Burnt Oak stabbing - time for this madness to stop

Two sixteen year old boys were stabbed yesterday in Watling Park. It appears that the incident happened during a violent robbery. I was alerted by a sudden surge of hits on the blog by people doing google searches for "Burnt Oak Stabbing". I saw this tweet from Barnet Police

Barnet MPS ‏@MPSBarnet

Police are looking for the men that stabbed 2 boys in Watling Park,HA8 on evening of 15 Jan. Contact #CrimestoppersUK or 0208 733 4053. 

There is a big debate about stop and search at the moment. I don't support the concept of randomly stopping every young black person at every opportunity. This undermines trust in the police and prevents people from co-operating. How do we create an environment where the community and the police work together to eradicate the problem? 

The answer is that people have to be brave. People from the community have to work with the police to get the message across to the young people that carrying knives leads to tragedy.  People demand that the police instantly arrest and jail all young people caught carrying knives. I don't believe this is the right approach. Parents won't involve the police for fear of giving children a criminal record. What we need is a way that parents can get the police to get the message across without instantly blighting their kids career prospects. 

That needs a more subtle approach and a building of trust

Burnt Oak Murder - Metropolitan Police respond to Barnet Eye Concerns

Earlier this week, I emailed Barnet Police, detailing some serious concerns regarding  the background issues to the recent murder in Burnt Oak. The text below are my questions and the responses from the Police. 

The responses from the Police are in Blue italics.
-------------------------------------------------

Following the two stabbing incidents in Burnt Oak, I am seeking some clarification on a few issues and concerns which have been raised. I understand that as these are active inquiries you may not be in a position to answer these questions at this time. I am intending to write a blog on the subject. If you reply but do not wish the information to be included, please state specifically what is for public consumption.

 

a) It has been suggested to me that brothels in Barnet are run by organised gangs

b) It has been suggested that there are links between gangs involved in brothels and gangs involved with sale of drugs

c) It has been suggested that the gangs involved in brothels are involved in people trafficing and procurement of underage girls

...we keep active and open minds in relation to all the points you raise...but to answer them specifically

 

a), b) and c) obviously this can't be ruled out, however, the last intelligence assessment we had indicated that these were not drivers in Barnet. In other boroughs they are. This is why we keep alert to the issue and our Safer Neighbourhood teams gather information and intelligence.  Where intelligence does support organised crime the Borough will work in partnership with the MPS's dedicated team who deal with Trafficking and Prostitution. We do need the help of the public in this and other crime related matters as it is the public who hold the information. Safer neighbourhood teams can be contacted by the public with information, but if they wished to remain anonymous, they can use CrimeStoppers on 0800 555 111 or the MPS Trafficking Freephone number 0800 783 2589. We are determined to curb creation and growth of gangs in Barnet as we do see the impact in other parts of London.

 

 

d) There are over 50 brothels known to the police in Barnet

e) Safer neighbourhood teams are not enforcing the law with regards to laws on prostitution

 

d) and e) The number can be subject to change depending on all sorts of factors including police activity. We look to work with partners and use a problem solving approach, such as management of premisies through licensing procedures and issuing closure notices on landlords who allow properties to be used for prostitution. We do undertake quite a bit of activity with regard to such premises having taken into account the impact on the people who live and work in their locale.

 

I think it's important to note that we have to prioritise activity and target those that are most problematic from a crime and disorder perspective and the links to more serious crime. The big challenge in all this is that we simply displace activity to another location. Without being flippant, prostitution is often referred to as the oldest profession ( I think farmers argue that they are!) and the issue of enforcing the laws relating to it have been problematic since the inception of formal policing....enforcement alone simply moves the problem or drives it from the street into premises. Clearly, another challenge is around the supply and demand. There is a huge demand for sexual services and since time immemorial there has been a supply of women offering sexual services otherwise these places wouldn't be viable.

 

There is a much wider debate about how to tackle this in a way which safeguards women in the sex industry as well as preserving quality of life issues for residents and enforcement activity from the police is only one strand of activity.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

I hope that the response offers some degree of reassurance that organised crime is not perceived as major problem in Barnet.

