Children exposed to domestic violence, deemed vulnerable or those seeking to leave gang culture are set to get more support thanks to a new borough-wide scheme.

Waltham Forest Council’s violence reduction partnership, launched today, will bring representatives from the police, education, health and charities to do more to tackle violence in the area.

The idea is for partners to work collectively with those living in Waltham Forest to tackle crime and the factors which make young people more susceptible to violence.

Former Government advisor on anti-social behaviour and troubled families, Dame Louise Casey, spoke alongside council leader Cllr Clare Coghill, at the launch event at Sir George Monoux Sixth Form College in Walthamstow.

MPs Iain Duncan-Smith and Stella Creasy were also in attendance, as well as senior officers from the Metropolitan Police.

The new partnership approach led to the recent pilot in St James Street, Walthamstow, which had seen a sharp rise in serious violence during 2018.

Over a six-month period, the operation saw 70 arrests, 15 knife seizures and a recorded 38 per cent decrease in knife crime in the area.

There are currently 17 people awaiting sentencing as a result.

The new partnership scheme aims to:

Stop violent acts at source: working to pursue and prosecute those involved in violent crime, gang activity and Anti-Social Behaviour.

Treat those exposed to violence: protecting those who victimised, abused and exploited through violent crime and gang activity.

Support those vulnerable to violence: identifying those exposed to violence and supporting them early on, ending the cycle of violence.

Strengthen community resilience: inviting all residents to build community networks, to encourage cooperation and support at a local level.

Dame Louise Casey said: “What I found in my time working with the most difficult families, is that if you get it right, you can really make a difference. If we tap in to our basic humanity and listen right, we can help the people who seem most difficult to reach.”

Iain Duncan-Smith MP: “This isn’t party political, because the residents of this borough do not want politics, they want solutions.”

As part of the scheme 10,000 primary school children will go through a Life Skills resilience programme between 2019 and 2022 and Young Advisors, a group of young people who work with schools and the council, will work to improve the relationship between young people and the police.

The partnership will see enhanced support provided for children identified as vulnerable during the transition from primary to secondary school.

Greater support will be given for children exposed to early trauma, such as witnessing domestic violence, with swifter access to child and adolescent mental health services.

More support will also be given to children affected by criminal exploitation, such as young girls affected by county lines activity.

The council and Metropolitan Police have vowed to work together targeting hot spots in the borough to address criminal activity and antisocial behaviour.

Waltham Forest’s Gang Prevention Programme, which has run since 2011, also announced today that it has commissioned five new service providers to support young people seeking to leave gangs.

Dame Casey added: “No parent should have to go to a morgue to identify the body of their child. The rise in violence we are seeing amongst our young people degrades us as a society.

“Waltham Forest’s Violence Reduction Partnership is a step in the right direction, addressing not just the symptoms, but the causes of violence amongst our young people, in a substantial bid to end it.”

Council leader Cllr Clare Coghill said: “This is the number one concern for our residents and we all need to redouble our efforts and pledge to do more or we will continue to see young lives lost and communities devastated by the senseless violence we see too often on the streets of the capital.”

Knife crime is rising across London, and half of those killed with a gun or knife in London are aged between 15 and 24.