Community organisations helping combat crime in Luton face 'discouraging' red tape

Too much red tape can discourage community organisations involved in tackling crime and making Luton a safer place to live from applying for funding, according to the founder of a local social enterprise group.

Two drop-in sessions were organised in the town last night (Thursday, October 5) in response to the fatal stabbing of teenager Ashraf Habimana, a week ago.

Residents were invited to voice their feelings about knife crime in the town and hear about progress in trying to combat the problem from representatives of Bedfordshire Police, Luton Borough Council and community leaders.

Managing director at Att10tive Montell Neufville said: “Many people are rightly concerned about what happened. On the other side, everyone is looking towards solutions and working together.

“Clearly plenty of people don’t know about all the work going on behind the scenes, so there’s a communication issue and an awareness problem.

“It’s also about responsibility and not blaming anyone else. It’s not the fault of the council or the police. It’s a whole community approach.”

He suggested potential solutions include “diverting people, helping change people’s behaviours, supporting parents, helping our communities and voluntary sector, which often can only provide short-term interventions before they’re gone again or no longer funded”.

Asked about resources, he replied: “There’s not enough funding or support for community groups and charities. I work with so many.

“It’s the criteria and barriers sometimes put in place for groups to access this finance. Some of the people who do the funding don’t work on the ground, so some groups don’t apply because of the amount of paperwork which is involved.”

As a former chairman of the Bedfordshire Police community scrutiny panel, he added: “The police have got better through specialist departments, such as cybercrime teams, as some of the root causes are to do with this.

“They have a school education team, the community cohesion team has been boosted, and the leadership get it now that it’s a multi-agency approach.

“It’s about the early intervention. They recognise their job isn’t just to chase offenders. It’s to do that early support through school, community groups, events, mentors and diverting people into positive activities.”

As for now, he explained: “Everyone has a role. Offer your help and support to whoever you can. The best coordinating people would be LBC social justice unit.

“They do fantastic work pulling the town’s community groups together with the statutory agencies. It wants more help, more volunteers and to know more about what can be done.”