-19 and Lockdown. In: Ellis, D., Voela, A. (eds) After Lockdown, Opening Up. Studies in the Psychosocial. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-80278-3_8
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