Harrow Times blogs by Dal Babu, Sonoo Malkani and Gareth Thomas - opinions on Harrow community
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Simon Ovens »
PC puts British Sign Language training to good use.
Posted on 1:44pm Monday 20th May 2013
Officers from Harrow's Safer Transport Team attended the Harrow Deaf Awareness Day organised by the Harrow Asian Deaf Club in partnership with Harrow Council. This was a great opportunity for PC Percy Sillitoe, who is level one British Sign Language trained, to put to good use his skills to communicate important crime prevention messages and to understand the barriers that deaf people face when coming into contact with the police.
Simon Ovens »
Fewer reports of burglary. Inconsiderate driver fined for parking illegally outside school. Cadets in recruitment drive.
Posted on 10:21am Monday 13th May 2013
I was invited to the official opening ceremony of Harrow Primary School in Gayton Road which is the first independent day school in Harrow with an Islamic ethos. I had a tour of the school and met with the school's founders, teaching staff and Head teacher. The facilities are impressive and the pupils and staff must feel very privileged to be working in such a positive environment. We continue to see a decrease in the number of burglaries reported, however by no means are we complacent. Just as I am writing, a call came in from a Stanmore resident reporting that he had seen a man jump into his back garden. There were also reports of another man in the same area acting suspiciously. Colleagues from the Air Support Unit assisted officers on the ground who stopped and detained two men in Ennerdale Avenue matching the descriptions. They are now on their way to the police station for further questioning. A good job done by all. And at court last week, a 24-year-old man received a two-year suspended prison sentence for carrying out a burglary in Wetheral Drive, in Stanmore. The man and an accomplice stole a flat screen TV from a house whilst a 15-year-old boy was at home at the time in his bedroom. The boy heard banging downstairs and just thought a family member had come home. It was only when the banging got louder and he heard someone running up and down the stairs that he became concerned and looked out of the window. He saw two men loading a flat screen TV into the boot of a taxi and immediately called police giving the registration number of the taxi. Acting swiftly on this information the officers located the taxi driver who took them to the address where he dropped the men off and arrested the defendant. A second suspect who ran off is still being pursued by officers. A motorist was given an £80 fine by Sgt Roni Doyle of Pinner Safer Neighbourhoods Team for parking illegally outside West Lodge School in Pinner. Several parents had complained to us about this driver's inconsiderate parking and when PCSOs Walker and O'Brien spoke to him he was very abusive and refused to move his car. Sgt Roni Doyle issued the driver of the black Volkswagen Golf with a fine for abusing members of her staff. Parking restrictions are in place for reasons especially outside schools and in this case it was clear the driver of this vehicle was putting his convenience before that of the safety of school children. Harrow's police cadets have been busy taking part in role play activities at Hendon Training School. Over 30 cadets were involved, enacting out scenes of burglary, criminal damage, drugs and public order offences to offer a realistic environment for trainee police officers which tested their knowledge. One trainee officer's diversity skills were put to the test when one of the young cadets refused to allow him to search her due to religious beliefs. During the recent Bank Holiday weekend, the cadets were helping out at the May Day event at Heritage Museum in Pinner View. Harrow Council hosted the family event which was visited by several hundred residents. In addition to assisting with stewarding and collecting entry tickets the cadets seized the opportunity to promote the police cadets scheme to which fourteen new recruits signed up to. If you would like to find out more about becoming a cadet or cadet leader visit our website at www.met.police.uk
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The importance of community policing - and how two PCSOs found a suspected brothel
Posted on 9:00am Monday 22nd April 2013
I attended the AGM of the Harrow Police and Community Consultative Group last week and met with many of the ward panel members for the borough who so willingly give up their time to work with their Safer Neighbourhood Teams to tackle local concerns.
Simon Ovens »
Delivering babies, helping police the Olympics... and giving fines to motorists
Posted on 12:19pm Tuesday 16th April 2013
This is my first blog since arriving at Harrow almost three weeks ago, and I'm happy to report that I am settling in well to my new role as Borough Commander.
