Community leaders and projects will be put at the heart of a new multi-million pound action plan to stamp out violent youth crime, the leader of Lambeth Council promised this week.

The plan, drawn up by the council and its partners, was launched on Monday in the hope of getting a grip of increasing gang problems in Lambeth.

It includes extending the opening hours of youth centres, especially at evenings and weekends, and sending police into primary schools to “get to children before gang members do”.

Council leader Steve Reed said the aim was to provide “positive options” for young people, blunting the attraction of gangs and crime.

The plan also includes providing more things for young people to do through an extra investment of £1.7m in youth services.

Mentoring programmes will be increased on estates and targeted projects to keep young people away from crime, including the award-winning X-it festival, will be extended.

Coun Reed said: “The real cure for this problem will be to have the community at the heart of the solution.

“It is people at the heart of these communities who understand the problems the best. They have the young people’s respect and the credibility and are the best-placed to help them.”

He said the council would do everything it could to support them, with a total of £5.2m invested in the programme over the next two years.

He also promised more help for single parents, and increased parenting classes to encourage responsible parenting. A hotline may be set up to help parents concerned about their children.

He said the plan would also tackle unemployment - more than 50 per cent in some estates - by providing more skills training.

“We are doing this because it’s a socio-economic problem with a criminal dimension not a criminal problem with a socio-economic dimension,” said Coun Reed.

Yet he said criminals should expect tougher penalties.

The strategy is the result of Lambeth ordering the biggest piece of research ever into the problem of gangs and guns.

“We have had the highest incidents in the country for shootings in the past two years,” he added.

“We didn’t want to point the finger elsewhere but find our own solution.”

To view the strategy visit lambeth.gov.uk/saferlambeth.gov.uk.

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