THE London assembly member for Harrow and Brent has raised concerns on a drop in police officers across Harrow after new figures were released this week.

Figures published by the authority (MPA) shows there were 403 full-time warranted officers in Harrow in March last year compared to 369 in July this year - resulting in a drop of 34 full-time warranted officers, which does not include special constables or PCSOs.

The data shows a slight rise in numbers from July this year.

London Assembly member Navin Shah said: "The London Mayor's cuts to police in Harrow undermine the fight against crime and should be reversed.

"The mayor is taking a serious gamble with crime by reducing police numbers in Harrow."

A statement from the Mayor's office said: “The Met has over 1,000 police officers leave each year through retirement alone and it is misleading and inaccurate to suggest that this is because of budget cuts.

“The Mayor has in fact boosted the Met budget by £43 million this year, which enabled the Met to be one of the only forces in the UK to re-open their recruitment.

“These figures also do not take into account the hundreds of special constables who are currently training to become full time police officers.

“By March 2012 the Met will have well over 32,000 police officers, 1,000 more than when the Mayor was elected.”