Posts

The E11 BID Co. apparently set to close, but big questions remain

Word reaches me that the E11 BID Co. directors have decided to throw in the towel, and shut their company at Christmas. If true, this is good news, for although the E11 BID Co. claims to have put its disaterous past behind it, there are still enough flaws in its functioning to give grave cause for concern. Well-run companies, for example, submit their accounts on time. But the visitor who looks up the E11 BID Co. at Companies House today is greeted by the following: Meanwhile the E11 BID2 Ltd. remains as big a mystery as ever. We know that LBWF now feeds this recently created entity the BID levy, true, but that is about all. Why exactly the company was set up, what its aims are, and how it i... »

Knife crime in Waltham Forest: a nasty little scandal (3)

Cllr. Liaquat Ali MBE JP is the long-standing LBWF Cabinet portfolio lead for community safety and cohesion, a position which involves, amongst other things, responsibility for the local ‘crime and disorder’ and ‘anti-gangs’ strategies. In recognition of his Cabinet role, and in addition to his councillor’s allowance, Cllr. Ali receives the sum of no less than c. £21,000 p.a. Most people will assume that, as a well-paid portfolio lead, Cllr. Ali rigorously attends the Waltham Forest Safer Neighbourhoods Board (WFSNB), since (a) he is listed as a member of that body (he even includes this information on his LBWF web page, see here http://democracy.walthamforest.gov.uk/mgUserInfo.a... »

Knife crime in Waltham Forest: a nasty little scandal (2)

Following on from my recent knife crime post I e-mailed all the councillors on the Community Safety Scrutiny Committee as follows: ‘Dear Councillors, Please note the following: http://www.walthamforestmatters.org.uk/2017/05/05/knife-crime-in-waltham-forest-a-nasty-little-scandal/ The knife crime figures plus associated Sanction Detection Rates (SDRs) are a real scandal, blighting the lives of many young people right across the borough. In particular, I am interested to know what if anything you have done about the risible SDRs. Is it not time for a full inquiry as to why (for many serious crimes) these are so far out of line when compared with other boroughs? Yours sincerely, Nick Tira... »

Knife crime in Waltham Forest: a nasty little scandal (1)

The Waltham Forest Guardian’s Joe Roberts recently reported that between April 2016 and April 2017 there were 384 knife crimes in the borough, 34 per cent up on the previous year. These figures are shocking enough in themselves, but data released in response to a new Freedom of Information Act inquiry reveals that the surge in such violence has a further worrying dimension. Police performance in clearing up crime is measured by Sanction Detection Rates (SDRs). Briefly, a ‘sanction detection’ is recorded where a suspect has been identified as responsible for committing a particular offense, and then receives ‘an official sanction’, for example is charged, or receives a caution. So the SDR for... »

John Cryer MP: a news roundup

When John Cryer moved his home to Lewisham in 2015, many Labour party members hereabouts were disappointed, as they believed he had pledged that, as long as he represented Leyton and Wanstead, he would live there too. But any outright criticism was muted, because Mr. Cryer seemed motivated by the most touching of human concerns. He had recently married Labour activist Ellie Reeves, and they now had a very young baby. The reason for the move, he explained, was all about his wife and child. As he told the Waltham Forest Guardian: ‘“After our baby was born in January we both found it very difficult without any family nearby. We did not want to move and wanted to stay in Leyton but decided to mo... »

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