Knife crime in Waltham Forest: a nasty little scandal (5)

I hear from reliable sources that some of those community representatives who are currently listed on LBWF’s website as members of the Waltham Forest Safer Neighbourhoods Board (WFSNB) are both astonished and perturbed that their names have been made public, since they have never given permission for this to happen, and in addition claim that they have neither received any briefing about their supposed roles and responsibilities, nor even met anyone who has authority for the outfit’s functioning.

Their reactions are entirely reasonable.

For it is axiomatic that those who stand up to be counted, and then become involved in detailed discussions behind closed doors which touch upon policing and criminality, must have their security treated as paramount.

Indeed, their names never should be publicised until they have been advised of the potential risks, informed of sensible precautions, and then explicitly asked in each case for their written consent.

And that is before we even get to the legal requirements enshrined in the Data Protection Act.

As to why this very troubling development has occurred, at this stage we can only guess.

It is possible that someone, somewhere, wishes to give the impression that the Board is bigger and more diverse than it really is, so as to impress local and City Hall big wigs.

But in my view, a much more likely explanation is plain bungling, with those in WFSNB leadership positions, for all their oft remarked upon and comedic self-importance, out of their depth, increasingly bereft of the assistance that LBWF had initially promised, and in consequence left flailing.

Whatever the truth, this latest revelation is certainly a further sizeable blow to the WFSNB’s already ailing reputation, and one that it may well struggle to overcome.