Peer Courts can slash youth reoffending and revolutionise the way we handle teen offenders
Posted by GLA Conservatives in Blog
James Cleverly, London Assembly Member, is calling for dramatic change in the way we handle teenage criminals. He will ask the Met Police Commissioner to introduce ‘Peer Courts’ – a programme outside the formal criminal justice system where teenagers, including ex-offenders, sentence their peers for minor offences. Sitting just beneath the justice system arm, they offer first time offenders an alternative to the criminal justice system.
James Cleverly said:
“Peer Courts, when organised effectively, have been shown in the US to dramatically reduce reoffending, with some programmes cutting re-offending rates to less than 10% – for those that complete their program. As well as delivering solid results, Peer Courts help young people avoid the criminal justice system, and are significantly cheaper as they are largely run by volunteers. When budgets are tight and when the Mayor has ambitious aims to reduce youth re-offending by 20 per cent, we have to think radically about how we handle young offenders.”
Andrew Boff: Scrap West Ham stadium deal immediately and save our taxpayers extra £25M
Copyright: Ghetty Images
Andrew Boff, London Assembly Member, Olympic Spokesman and Hackney resident says: “The decision to give West Ham the Olympic stadium means Londoners and the nation’s taxpayers have been landed with a poor deal. It is a disgrace that another £25 million from the public purse will now be used to prop up this agreement. I argued from the start that the commitment to retain the athletics track in the stadium would mean more public money being sucked into propping up this developing white elephant. It is disappointing that sound economics has been ignored in the interests of delivering a legacy not fit for purpose. The deal should be scrapped immediately and a commercially viable alternative explored as a matter of urgency.”
Richard Tracey secures Boris Johnson support for Crossrail 2 to Wimbledon and beyond
Crossrail 2 could slash journey times by half
Richard Tracey AM, London Assembly Member for Merton and Wandsworth, has welcomed Boris Johnson’s support for the Crossrail 2 project and urged him to do all he can to persuade the Government to start building in 2018.
Commenting Richard Tracey said: “There are two potential routes for Crossrail 2 and although both routes would travel via Wimbledon, Tooting Broadway and Clapham Junction and be of great benefit to my constituents in Merton and Wandsworth, I am pushing for the second option, which would continue beyond Wimbledon to Kingston, Surbiton and Twickenham. I was delighted that the Mayor agreed with me when I raised this with him at Mayor’s Question Time
Redbridge could become "mini Holland" of cycling
Roger Evans, London Assembly Member for Havering and Redbridge, is calling for Redbridge to be awarded ‘outer London’ funding to transform the borough for cycling.
Roger Evans said: “The Mayor’s recent Transport Vision promised that between one and three outer London boroughs would be given the funding to become ‘mini-Hollands’ of cycling. The aim is that by concentrating spending in relatively few boroughs they can become as cycle-friendly as the Dutch equivalents. At this week’s Mayor’s Question Time I made the case for Redbridge to be one of those boroughs as I think it is ideally suited to become a beacon of cycling excellence.”
The subarban “mini-Hollands” scheme aims to cut down on the number of short car trips. The scheme includes funding for potential cycling routes into central London, quietways through back streets and cycle super hubs at local railway stations.
West Ham stadium deal: "Londoners deserve to know how much they'll have to cough up"
Andrew Boff, London Assembly Member, Olympic Spokesman and Hackney resident reacts to the announcement that West Ham will become tenants at the Olympic Stadium:
“Now that the deal seems to have been finalised, Londoners deserve to know how West Ham are going to make the stadium work for football. West Ham and the LLDC must therefore urgently release the details of how they will use the stadium, including, for example, details of the retractable seating that will have to be installed. The Mayor must also confirm who will be responsible for paying for the costs of converting the stadium to be fit for football. Londoners will want to know how much they will have to cough up, given the vast amounts that the tax payer has already contributed, and also how much West Ham will be contributing.”
Stricter planning criteria and saturation zones to protect London’s pubs as "community hubs"
Steve O’Connell, London Assembly Member, is today launching a report ‘Keeping Local: How to save London’s pubs as community resources’. In it, he calls for London’s borough councils to adopt stringent criteria when considering the redevelopment or demolition of pubs, and a limit to the number of high street shops selling alcohol.
London has seen over 400 former pubs demolished between 2003-2012 – the South East has fared consistently badly with a net annual loss of more than 30 pubs on three occasions during this period. Lewisham has lost 36% of its pubs in the last decade.
Keeping Local
Steve O'Connell working to save the London local pub from extinction
Commuter rebates for home workers could save a zone 6 traveller £350 a year
Roger Evans, London Assembly Member, welcomes the Mayor’s decision to consider flexible ticketing but insists this should be combined with commuter rebates in order to help London’s commuters make significant savings.
“The Mayor’s decision to seriously consider introducing flexible Travelcards is a big step in the right direction. It will mean millions of Londoners have the option of, for example, buying a three-day per week Travelcard. This would make part-time working more affordable for commuters and should encourage those who are able to work from home to do so more often.
Home Works: Why London needs to expand Home Working
Roger Evans, London Assembly Member, is today launching a report “Home Works: Why London needs to expand home working” that calls for a step-change in TfL’s attitude to home working and flexible working.
“Even with Tube upgrades, the building of Crossrail and introducing more carriages on many mainline trains, the rise in London’s population is leading to ever more overcrowding on public transport. Clearly London needs transport investment, but TfL and the Mayor should also be focussing on what they can do to incentivise home working.
“One of the problems is that once people have paid for a Travel Card, there is no financial incentive to use it for less than 5 days a week. In my report I call for more flexibility on ticketing so that Londoners have the option of, for example, buying a three-day per week Travelcard. This would make part-time working more affordable for commuters and should encourage those who are able to work from home to do so more often.
“Oyster technology means this can be easily achieved. It’s time for the Mayor and TfL to make it a reality.”
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