A productive ‘Week of Action’ has been underway this week in a collaborative effort between the Metropolitan Police and Harrow Council.
Its purpose has been to ensure businesses make the area more inviting for the general public, tackling anti-social behaviour head-on and improving the area for Harrow residents to enjoy.
Below is a list of just some of the things that police officers and the Harrow Council team have tackled so far this week as they continue with their plan of action.
Monday
- Graffiti clean-up in Harrow Weald, park pavilion before and after pictures were taken.
- Officers attended Cedars Youth and Community Centre giving an informal chat to local youngsters at Watford training academy. This was based around stranger danger, online safety and a general ice breaker. This also included a ‘meet and greet’ with local officers within an open arena to ask officers any questions they may have. No pictures were taken.
- Anti-social behaviour patrols with a Kingdom Harrow Civil Enforcement officer, targeting street drinkers, noise disturbance, littering and vehicle issues.
Tuesday
- Anti-social behaviour patrols with Kingdom Harrow Enforcement officers.
- HMO (House in Multiple Occupation) visits on Spencer Road.
- Graffiti clean-up of the old Police station.
- Areas identified for Harrow’s Green Team to cut back vegetation and clear rubbish.
- Licensing checks with a Harrow Council Licensing Enforcement Officer where various businesses had no trading licenses.
Wednesday
- DVLA assistance for nuisance drivers with no tax, MOT or insurance.
- Compliance with shopkeepers to remove rubbish and clean shop fronts.
- Fly tipping to remove mattresses from High Street, Wealdstone.
- ASB Patrols and pre-planned enquires undertaken within the wards.
- HMO visits on Weald Lane and Sefton Avenue.
Sergeant Paul McCauley from MPS Harrow said: “We have had a fantastic response from our partners across the council and other agencies assisting us to tackle criminality and Anti-social behaviour across the wards of Wealdstone, Marlborough and Harrow Weald.
“We have been working hard with our communities and residents to ensure we identify areas that are attracting criminality and dealing with offenders robustly. This week has shown we can make a difference and we have managed to forge some new relationships to ensure that the work will continue.
“This great work will continue into the weekend with more of an onus on the Policing aspect with several initiatives planned. A really big thank you to everyone who has contributed.”
Councillor Anjana Patel, Cabinet Member for Environment & Community Safety at Harrow Council, said: “We want to bring back pride in our communities – to make a Harrow cleaner and safer borough. This week of action with the police shows what can be achieved by working together for our residents.
“I met with the local police teams and also some of our officers who have told me about some of the issues in these areas and how they are dealing with them. I have promised tougher enforcement action and it’s reassuring that our joint work is helping to deal with issues such as fly-tipping, anti-social behaviour, HMOs and more. I look forward to working more closely with our police teams and communities to make Harrow a better place to live, work and visit. Thank you to everyone who was involved in this week of action”.
