According to the British Crime Survey, the most reliable indicator of long-term trends in violent crime, violence nationally fell by 35 per cent. between 1997 and 2006-07. Police-recorded violence against the person in London fell by 8 per cent. between 2005-06 and 2006-07. Estimates for 2007-08 are not available.
The Government are undertaking a wide-ranging programme of work to tackle violent crime. In London, Operation Trident was set up in 1998 in response to a string of what are often called ‘black-on-black’ shootings. It is a Metropolitan Police Service team dedicated to tackling gun crime within the black community. Community involvement has been seen as key to Trident’s success from the outset, with the Trident Independent Advisory Group set up to harness public support and keep officers informed of community views. Trident is widely seen as a successful model and has been emulated in other cities. Adult Trident offences are falling.
The London Youth Crime Prevention Board is a partnership of senior figures from all of the key agencies, which is currently agreeing on a range of new pan-London measures to reduce the flow of young people into early criminality—including those who could go on to commit serious crime. The Board is exploring what more local authorities, schools and the criminal justice system might do to improve youth crime prevention across London. It will seek to instigate a number of changes before completing its work at the end of 2008.
Work on tackling domestic violence continues on a number of fronts. London is working to ensure that there are Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conferences (MARACs) across London. This is an evidence-based approach which allows agencies to manage perpetrators and reduce risk to victims.
The Five Borough Alliance (5BA) was set up this year as a multi-agency response to gangs issues. The boroughs are Croydon, Greenwich, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark. 5BA run a range of programmes and further initiatives are being developed.