Fines issued by enforcement officers in Harrow will only be valid if they are supported by evidence from a body-worn camera, the local authority has announced. The move comes after two officers were sacked earlier in the year for turning off their cameras before threatening a member of the public.
In June, footage was shared online of the incident involving enforcement officers working for Harrow Council. The officers, contracted to the council from Kingdom Services Group, were caught threatening to ‘knock you the f*** out’ and ‘rip’ the man’s teeth out during a row on Northolt Road.
The council suspended all enforcement operations with Kingdom following the incident but have now announced that “a brand new team” from the company will be reinstated to tackle anti-social behaviour from September 1. In order to ”strengthen standards, transparency and accountability”, the council has outlined a number of changes that must be upheld.
New enforcement team to return to Harrow from September
Harrow Council has stressed the importance of having more enforcement officers on the ground ahead of the autumn and winter months, which it described as “some of our busiest periods”. The local authority says more officers will help “increase visibility, deter offences, [and] support local communities”.
The team is responsible for enforcing the rules laid out in the borough’s Public Space Protection Order (PSPO).
The confrontation in June was reportedly filmed on the man’s Meta glasses, without the officers being aware. The clip begins with one of the enforcement officers confirming their body-worn camera is switched off before one was then heard to say: “When I’m not in uniform, I’m gonna knock you the f*** out and rip your teeth out.”
Body-worn camera footage required for fines
Under the new conditions, the new enforcement team – which will be specifically dedicated to Harrow – must ensure that their body-worn cameras are switched on for all interactions with members of the public. Any fixed penalty notice (FPN) served without corresponding footage “will be cancelled”, the council has announced.
Alongside this, body-worn cameras will have a pre-record enabled as standard, meaning it will capture the 30 seconds before the button is pressed, and auditing of the footage will “increase significantly” with Kingdom required to audit at least 40 per cent of the footage for the next six months. There will also be weekly oversight meetings over the next six months to monitor performance.
Harrow Council Leader, Cllr Paul Osborn, said: “Everyone wants a cleaner, safer borough, and enforcement has an important role to play in helping us restore pride in Harrow. From September 1 a brand-new team recruited by Kingdom specifically for Harrow will carry out enforcement activity. They have been trained to meet the standards we expect when working with residents, businesses and visitors.
“With autumn and winter bringing some of our busiest periods, including Bonfire Night and the festive season, it is vital that we have more enforcement officers on the ground, working alongside our in-house team, to stop offences and support our communities.
“We will hold Kingdom to account for any failure to meet those standards. Abuse, intimidation or bullying will not be tolerated, and any concerns should be reported so they can be investigated and acted on quickly.”
How residents can report enforcement officer conduct
If residents want to report concerns about officer conduct, the council has created a dedicated form so that they can be “recorded, reviewed, and escalated” where appropriate. Concerns can be raised through its complaints and compliments webpage by selecting ‘Enforcement Officer Conduct’.
The council said it will “ensure the matter is reviewed appropriately”, including reviewing available body-worn footage. Clear and obvious errors will be escalated to senior officers within both Kingdom and the council so that “fair, proportionate and common-sense decisions can be made”.
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Grant Williams is a journalist and Local Democracy Reporter (LDR) for Reach PLC, reporting on local government, politics and community issues across London. As part of the Local Democracy Reporting Service, he has contributed to Harrow Online, covering council decisions, housing developments, transport, planning matters and stories affecting local communities across Harrow and Brent.