Neil Wilson »
Tackling burglary remains a priority for us.
Posted on 9:06am Tuesday 19th March 2013
If you live in the North Harrow area, you may have noticed some extra police activity this week as officers from Headstone South Safer Neighbourhoods team have been holding a Week of Action. Lots of community engagement events have taken place with officers visiting schools to deliver crime prevention advice to pupils, especially around street crime and theft of mobile phones. The Volunteer Police Cadets have been manning crime prevention stalls, offering members of the public advice against bogus callers and how to protect their homes. Officers have also been visiting licensed premises to check they are following the conditions of their license and officers on bicycles have been carrying out extra patrols in burglary hot-spot areas. Safer Neighbourhoods teams are dedicated to your community to find out who your team is go to www.met.police.uk/Site/saferneighbourhoods
Neil Wilson »
Police officer numbers in Harrow set to increase from the current strength of 324 to 385
Posted on 3:05pm Monday 11th March 2013
I have attended many meetings over the last few months with community groups, Harrow Council, Harrow Police and Community Consultative Group (HPCCG) and other partner agencies where I have explained the future plans for policing in Harrow and have made it clear that the number of police officers is set to increase from the current strength of 324 to 385. I also outlined our plans for the police estate. Wealdstone is set for closure and disposal which has been in the planning for many years; Pinner Police Station is an integral part of our infrastructure for the delivery of our Local Policing Plan and there are no proposals in the short or medium term for its closure or disposal.
Neil Wilson »
Harrow's Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) celebrates it's first anniversary.
Posted on 3:10pm Monday 4th March 2013
Last week we celebrated the first anniversary of Harrow's Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) which was set up especially to help vulnerable young people in the borough. The essence of the MASH is to bring key, safeguarding professionals together, to ensure that the most vulnerable young people across the borough get the best possible care. Harrow was one of the first boroughs in London to establish a Multi Safeguarding Hub; a unit consisting of police officers, police staff, social workers, health and drugs workers working under one roof, to ensure that important information relating to young and vulnerable people is shared effectively between all the agencies and acted upon quickly. The concept of this partnership approach has proved to be invaluable and we look forward to further successes in the coming years.
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PCSOs assist in arrest of driver for dangerous driving
Posted on 10:23am Monday 25th February 2013
Inspector Aiden Whelan has nominated PCSOs Diane Harris and Robert Chidgey from Greenhilll Safer Neighbourhoods Team as officers of the week for assisting with the arrest of a man driving a car illegally and dangerously. PCSOs Harris and Chidgey concerns were raised when they pulled up alongside a Honda Civic waiting at traffic lights on Station Road, Harrow near Tesco and noticed an inordinate number of people within the car. They called for assistance from police officers before pulling the car over to the side of the road to speak to the driver. The officers told the driver to let the passengers out for their own safety and were astonished when six children and three adults, including the driver, piled out of the car. One of the children had been sitting in the footwell of the front passenger seat, hiding under the front passenger's legs. Had it not been for the sharp observations of these officers, the driver, who was arrested for numerous driving offences and had his car seized for driving without insurance, would still be driving dangerously around the streets of Harrow. Well done
Neil Wilson »
Op Cubo - cars seized and arrests made.
Posted on 12:04pm Monday 18th February 2013
My first full week in post as Acting Borough Commander, has been a whirlwind of meetings. The Metropolitan Police and Harrow are undergoing significant structural changes in preparation for the Local Policing Model which will be in place later this year. The objective of the new model is to improve the delivery of high quality policing services in a more effective and cost efficient way, in order to become the best police service in the world. I am confident that Harrow has a great management team in place, capable of delivering this model on the borough.
Neil Wilson »
Be aware and keep your possessions safe
Posted on 12:00am Monday 11th February 2013
I feel a great sense of privilege and pride to be Borough Commander of Harrow following Dal Babu's retirement from the Met Police last week. I will be carrying out the role in a temporary capacity, until Chief Superintendent Simon Ovens arrives to take up his position on a permanent basis. Harrow's new Deputy Borough Commander is Acting Superintendent Ben Honey.
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