by Kardaya Rooprai, Neighbourhood Watch Trustee

Faith communities are often the backbone of our neighbourhoods. We have been building our homes around centres of worship for millennia. I believe they are also key to reducing hate, division and crime.  

I recently attended the National Faith Conference, organised by the West Midlands Violence Reduction Partnership. Nearly 180 faith and community leaders came together to create a sense of hope and action. It was an emotional day, especially when people shared their lived experiences. But it was also inspiring to see how people of all faiths want to work together to reduce violence and crime in our communities. 

Many faith groups already make a considerable impact and investment in their communities. Guru Nanak Nishkam Sewak Jatha has been in Handsworth, Birmingham, for over 50 years. During that time, they have invested approximately £60 million into the local area. Another example is the Cinnamon Network. In Essex, they facilitated a partnership between local churches to support the most vulnerable in their community. This alleviated pressure on local police to respond to non-crime-related calls by training Street Pastors to provide support. 

If we have no values, we cannot forgive. If we cannot forgive, we imprison ourselves. I am not saying we should not seek justice; however, both in society and in our communities, we should be working more towards prevention. We need to help our community members steer clear of a path towards crime. By working in partnership with faith communities, we can have a greater impact on preventing and reducing crime. 

We are living in a time of social division. Misinformation is a challenge for everyone, which is why we must come together to help make communities stronger, more resilient, self-reliant, engaged, informed and proactive. As a membership organisation representing over 2.3 million households, Neighbourhood Watch has a real opportunity to unite people from different backgrounds, make them safer and reduce feelings of fear, vulnerability and isolation. 

At a time of increasing social divisions and rising hate crime, there has never been a greater need to come together. Latest crime statistics show a 3% increase in police-recorded religious hate crime over the last year and a 19% rise in religious hate crimes targeted at Muslims. Tragically, there was also the recent attack on the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue in Manchester. That act of antisemitic terrorism left two people dead and at least three injured. It targeted innocent worshippers on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. 

Faith communities do much of the heavy lifting at times of need. We saw that during COVID-19 and in the community response to the racially aggravated sexual assault in Oldbury. They also provide consistency. Elected officials, local authority personnel and police officers come and go, whilst churches, temples, mosques, synagogues, gurudwaras and meeting houses remain. 

Hate can come in many forms, but we have so much more in common than that which keeps us apart. The key lesson from the conference was that we all value peace. Faith communities have a vital role to play in bringing about community cohesion and crime reduction. When faith communities work together to tackle these issues that society and the police are facing, communities can be transformed. 



 

The views expressed in opinion/blog articles are those of the author and may not represent the views of the NWN.