Winning public trust is key to tackling violent crimes in London, DPP tells CPS conference

In the fight against gun and knife crime, community engagement is crucial to front-line prosecutors, according to the Director.

Reaching out to the public has also become an integral part of CPS management planning and strategic decision-making, he told a conference.

Pointing to the recent spate of gun and knife murders in London, Sir Ken Macdonald QC said crime involving weapons was mainly an urban problem.

"Children, young people and those living in poor areas are more likely to be victims. And we must also acknowledge that black and minority ethnic communities are disproportionately affected by gun and knife crime.

"These communities feel the problem very acutely, as it is mainly young black boys that are both perpetrators and victims," he said.

As a result, the CPS and other criminal justice agencies faced particular challenges, he told delegates, who included police and CPS representatives, community leaders and mothers of young murder victims.

"This is because those communities most severely affected are often those whose trust and confidence in the criminal justice system is the most fragile."

Sir Ken, left, said: "We are using the public's experiences to improve our performance.

"And we are engaging with those sections of the community whose close co-operation is required if we are to build successful cases."

The CPS had improved the care of victims and witnesses. As well as the establishment of 165 Witness Care Units in the country, prosecutors had the power to use special measures such as anonymity, voice distortion, video links and screens to help people give evidence in court safely.

Legislation, notably the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006, had been introduced to curb gun and knife crime.

And the maximum sentence for carrying a knife or offensive weapon had been raised from two to four years' imprisonment.

The murder of eight teenagers in the week before the conference lent impetus to a combined community/criminal justice service response, said CPS West Sector Director Nazir Afzal, left.

Now, CPS officials are to meet a focus group to determine how to improve communication, especially with schools.

One idea is to develop communication materials aimed at encouraging pupils to come forward as victims and witnesses in safety.

Nazir, who co-hosted the June event, said: "We had excellent feedback from participants. One woman whose teenage son was murdered said she felt that for the first time she had a voice."

• The number of black teenagers shot or murdered in London has more than doubled in three years. In 2003 there were 31 victims under 20 years-old, compared with 79 last year, according to the Head of Operation Trident. Supt Helen Ball told the conference that in the cases handled by her team, which investigates shootings and murders in the black community, more than a third - 37 per cent - of the victims were unwilling to assist the police.