During the summer, the Islington Labour councillors for Tollington ward – Cllr Richard Watts, Cllr Anjna Khurana and Cllr Flora Williamson – visited Blenheim Court with local MP Jeremy Corbyn and spoke to residents about their concerns about crime and anti-social behaviour on the estate.

Since the visit, the councillors have been working with council officers to improve security on the estate. This has led to new temporary CCTV cameras being installed to provide reassurance to residents and ensure anyone acting unlawfully is caught.

The councillors have also secured an increase in the number of Council safety checks and police visits to the estate, making sure residents feel safe at all times of day. Further work is being carried out with Council staff to assess security on the estate in detail and see what further safety measures are needed.

However, the job of keeping Islington safe is made harder by continued cuts by the Tory Government, that have seen over 300 local police officers cut from Islington alone since 2010. Islington Labour is clear that making the borough a fairer place for all has to include tackling crime and preventing young people from becoming involved in dangerous activity.

In the last few years, to help prevent and tackle crime, the Council has invested an extra £2 million in targeted services to help support young people at risk of turning to crime, upgraded CCTV cameras that help to deter and catch criminals, and pioneered joint working with the police to tackle gangs.

Cllr Richard Watts said:

“Local people deserve to be safe, and to feel safe, in our community and that’s why we have worked hard to secure this extra CCTV on Blenheim Court.

 

“Whilst progress is being made in tackling crime thanks to our local approach, the government’s cuts to the police and Council have made it harder to prevent and deal with crime properly.

 

“I am proud that we are doing all we can to help make residents safer in the face of these cuts, but we need the Tory Government to stop the cuts to our local police and to provide additional funding to the police and Council to support our approach that is helping tackle crime across the borough.”