Your voice, your choice: “Crime is our top political priority”

Angie – not her real name – is too afraid of becoming a target of crime to speak openly about the crime she experiences in Luton.

Recently she was waiting at a traffic light when two people crossed the street in front of her.

“As they passed each other, a package was exchanged,” she said.

“I’ve seen drug dealing in parks and alleys. There are always cars parked there with the engines running. It’s clear what’s happening.”

Angie said the situation was so overwhelming for her that she had to leave town temporarily.

“I’ve rented a house in Bedford. I’ve booked hotels in Milton Keynes. Sometimes I just need a place to hide. There are nights when the fireworks never seem to stop.”

She is among those who have turned to Your Voice, Your Vote to call for more action against street crime and more investment in “activities for young people to give them an alternative to gangs.”

Local authority-funded youth services have been cut back over the last decade. They still exist, but many are now funded by the police or charities.

The YMCA has just opened three new youth clubs in Milton Keynes. Community manager Tayler Tookey said: “Young people need to feel listened to. They need to feel like they belong and sometimes feel like they are in control.”

“If those emotional needs aren’t met, they may look for them in less legitimate places.

“Here, young people decide what activities they want to do and our carers encourage them to achieve. It’s a safe and fun place for all 11-18 year olds. We’re working hard to fill that gap and would always welcome more funding.”

Knife crime is also a major concern for voters. Chris Martin, 34, believes it is an “epidemic that needs to be brought under control”.

He lives in Milton Keynes and has a two-year-old and a six-year-old child.

“I fear for the future of my children,” he said. “People are being stabbed for nothing and for no one. Children as young as 12 are carrying knives. There has to be a deterrent.”

Abigail Skinner, from Baldock in Hertfordshire, described knife crime as “a growing nightmare”.

She said: “We seem to live in a world where no one dares to question this behaviour anymore. It is certainly more important to address this than to ban under-16s from buying energy drinks, but I have not heard anything from the parties on this.”