One of the most depressing passages of time I can recall in this job was when there was a very significant spike in the incidence of serious youth violence which affected individuals and communities across London.  In 2008, 29 young Londoners died as a result of such violence – much of it associated with knife crime.

That relative improvement, however, allied to some marked reductions in the volume of gun discharges and incidents where a knife was used to injure a victim under 25 years of age are a positive reflection on the efforts of a wide range of public service and voluntary sector partners, both at the pan London level and locally.