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.

Children's gym classes and a local charity in South Harrow have scooped more than £12,000 in lottery grants.

Newton Farm First, Middle and Nursery School got £3,500 and Edo State Women's Association £8,594.

Edo States Women's Association was founded in 1991. It works with communities in Nigeria and the UK to help prevent poverty.

It plans to use the sum to support women and young people in need in South Harrow and Hillingdon.

Eki Ogbeide, project director, said: "With trained volunteers on board we can give more
people the skills and knowledge they need to get away from poverty and get started in the right direction."

The association is going to use the funding to train volunteers in running workshops to help people move away from poverty with the skills that they learn in the workshops.

Debbie Pippard, Big Lottery Fund head of London region, said on behalf of Awards for All: "Edo State Women's Association is every bit as dedicated to helping marginalised groups, in their case young people and women who need the chance to learn new, life-improving skills."

Newton Farm School in Ravenswood Crescent, South Harrow, is to use the fundings to teach students gymnastics.

The funding was given through the Awards for All grant scheme.

The scheme gives a sum between £300 and £10,000 to grass-root community groups and voluntary organisations.

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 a 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."

St Paul's Church in Corbins Lane, South Harrow, is to get a new vicar in the form of Reverend Ian Dowsett.
The minister will be inducted by the Right Reverend Pete Broadbent, who is Bishop of Willesden, and Venerable Rachel Treweek, who is Archdeacon of Northolt, on Monday February 23 at 8pm.

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.

Regent College, a private college in South Harrow, could be teaching students at Boundary House in Edgware's Turner Road if approval is granted.

The business based at Sai House in Imperial Drive has applied to Harrow Council to change the use of the ground floor from an office to a non-residential education and training centre (D1 use).

It would convert the existing offices to create five small classrooms, a common room, new toilets and a larger kitchen to accommodate a maximum of 20 students and five staff, and would add a ramp to the entrance of the building.

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.

Burglars attempted to raid St John Fisher Roman Catholic Church in Imperial Drive, South Harrow, on Friday 16 January between 7.20 pm and 7.25 pm by smashing a window leading to the bar area.
Police were called and confirmed that the window frame had been forced. The suspects left empty handed, however.

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.