Waltham Forest Council is set to launch a visible safety campaign in autumn, co-designed with residents and partners, to empower communities to play an active and shared role in keeping people safe across the borough. The council will reinforce that building safer neighbourhoods is everyone's responsibility.

The initiative was discussed at the Communities and Public Protection Scrutiny Committee meeting on Wednesday, 17 September 2025, as part of a broader mission-based approach to tackling knife crime and enhancing community safety. The agenda for the meeting is available online.

The council is prioritising knife crime as one of its early areas for mission-based working. This approach involves developing a shared understanding of the complexities of knife crime locally and implementing a focused, targeted response to keep young people safe. The mission focuses on:

  • Working as a system to keep young people safe.
  • Mobilising a shared community response.

According to a report reviewed by the committee, Waltham Forest has lower rates of serious violence than comparable boroughs. However, rates of knife injury among young people are higher, with young black men and boys significantly more likely to be victims. Tackling inequality is at the heart of the mission-based approach, with all current and proposed priority areas informed by their potential to address and reduce inequalities. The approach is being co-designed with communities from underrepresented groups, including young people, to ensure their lived experience directs the response.

Line chart showing the number of knife injury victims under 25 (excluding domestic abuse) from 2019 to 2025.
Number of Knife Injury Victims Under 25 (Rolling 12 Months)

The mission-based approach involves engagement events and workshops with partners, services, communities, and young people. These sessions have identified two system areas for prioritising early action:

  1. Targeted support for young people transitioning into adulthood: This focuses on those most at risk of violence as they move from children's services to adult services. The council will combine data and intel across services to identify at-risk children and young adults and work across partners to leverage and target shared resources at those who need it most.
  2. Responding to violence in high-risk locations: This involves strengthening partnerships and community engagement to address violence in areas where the risk is greatest.