Last week I convened a meeting for residents and businesses in the York Road area of Ilford to address the causes of crime and antisocial behaviour and see what can be done to tackle this issue once and for all.
We live in a fantastically diverse and thriving community; however, it is often blighted by the undercurrent of issues such as drug dealing, drug use and related crime.
So I was really encouraged to see more than 60 people pack out the meeting room, which demonstrated the level of concern and anger from residents and businesses in the York Road area.
Many were clear that much more must be done to crack down on crime.
I was pleased to be joined by Cllr Ross Hatfull, who has done so much brilliant work on this issue already, as well as Sophie Estelle from the Single Homeless Project, which carries out inspiring work across the borough to prevent homelessness and help vulnerable and socially excluded people transform their lives.
I'll be working hard going forward to tackle this issue, including reporting back all of the concerns raised at last week’s meeting to the police and council, and will be holding another public meeting in September so that people can hear directly from the police about this issue.
Finally, if you require support on this issue or any other please do not hesitate to contact me on sam.tarry.mp@parliament.uk.
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