Harrow Council believes community engagement is the key to tackling rising crime and anti-social behaviour, following a think tank report on violence in London.

Cllr Krishna Suresh, responsible for crime and community cohesion at the council, said he understands concerns in the borough about crime levels and overall security.

He added that it is important to make use of all available resources – however scarce – and come together to confront the issues.

“Harrow is a diverse and great place to live, with a real sense of community,” he explained.

“However, people are worried that Harrow’s community is changing for the worse – they’re worried about crime and anti-social behaviour, which is on the rise here and all over London.

“The council doesn’t have huge resources, but we can do a lot to bring organisations and people together to tackle crime and create better community safety initiatives for our residents.

“We’re looking at everything – what the community does well together already and how we can support that, the important role of youth work, what we can do to keep people safe and away from the destructive cycles of crime or drugs, and, of course working with the police on the important business of keeping our streets safe.”

It comes after a report from the Centre for Social Justice, co-founded by Iain Duncan Smith, which suggested that giving the police increased stop and search powers would combat gang violence.

The report argued that similar schemes in Glasgow, Boston and Cincinnati have proved successful and could be transferred to London.

It said that introducing ‘Safer Streets Group Violence Intervention’ could “save the lives of thousands of young Londoners over the next decade”.

Detractors pointed out that too much use of stop and search measures can create tension between the police and the public.

Harrow Council did not comment on the potential impact of the report’s suggestions in terms of tackling gangs in the region.

But Cllr Suresh, who assumed his specially-created role earlier this year, has stated on several occasions that he believes a joint effort is the key to solving any crime crises in Harrow.