This month we speak to Community and Rehabilitation Solutions (CRS), a Newham based organisation, delivering ground-breaking interventions in the field of youth offending.

Founded by Newham resident, Raheel Butt, CRS take unique approach, combining gangs works with counter radicalisation. Their pioneering project involves both front line work and consultation. CRS have acted as advisors to both the Metropolitan Police and the Home Office. Recently, their work with an east London MP on unidentified weapons resulted in a change in the law.

Serious youth violence is an issue that has had a profound impact on east London communities. ELBA are excited to be working with an organisation that is creating innovative solutions.

1). What does your organisation do?
Community & Rehabilitation Solutions (CRS) is a community-led, award-winning social enterprise in Newham. We work with young people on pathways to or previously associated with violent crime to break destructive cycles of violence and re-route them towards more positive lifestyle choices. Our bespoke prevention and intervention programmes are aimed at reducing youth violence and promoting legitimacy as a counter-narrative to complex social issues that are both push and pull factors into violent crime.

We take a ‘pracademic’ approach, using a combination of bespoke support programmes (peer mentoring, 1-1 and group training on conflict management, money management, and decision-making, improving mental and physical health), and direct conflict mediation and intervention through our ‘Squash Your Beef’ campaign, to promote non-violent solutions to conflicts. We also analyse weaponised ‘Drill’ music, intervening when an attack is about to take place, and work with a range of local partners to improve youth access to local services and build employability skills through introduction to the world of work.

CRS is at the forefront of Newham’s gang issues. We are currently the only provider working directly with and mediating between Newham’s gangs. All of our work is led and informed by former offenders or gang members, which gives us credibility and allows us to get closer to the hardest-to-reach youth. We use our relationships, our access, and our trust to disrupt criminal operating systems and provide positive role models for young people.

2). What challenges are there in east London with regards to the issues that your service users face?
Official figures from the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime show the number of under-25s injured in knife attacks in Newham went up by 21% in 2017 and by 59% compared to five years ago. The year-on-year rise outstrips the London-wide increase of 17 per cent. Statistically, a knife attack on an under-25 takes place every three days in Newham, based on figures for last year. And Newham has the second highest level of total knife crime in London, with 702 offences recorded in 2016-17. Drill music has been widely acknowledged as a key factor in escalating youth violence. In August 2017 Sadiq Khan called on YouTube and its parent company Google to crack down on online videos that encourage gang violence and knife crime.

Earlier this year CRS carried out an anonymous survey with 125 young people to understand their experiences of youth violence, particularly the prevalence and use of weapons. 63% said they do not feel safe in Newham, 86% said they witness violence at least once per week, 69% said that most or all the people they know carry weapons, and 80% said that the reason young people carry weapons is for protection.

The summer months can be particularly dangerous for youth in high risk areas, with more people out on the streets and fewer activities and services for them to engage with due to budget cuts.

3). Do you have a case study that you would like to share?
Many of CRS’s ex service users become CRS volunteers and peer mentors following their own rehabilitation. Service user X had witnessed violence around him from a young age. His close friend was murdered in broad daylight, his friends had been attacked by a gang with knives, he had direct threats towards him from gangs, had acid thrown in his face causing life-long injuries, and he had been chased by a man armed with a shotgun. These experiences had caused deep psychological as well as physical scars. Following his engagement with CRS, X is now working as a volunteer working alongside the Metropolitan Police on a national social media campaign targeting youth violence and serious organised crime; he is channelling his energy through an intensive physical training programme; has been learning about sound engineering and music production with a local CRS partner; and he is doing gang mediation in Newham with CRS, focusing on developing other service users.

4). What are the current challenges that your organisation is facing?
Funding is always a challenge. We have built a strong foundation of partners within Newham including the Metropolitan Police, Youth Offending Teams, and Youth Zones, who see us as providing vital outreach into communities that they are not able to access. However demand for our services is vastly outstripping supply and there is only so much we can achieve with a small, and largely voluntary, team. We are always open to partners and funders who can help us become financially sustainable, as well as improve our marketing through better online presence (website, social media etc), and improve our capacity in areas where we are currently lacking such as legal and policy.