Local Met officers from across Harrow and north west London have listened to concerns from the local community around violence and drug dealing, responding with a three-day long operation.
The operation saw more than 130 officers from the Met’s new local proactive team from Harrow, Brent and Barnet and other specialist resources, such as the dogs unit, arrest 41 people between Wednesday, 13 and Friday, 15 March.
Officers used a precision and data-led policing tool, Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR), together with local knowledge, to help prevent criminals from using the capital’s road networks to transport drugs and weapons.
ANPR, coupled with intelligence, was used to target vehicles linked to violent criminal activity in order to reduce gang, drug and weapon based violence
Sergeant Tom Furlong, based in Harrow – who led the operation – said: “It is important for us to deny criminals the effective use of major roads in north west London, and the wider capital, as a means to carry weapons and drugs across London.
“We listened to the concerns raised by residents of Barnet, Brent and Harrow, with a targeted three-day operation.
“This operation has demonstrated the great use of the new local proactive team’s capability to work collaboratively with officers from the local Safer Neighbourhoods and emergency response teams to proactively pursue those that are intent on causing violence on the streets of London.
“I am also grateful to the officers from the Dog Unit, Roads and Transport Policing Command and the wider Met for bringing their specialist skillset and expertise to make this operation a success and make London safer for everyone.”
The operation resulted in 41 arrests for 74 offences, including the supply of Class A and Class B drugs, possession of offensive weapons, robbery, aggravated burglary, grievous bodily harm, dangerous driving, and evading police, with six offensive weapons recovered, 34 vehicles seized, and over a kilogram of Class B drugs along with 100 individually packaged wraps seized.
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