Mayor of London Boris Johnson visited Harrow to find out more about the work of police in reducing burglary in the borough.

He was in the town centre to see the partnership work of Harrow police, Harrow Borough Council and the fire brigade on their latest day of action.

While meeting and greeting the public he congratulated police of Harrow for Operation Bluebell, which has been led to a reduction in burglary of 19 per cent.

He also launched a new initiative to be rolled out across the capital for the use of traceable liquids which the Mayor's office hopes will reduce burglaries in London.

The Mayor said: “I want to congratulate the police of Harrow for all their fantastic work they have done here.

“Smart tactics like traceable liquids and good policing efforts of Operation Bluebell are winning the battle against burglary in Harrow. It is a wonderful job the police have done here.

“I also want to congratulate the work of Cllr Susan Hall and Harrow Council for the work they do to make the streets safer.”

Harrow Times:

The Mayor walked along St Anns Road in the town centre and met council officers taking part in the day of action, before handing out leaflets to members of the public about home safety.

Earlier in the day Mr Johnson met Harrow police Borough Commander Chief Superintendent Simon Ovens to hear about the drop in burglaries over the past 12 months.

Deputy mayor for policing Stephen Greenhalgh, who joined the Mayor, said: “Harrow has had some fantastic results and the drop in the number of offences has been extraordinary.

“Our hope is that we will be able to expand the use of traceable liquids as soon as possible so all boroughs can enjoy the burglary reductions Harrow has seen.”

Traceable liquids have been used in Harrow for the past five years

They work by people having their property marked with a spray with a unique forensic code which can only be seen in ultraviolent light.

Any marked item which has been stolen can then be traced back to the owner and can be used to convict suspected thieves found with stolen items or traces of the liquid.