More comment from the Police on this story  in the Times - 

http://www.times-series.co.uk/news/9148452.Burnt_Oak_murder_brothel_was_closed_by_police_in_mid_April/

As with many things, the view of the Police is that whilst Barnet has problems, they are nowhere as serious as those in some other London Boroughs. I believe we need to see visible Policing in Burnt Oak as a priority to reassure local people of this. I find the Police helpful and approachable when discussing such issues. I really think that these messages should be being communicated by the people elected to do it, but they seem to have outsourced responsibility for keeping the people informed to the Bloggers of Barnet as part of the OneBarnet cost savings program.

OneBarnet and the destruction of Youth Service in Burnt Oak

Readers of this blog will be aware of the terrible news affecting Burnt Oak this week. One horrific murder and another stabbing are the top stories on the Edgware Times website. As if Burnt Oak hasn't suffered enough, Barnet Council are finishing the job. They really don't care about this area, one of the most deprived in Barnet.

This report - http://committeepapers.barnet.gov.uk/democracy/reports/reportdetail.asp?ReportID=10506 -  details how Barnet Council are withdrawing Youth Services from Burnt Oak, as well as Hendon Youth base and Dollis Valley Rainbow Youth Centre. How on earth can anyone think this is a sensible policy, in light of the social problems exposed this week. The purpose? To save £1.65 million. To quote the report :-

Phase one of the Youth Offer project involved restructuring the service and
implementing a new service model bringing together funding streams, resources and
expertise of six youth support services; making the required savings and ensuring
that greater joined up working would reduce the risk of the most vulnerable young
people being adversely affected by the cuts.

The Youth Offer project has enabled savings of £1.65m in 2011/12 in accordance
with the medium term financial strategy.

The aim of the project is as follows:-

The new service: Youth Support Service aims to target provision and support across all services for young people and families, to those who are most vulnerable and at greatest risk of disengagement (e.g. involvement in crime, poor school attendance, unemployment, lack of qualifications or aspirations) and poor outcomes.

So hands up then . Who thinks shutting a youth centre in Burnt Oak in times of great financial hardship will achieve these aims? Well if you want to know, it says on the front page :-

Contact for further information:
Andrew Charlwood, Overview & Scrutiny Manager, Corporate Governance Directorate
020 8359 2014, andrew.charlwood@barnet.gov.uk

And who issued the report :-

Nandu Valji, Project Manager
Claire Johnston, One Barnet Programme Manager

If you wonder what all the fuss is about in Barnet when we talk about OneBarnet - read this bit of bolloxspeak - it's the conclusion of a report saying "Lets shut down a major part of the Borough's Youth service provision"

6. Conclusion
The project has performed against the objectives set out and agreed in the PID.Relevant project management documents (Business Case, Project Initiation Document (PID) and Project Plans) were in place, kept up to date and utilised throughout the project lifecycle. Any outstanding  items have been identified and agreed between the project team and service lead and subsequently handed across to the service to deliver as business as usual.

It really is a shameful document. Just to remind you where the priorities in Barnet lie, when it comes to saving money. They shut Childrens centres, but the pay CEO Nick Walkley over £200,000 per annum and the contractor Andrew Travers, who is his deputy £14,000 a month. Can you guess how many senior officers are on over £100,000 a year?  Let me tell you - enough to sack half of them all and save all these front line services. Guess how many senior officers have had a pay cut in these "difficult times" when we are  "all in it together". This is why some of us write blogs in Barnet.

Were reports of third Burnt Oak stabbing a sick hoax?

Last night, as I was exchanging twitter messages with a member of the Hendon Times editorial team, a friend posted a string of messages indicating that a third stabbing had occurred in Burnt Oak. A telephone call was made to the London Ambulance Service and the police were notified. Many twitter messages sprung up.

In the circumstances, I stopped tweeting. I felt that it wasn't appropriate, if a third stabbing had occurred. I just felt that it was not the right thing to do.

Today the Hendon Times reports that "No victim had been found".

http://www.times-series.co.uk/news/9147103.Reports_of_third_Edgware_stabbing_unsubstantiated/

Were the reports part of a sick hoax? Sadly it seems such things are all too common. I'm just thankful that it appears the reports were unfounded. I suppose it is inevitable in a society where the ruling class give the impression of not caring, that people will respond in such a stupid fashion. There is a saying "Nature Abhors a vacuum". There is a complete vacuum when it comes to leadership from the local Conservative politicians who are paid a fortune to try and make our community a better place, both in the Council and in Parliament.

