‘We are not prepared to put up with knife crime any longer in our community’-Barking and Dagenham Leader takes strong stance in the battle against knife crime.

“We are taking and always have taken a tough approach to knife crime,” says the Barking and Dagenham Council Leader.

Councillor Darren Rodwell is a much respected leader of the council right across London and he has always taken a hands on approach to the toughest of problems including the ongoing battle against knife crime.

“We must all take responsibility when it comes to knife crime, we must work as a community.

“As a council we have now taken the decision to install CCTV cameras across playgrounds and parks, along alleyways and near railways bridges. We know that the installation of CCTV will not stop knife crime, but it will help.

“Our staff are now being trained to use first aid kits and the Daniel Baird bleed kits that have been donated by the Ricky Hayden Memorial.

“More police is also needed on our streets. For the last thirteen years I have been asking for more police officers. We know knife crime does not discriminate.

“We launched a petition to ask for more police officers and eight years ago we began funding for extra police officers ourselves as a borough.”
Councillor Rodwell, does not mess about. He not only gets the job done, but always puts the community at the centre of his plans.

“I have been speaking with the Mayor’s office for years now to try and get more police officers on our streets. I have recently written to the Met Police Commissioner to ask for officers here.

“As a council we also launched the Lost Hours project in 2020, working with bereaved parents and the Ben Kinsella Trust. We work closely with schools to highlight the horrors of knife crime.

Councillor Rodwell is keen to stress the importance of parents to play their part in the battle against knife crime.

“Parents must take responsibility of knowing where their children are, that is important. We are doing as much as we can as a council and are not prepared to put up with this as a community any longer.

“If your child is involved in an incident and knows who the perpetrators are and refuses to speak out, we will look at reviewing your housing agreements as it is important that we all work together as a community. Everyone must play their part in stopping these crimes. As parents it is upto us to know where our children are and that we play an active role.

“If families know their relatives are linked to crime, they must speak up or we will start to look at tenancy agreements.”

Councillor Rodwell is a no nonsense leader who actively engages with his residents everyday.

“We need residents to all play their part across Barking and Dagenham to stop this, so many young people are suffering. Now is the time that we all unite to stop knife crime”, finished Councillor Rodwell.

Barking and Dagenham Council are very proactive under the leadership of Councillor Rodwell, his tough stance on knife crime is what many members of the community are calling for and happy to see.

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