Parents should not be afraid to discipline their children at home if it helps reduce Newham’s crime levels, according to a charity leader.

The most recent police figures for 2011 saw a fall in overall offences in the borough last year.

But robberies increased to more than 2,400 while incidents of violence against the person made up the largest proportion of offences.

In response, the Centre for Development and Community Welfare (CedCoW), in Canning Town, is to start its own crime reduction campaign.

It believes this is a problem that disproportionately affects Newham’s black and ethnic minority population.

Director Columbus Ndeloa said: “We believe that charity begins at home.

“When we do projects in the community, one of the issues that crops up is how people are worried about crime.

“We think that parents should be empowered to look at much more effective ways of disciplining their children. “Some control in the home can prevent the child or young person taking the wrong path.”

CedCoW was set up to help African immigrants integrate into the UK. It has offices in Gambia, Sierra Leone, and Cameroon.

Its programmes include raising awareness of poverty and human rights offences in Africa.

Mr Ndeloa noted that there were failures to communicate between young people and the police.

“We want to help bridge that gap between police and the black community,” he added. “There are issues of belonging and self-confidence.

“But we believe crime can be reduced when the community plays a part.”

The campaign will be launched at the charity’s headquarters at the St Luke’s Business Centre in Tarling Road, Canning Town. Contact 0207 366 6343.