Hawthorn Road Street Party was wonderfully organised and a real get together for neighbours who don’t always know each other. Did you know that the crime rate falls directly in correlation to how many people know each other within a fifteen minute walk to their house? The better the sense of community in an area – the better people behave and the safer it is. That’s why I am recommending in my chapter in the new book on Social Liberalism – Reinventing the State that more is done to encourage the spread of more streets parties around the country. They are a great way of people starting to know each other in an area – something that is often so difficult for people to do – even if they are willing – and especially if they don’t have kids.

I met the guy who was the manager of the Waterstone’s that closed in Wood Green Shame that the Waterstone’s managers who made the decision never seem to have come to the store or asked the manager about his ideas on how to make it more profitable – because talking to him yesterday – he had lots. Anyway – he is now going on to try and get funding to set up his own bookshop. Wood Green needs a good bookshop more than another clothes store. So – as he put it – if you have got £100,000 you want to invest – get in touch!

I am pictured with a brave firefighter and fire engine – a must have at all street parties for the kids who absolutely love hooting and honking (very loudly)!

Wake up to the pleasant news that Liberal Democrats had pushed the Tories into third place in Sedgefield and improved their second place in Ealing Southall.

It is a terrible result for Cameron – particularly as on the actual ballot papers in Ealing their candidates was described as “David Cameron’s Conservatives” rather than simply “Conservative”. This was very much his personal campaign, with the message being “David Cameron wants you to vote for this man”. Reputation on the line – reputation very damaged! Serves him right for hiking someone to stand, Tony Lit, who wasn’t a Conservative but was someone who Cameron thought could attract votes. Poor judgement and poor practise.

Labour majorities were slashed – but they didn’t lose – which is also one in the eye for the Tories. Though still don’t think Gordon will rush into a General Election – having waited all his life to get where he is today would he really risk losing it all so soon?

UPDATE: There’s a good round up of what the press are making of the by-elections over at Lib Dem Voice.

Surgery in the morning followed by my regular meeting with police borough Commander Simon O’Brien. I raise the issue of gangs, the parks constabulary and the need for even more Neighbourhood Policing. The parks constabulary now are on the same radio band as the police. I had been concerned that the two systems were making a farce of the parks police chasing a criminal, for example, who runs out the park – but they cannot radio the Met to catch him. Simon assured me that the radios were now all up to modern standards and working together on the new Airwave system.

I discussed some ideas I have for youth diversion – and am putting some proposals together on this. And I also asked whether Haringey Police and PCSOs had any capacity that could be used (if paid for) to deploy to particular projects or areas of need – and the answer is yes. So my council colleagues will be pushing to use this capacity to tackle the persistent areas of anti-social behaviour.

That’s one of the subjects touched on in my latest (and brief!) column about issues around young people and crime in Haringey, written for one of the local magazines:

Are you (whether young or not yourself) intimidated when you walk past a group of young people wearing hoods? Lots of people are – but I still believe that it’s not how young people look but how young people behave that counts. In itself, there’s no particular reason to fear a piece of fabric – but it gets seen a symbolic of a bundle of fears and so induces worry for many people.

You can read the rest of the piece on my website.

Some helpful advice from the police came in – so thought it might be useful to post it here. It’s about the Personal Property Register that the Met and other police forces are encouraging people to use.

It’s at www.immobilise.com and you can use it to register your mobile phone, iPod etc. Two benefits: if the police recover stolen goods, this register makes it easier to trace the rightful owners, and – secondly – you can use the site to register the theft of devices, and this automatically adds it to the police’s records of stolen equipment. With the theft of these sorts of devices one of the big crime problems in many areas, it’s a service well worth using and promoting.