Domestic and sexual violence need to be tackled to combat street violence, a meeting heard.

Street violence and knife crime was at the top of the agenda at Monday (January 21) night’s Croydon cabinet meeting.

London’s deputy mayor for policing and crime, Sophie Linden, was there to speak to councillors about crime in the borough.

Croydon Council is setting up a Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) which will address violence as other public health problems.

Sophie Linden told councillors: “We are going to see the difference locally and it is you, as a local authority, that really knows your community that will really make that long-term difference.”

But she added that while the public health approach is important, a focus on enforcement is still important in tackling violence in the short term.

She said: “If you are treating violence as a disease you have to treat the disease as it is presenting now. That’s why the mayor has put £15 million into the new violent crime task force.

“For me the violence reduction unit and the public health approach is about ensuring that after the arrests the Met has made, and after they bring down that violence, that is sustained and continued so we don’t have generations having the same difficulties and problems with violence.

“It’s absolutely about street violence and knife crime but it is also about that link with domestic violence and sexual violence.”