January 2009 Archives

A police officer has been labelled a concern after receiving six complaints in 12 months.

The Harrow officer is one of only 34 across London who has had five or more complaints about his conduct.

A spokeswoman from the Met said: "Following a series of thorough investigations, only one of the six complaints made against the officer in question was substantiated.

"This complaint was categorised as Òother neglect or failure in duty.

"Any instance where the conduct of our staff falls below the expected standards of professional conduct is treated extremely seriously in line with Metropolitan Police Service policy and as part of our policing pledge to Londoners."

Other neglect or failure in duty could include failure to record or investigate matters and keep interested parties informed or failure to comply with orders, instructions or policy.

Following the complaint the officer was given a written warning which will stay on his file for a year and has remained in his post.

Peter Symthe, chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation said: "People seem to have more confidence in the complaints system now.

"All complaints are investigated, but depending what the complaints are they are dealt with differently."

Sonoo Malkani, chair of the Harrow Police and Community Consultative Group, said: "It is a concern there is a particular officer who has so many complaints against him, but if they have given him a written warning then clearly it can't be a very serious matter.

"If it was serious I suspect they would have done more."

Ross Simpson, vice-president of the Harrow Crime Prevention Panel, said: "It is always a concern to hear of an officer who fails in their duty and receives an official warning.

"If it has been dealt with by the police it is a step in the right direction."

The report from the Metropolitan Police Directorate of Professional Standards records events - which are public complaints or conduct matters against staff members - from December 2007 until December 2008.

In Harrow there was also one officer with four complaints and four officers with three complaints each.

Young people in Harrow borough are being encouraged to take part in a new volunteering project.

A new programme of full-time charity work for 16 to 25-year-olds is being launched after Harrow Council was awarded a £285,000 grant.

The money from v, the youth volunteering organisation, will help launch v Talent Year, which will aim to recruit 30 volunteers from the borough over the next two years.

Christine Bednell, portfolio holder for children's services, said: "I would urge as many young people as possible to take up this opportunity to make a difference to children and young people's services - it's a great way to gain training and a qualification. We will support any dedicated young people willing to give up their time to help the community they live in."

The volunteers will help the council's children's services from youth to play work, as well as supporting children and people with special needs and disabilities.

In the first year 30 per cent of the young volunteers will be unemployed and in the second year this will rise to 50 per cent.

Volunteers will also receive a level 2 National Vocational Qualification and a Personal Development Grant.

Anyone interested in volunteering should call 020 8420 9244 or
email .

Passengers can quiz British Transport Police (BTP) officers next week about crime and safety on the Jubilee line.

The Jubilee Line Neighbourhood Policing Team - comprising one sergeant, two constables and two PCSOs - has been patrolling the line and stations between Stanmore and St Jonh's Wood stops since its launch in August.

They will take questions at the conference room at Wembley Park London Underground Station, Bridge Road, Wembley, on Thursday 5 February from 7pm onwards. It will the second such public Q&A the team has held.

PC Matt Dobbs said: "The neighbourhood team means we can respond to issues and needs more easily, as well as making people feel safer using the Tube.

"We are easy to contact and always welcome feedback from the community.

"These meetings give passengers the opportunity to highlight issues of concern and discuss them with us. ItÕs always very helpful to speak to people face-to-face."

Tunde Taiwo, group station manager for the London Underground's Willesden Green Group, said: "Our staff work closely with the BTP Neighbourhood Policing Teams and whilst crime remains low on our network we know it's important to talk with our passengers as well as the communities that live and work close to our Tube station.

"We are fully supportive of these meetings and hope they'll help everyone move around more confidently and safely across our network."

n Anyone who is unable to attend but would like to share comments can email the Jubilee Line NPT by email at Jubileelinenorth.npt@btp.pnn.police.uk

People met at Harrow Civic Centre on Sunday to pray for peace.

Councillor Navin Shah, (Labour) member for Brent and Harrow, jointly organised the meeting with the Middlesex New Synagogue, Muslim Council of Britain and Harrow Interfaith Council.

They prayed for all those who had lost their lives or have suffered during recent conflicts in the Middle East. The climax of the meeting was the signing of the Peace Declaration by almost 100 people.

Mr Shah said: "The gathering was a true reflection of the unity and harmony enshrined in Harrow's diverse community".

Representatives from nine faiths including Hinduism, Judaism and Sikhism read prayers as well as committed to maintaining peace and harmony amongst Harrow's diverse communities.

The fire brigade and police commander for Harrow are also to sign the declaration. Mr Shah is hoping to conduct regular meetings to reflect upon global crisis.

When asked what was gained from the meeting he said: "At a local level we saw the will to continue working for piece and solidarity. It is great to see the desire to live in Harmony."

A pioneering Harrow scheme to get more young people teaching the elderly to surf the net is being introduced across the borough.

The Double-Klik project gets ex-young offenders giving lessons to the over 50s at two Harrow day care centres.

The Youth Offending Team is planning to join forces with Harrow YMCA in February to get more people online.

Councillor Christine Bednell, portfolio holder for children's services, said: "This is an innovative and cost-effective opportunity, developed by Harrow Council for both the older generation to get online and for the young offenders to engage in something positive and help members of the community.

