Hounslow Council, together with the Police, a group of young people and the charity Participation People organised its first ever Serious Violence Summit at Brentford Football Club’s GTech Stadium.
Published: Monday, 24th April 2023
More than 80 people attended the summit including children from four local schools. The event brought together key partners and pupils to discuss and address the themes of serious violence, gangs/group offending and exploitation.
Gursimran Kaur, an attendee, said: “Serious violence is something I don’t come across a lot, but I hear about especially in the UK, it isn’t good and it isn’t something that should continue, we can all play our part in helping stop it.”
The action-packed day featured workshops by Streetdoctors, Sheldon Thomas founder for Gangsline and the Metropolitan Police West Area BCU (Borough Command Unit). The panel discussion focussed on various topics including how the Council is evidencing their commitment to reducing youth violence, the early intervention services to reduce youth violence and interaction between the Police and other statutory services on sharing information.
Councillor Lily Bath, Cabinet Member for Children, Learning and Employment at Hounslow Council w said: “It was a brilliant day; thought provoking and hard hitting. The sessions were powerful and inspirational. The fact that young people helped us organise the event and so many young people attended shows the importance of this topic. They want to be part of the solution to address the serious issue of violence crime. I would also like to thank everyone who helped organise and contribute to the summit.”
Councillor Ajmer Grewal, Cabinet Member for Safety at Hounslow Council, said: “The central theme for our Safer Communities strategy is for residents to be less affected by serious crime. Summits like this are crucial to helping us achieve this. It is the start of something big and let us ensure the collective momentum of this summit will help us reduce cases of serious violence in Hounslow.”
Read more about the Safer Communities strategy.