Two stabbings and not a peep from Barnet Council- http://www.barnet.gov.uk/press_releases.htm
as for our MP, Matthew Offord - could he have made a less impressive contribution? - http://barneteye.blogspot.com/2011/07/burnt-oak-murder-matthew-offord-finally.html

Another day, another Burnt Oak Stabbing, still no comment from Matthew Offord MP

I arrive home this afternoon to find the news in the Hendon Times that there has been another stabbing in Burnt Oak :-

http://www.times-series.co.uk/news/9145145.Burnt_Oak_stabbing_witness_describes_victim_s_screams/

Coming only two days after a murder near Burnt Oak station, I cannot tell you how alarming I find the news. This story sounds awful, a mother attacked, daughter threatened, man stabbed. Our local MP, Matthew Offord has still not even mentioned it on his twitter feed, this is his second message since the first stabbing :-

@HendonMP Matthew Offord

Constituent and I meeting with FCO minister

 What on earth does Offord think he is paid to do? He should have visited the site at the first possible opportunity, spoken to local residents and the police and tried to reassure the people of Burnt Oak that he is doing everything in his power to ensure that their safety is his top concern. He has unique access to senior police and should be updating us on their progress and urging witnesses to come forward. 

Does it not occur to Mr Offord that local people are actually rather worried. Whilst no one expects him to personally investigate, he can reassure people that the Police are on top of the situation. I am sure the police are doing a fine job, but they need the support of the community to solve these crimes and protect us. An MP who shows that he's concerned by meeting people and letting us know that he's taking an interest is surely a central part of the picture. Yesterday Matthew Offord posted a tweet (reported here) that he'd been out canvassing.  I cannot imagine a situation where the former MP, Andrew Dismore would have totally ignored a murder in this way in the constituency. 

On another related matter, the Hendon Times has reported the identity of the man killed on Sunday morning as Carlos Roberto Oliveria, a 27 year old Brazilian man, living in Clapham.

http://www.times-series.co.uk/news/9145718.Burnt_Oak_murder_victim_identified/

The report states that it is not thought that Mr Oliveria was a cleint of the brothel, where the stabbing took place. Yesterday I took strong issue with the Hendon Times and it's assistant editor, Tim Jones, regarding the tone of the story and how the victims family may feel at what had been printed. Mr Jones responded on his twitter feed in forthright terms, stating that I should stick to facts (even though his own article only mentioned a police "theory"). I feel vindicated in my comments that they should have waited until the "facts" were established, before they printed  a story which could have caused grave upset to the family. I must say that I think the todays story by Jack Royston is a far better and more balanced piece, with which I have no issue. They have also removed the comments I left criticising them for comments in the story - apparently to prevent "racist" comments being left by other people.

Of course it is their website and they can do what they like with it. I personally believe the Times should be a responsible community newspaper and exercise a degree of discretion when printing stories about local people. I think that waiting until facts have been established, if someone has died in a way which may cause his family hurt, is not too much to ask. I have had a few emails about the harsh tone and extreme language I used. Yes, I agree that this went way beyond what I would normally ever write in this blog, but I wished to make sure TIm Jomes at the Times read them and gave them some thought. As he clearly did, I feel vindicated in my approach. I don't seek to pick fights or abuse people, but sometimes we all need a wake up call. I know I do and I think TIm Jones did. 

What troubles me about this whole issue. Would our MP have said nothing to the Press or to Twitter if it was in the richest part of Hendon, rather than the poorest. It may surprise (then again it might not) readers to know that it isn't only part of Hendon to house brothels. I had an amusing experience knocking on the door of one when I was canvassing for the Lib Dems, above a shop in Mill Hill Broadway during the last Council elections. What concerns me is the issue of brothels acting as a magnet and focus for organised criminals. If this is the case, then we need police action. If gangs are moving in, then we may see more such disturbing scenes. That is why it is essential that Offord gets in and gets a grip. There is a well known and well documented link between the sex industry, the drugs industry and organised crime.  I happen to believe that it is the duty of the council and our MP's to ensure that these issue are not allowed to take a hold in our neighbourhood, be it Burnt Oak, Brunswick Park, Brent Cross or anywhere in between. As it stands, we just have a disinterested silence.

*** Note : Edited 07:40 - The story I objected to has not been removed from site. The DE of the Times stated the comments had been deleted to prevent other people leaving "racist comments". Tim Jones also wished for me to correct his name, which I had listed as Tom Jones. Apologies to Tom Jones for any embarrassment caused, as well as to Tim Jones