"We are seeing our seniors corresponding with distant friends and relatives by email and even using YouTube to watch and listen to their favourite music and film clips and it has proved a great hit, many of our senior clients have never before used a computer.
"Getting more supervisors for the service will mean that even more people are able to get on the web with confidence."

Harrow College is also considering offering a foundation or NVQ level qualification to people taking part in the Double-Klik scheme.

Harrow residents are being urged to inform on graffiti artists in a bid to tackle problem spots across the borough.

Harrow Police are asking community members to take a close look at the vandals' work to see if they recognise the spray painters' images or tags.

Sergeant Paul Culver, at Rayners Lane Safer Neighbourhood Team, launched the project at Churchill Court in North Harrow last Thursday.

He said: "It is an ongoing problem. We had a rise over Christmas, so it suggests it might be young people who were off school.

"People do not like it. Whenever we do surveys and ask people what concerns them, they always say graffiti.

"If someone has pebble-dashed their wall and then they get someone spraying a lot of graffiti it is not very nice.

"It is the first time we have done anything like this. We want to eradicate graffiti and show the public we are taking it seriously."

Graffiti has affected areas across the borough, including Harrow bus station and allotments in west Harrow.

The Harrow Police Community and Consultative Group is holding its annual general meeting from 7.30pm on Monday.

The event takes place at the council chambers, in Harrow Civic Centre, in Station Road and will feature a talk on counter terrorism and tackling violent extremism.

Job hunters are being encouraged to visit libraries to get back into work.

Harrow libraries are being hailed as a secret weapon in the job market, as residents can use the internet and computer software free of charge for all their employment needs.

A new toolkit of useful websites and packages has also been created to help people improve their CVs and applications.

Councillor Chris Mote (Conservative), portfolio holder for community and cultural services, said: "We realise that people are now looking for work who may not have revised their CV in a long time, or perhaps have not explored the internet as a job-hunting tool.

"We hope our libraries will provide a calm atmosphere, away from home perhaps, where people can concentrate on making their employment credentials as strong as possible and see what work opportunities there are out there."

Staff at the 11 libraries across the borough can also advise visitors on the best websites for people looking for work, as well as provide books on everything from changing careers to interview skills. Residents can take advantage of magazines and newspapers to browse for job adverts.

Semi-detached houses in Harrow borough are most likely to be burgled, according to latest police intelligence figures.

Research has also discovered Kenton, Stanmore and Canons Park are the burglary hot spots within the borough at present.

Chief Inspector Louis Smith, who is in charge of intelligence at Harrow Police, has found that 50 per cent of burglaries carried out in the last six months were in semi-detached homes.

He believes this type of property is easier to break into because there is access from both the side and rear. Owners also tend to be more affluent, according to the intelligence officer.

He said: "In the last six months there have been around 700 residential burglaries, 350 of which were semi-detached houses. This is quite a high proportion. Semi-detached homes are the target of the moment.

"The reason they are being hit is probably to do with easy access to the rear of the premises. Flats and terraced houses may present more difficulty to a burglar who wants to break in and not be seen."

According to Chief Inspector Smith, a typical burglary in Harrow happens at a semi-detached house with a flat-roofed single-storey extension that has no alarm. Generally burglars will go to the back of the house and break in via the ground floor, or climb on to the flat roof and in via an upstairs window.

Harrow Police are warning residents to secure their homes to keep burglars out. Chief Inspector Smith also urged people with modern UPVC doors to secure them from the inside by pulling the handle up. He said: "Smashing the glass, removing the pane or just slipping something through the letter box allows the door to be opened very easily, giving the burglar an easy way of removing large items such as TVs and computers.

"Burglary is a crime that can be prevented. It is at its highest in the months of the year with the least daylight. Please help us to help you by taking some simple steps to protect your homes."

Breast cancer may have gone undetected in women across Harrow after it emerged the screening process was not up to scratch.

In board papers released last month Harrow Primary Care Trust (PCT) slammed Barnet and Chase Farm Hospital, which is commissioned to carry out routine mammograms, because it was failing to hit targets.

As it stands the hospital in Enfield carries out screening for Harrow women aged between 50 and 70 who have free scheduled screens every three years as part of a national NHS programme.

However, the minutes of the recent paper said the hospital is failing to see as many patients as expected.

It also condemns the quality of the process and suggests that screening standards were not being met either.

It reads: "There is a real issue of the local population experiencing a poor breast screening service, comparative to the national level.

"Local residents are not being screened properly or to proper standards, which is unacceptable.

"Breast screening continues to be under-trajectory and a letter has been written to the current provider of this service notifying them that Harrow PCT will look into providing this service locally if it is not improved substantially."

Barnet and Chase Farm Hospital argued that the standard checks alluded to in the meeting were made a long time ago and that more recent processes show the service has improved.

But uptake is still under-trajectory as the hospital is still working to undertake more screenings.

A spokeswoman said: "There have been no issues of any clinical concerns and the North London Breast Screening Service continues to meet all Quality Assurance and clinical standards.

"Following a recent visit by the Quality Assurance Team, Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust is being held up as an example of good practice for other Breast Screening units to follow.

"The North London Breast Screening Service is keeping to the agreed screening timetable and is working pro-actively with all PCTs, including Harrow PCT, to minimise any delays and to improve uptake and coverage.

"Proposals for new screening sites have been made and discussions are being held to ensure that the screening timetable can be achieved."