By Tara O’Connor, Local Democracy Reporter
Croydon council is launching a major crackdown to tackle violence in nine neighbourhoods in the borough.
The authority hopes to solve “the underlying causes” of violence, beginning with identifying the areas most at risk.
The areas are Norbury, West Thornton (west), West Thornton (east), Broad Green, Thornton Heath, Selhurst, Fairfields, Shrublands and New Addington.
They were chosen using 13 variables, including the number of hate crimes, school exclusions and deliberate fires, and the rates of domestic violence, employment and income deprivation.
A report from the council’s Violence Reduction Network will be discussed at a council meeting on Tuesday. It was set up in 2019 and treats serious youth violence, including knife crime, as a public health issue.
It said: “To tackle the underlying causes of violence, the borough’s Priority Localities Index identifying the nine priority neighbourhoods in Croydon continues to be of vital importance.”
Violence in Croydon has increased consecutively over the past four years.
In 2021, Croydon had the largest number of teenage knife-related murders in London. Five of the 30 teenagers that were killed in the capital were killed in Croydon.
Croydon’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee will discuss the report at Croydon Town Hall from 6.30pm on Tuesday.
Picture: Croydon Town Hall (Picture: Tara O’Connor)
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