I believe that feeling safe at home and in the area that you live is one the most basic right that everyone should have. The Metropolitan Police do a fantastic job keeping London safe, despite the coalition’s harsh budget cuts

Unfortunately no city is ever crime free, which why it is vital that anyone who is a victim of a crime has somewhere to turn to for help. However, in too many cases victims feel that they can’t go to the police either through lack of confidence or, because the local police station isn’t equipped to deal with a language barrier.

To help tackle this problem I, along with Jennette Arnold AM and the Metropolitan Police Force, have started a community safety and crime reporting surgery in Halkevi – the community centre which I used to chair. The aim of this is to provide a safe space where victims have the reassurance and the resources to be able to report crimes which would otherwise go unreported.

These kind of services help the police to breakdown barriers and gives them a valuable link to local residents. This type of community-led approach is exactly what I would work to encourage if I was the Labour MP for Enfield Southgate.

If you want to find out more about the crime reporting surgery or the work of the Halkevi centre then you can visit their website by clicking here.