Turning up the heat on criminals in your area (From Harrow Times)

Turning up the heat on criminals in your area

11:41am Monday 25th July 2011 in Blogs By Inspector Russell Hughes

Welcome to my Wealdstone and Harrow Town Centre blog which gives you a regular update on police activity in these areas.

June was one of the hottest months this year so far, according to the Met Office, and certainly the local Safer Neighbourhoods Teams have been putting the heat on criminals in your local area.

PC Harley Inder is a new addition to the Headstone South Team, having transferred from one of the Harrow Response Teams. Harley qualified as a fitness trainer in New Zealand before joining the police; he is also an extreme athlete who recently competed in the Lanzarote Ironman triathlon.

Whilst on cycle patrol in Harrow Recreational Park, Harley heard the description of a robbery suspect being circulated over the radio. Spotting someone in the park, fitting the description, Harley gave chase and easily caught up with the suspect who thought better of running away and put his hands up in surrender. The case is awaiting a court date and I hope to be in a position to report on the result soon.

Sgt Claire Ginger reports that Harrow Recreational Park has won a gold award in the Mayor's Safer Parks scheme. It is one of three parks in Harrow, but only twelve in the whole of London, to win this award. This is a tremendous achievement for not only the Local Authority Park Wardens, but to the local SNT officers who patrol the park as part of their regular and dedicated beat.

PCSO Wesley Joseph has been nominated by Sgt Claire Ginger as officer of the month for his diligence in stopping the driver of a car which was carrying 42 mature cannabis plants destined for the streets of Harrow.

Whilst on cycle patrol, PCSO Joseph noticed the car being driven erratically and a strong smell of cannabis coming from the open windows. As officers approached the car, the three occupants decamped and ran off. PCSO Joseph chased the suspects whilst at the same time providing a detailed commentary to colleagues over his radio; unfortunately the suspects split in different directions and managed to get away. Arrests were made later following an investigation into the ownership of the car.

Sgt Bolton and his team have been addressing the road safety concerns of Headstone North residents and conducted two speed operations near Pinner Park primary school.

During the operations, a total of 34 cars were stopped and the drivers given road safety awareness booklets, together with warnings of the dangers of speeding near schools. In addition, one car was seized for having no insurance and a driver fined for failing to secure their children correctly in the child seats. Sgt Bolton will continue to monitor the level of speeding around the school.

Sgt Ed Baildon and his Wealdstone Anti-Social Behaviour Partnership (WASP) Team have been monitoring activities within the Wealdstone High Street area. During a week long operation targeting drug dealing and anti-social behaviour, seven arrests were made. These cases are pending court appearances and we will be looking at enforcing ASBO conditions for several of the key offenders. ASBOs have been used to great effect by Sgt Baildon in excluding repeated offenders from the Wealdstone area and preventing them from associating with each other.

PC Gail McKinnon has been successful at Harrow Crown Court this month in securing a conviction against Daniel Murray for supplying cannabis. Having witnessed a suspected drug deal take place in Wealdstone, PC McKinnon arrested Mr Murray on suspicion of supplying drugs. He was subsequently found to be in possession of 10 bags of cannabis. At Harrow Crown Court, Mr Murray pleaded guilty to the charge and was sentenced to 8 months' imprisonment, suspended for 18 months.

Also within Wealdstone, PC Dereck Livingstone was on foot patrol in Byron Recreation Ground when he recognised a male he had arrested for an assault back in December 2007. Aware that the male had failed to appear at court, PC Livingston spoke to him and discovered that, not only was he wanted for the assault, he was also wanted for two other criminal offences.

Back at Harrow Police Station, tenacious enquiries by PC Livingstone soon revealed that a number of police officers at different locations throughout London also wished to speak to Mr Marinov in relation to criminal matters, including a knife point robbery. Well done to PC Livingstone in recognising the male from such a long time ago.

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