Crime

EMERGENCY services had to deal with three roads crashes in as many days.
The last of the incidents was a five vehicle smash in Northolt Road, South Harrow, on Monday morning at 2am.

A laptop was taken from the boot of a 68-year-old man's car parked in the car park of Sainsbury's in Northolt Road, South Harrow, between 5pm and 6pm on Friday.

Gold jewelry and cash was stolen in a burglary in Kings Road, South Harrow.
The crook smashed a kitchen window to enter the property between 12.30pm and 6.30pm on Friday (06/11).

POLICE have refused to disclose why Harrow officers searched a house in Capthorne Avenue in South Harrow at the weekend on behalf of officers from Slough in Berkshire.
A spokesman for Thames Valley Police said: "The Metropolitan Police Service carried out a house search in the area of Rayners Lane, Harrow, on Sunday to assist their colleagues at Thames Valley Police, who are currently investigating an incident.
"Due to a number of live inquiries, Thames Valley Police will not be commenting on the incident any further at this stage.
"However, we will provide a full update when we are in a position to do so.
"Thames Valley Police would like to make it clear that there was no raid conducted in Rayners Lane and that the incident is not terrorism related or one which affects the wider community."

An opportunist thief stole a red Gilera scooter on Sunday after spotting the owner had left the keys in the ignition.

The 18-year-old owner had left the keys and his crash helmet with the bike while he went into a nearby shop in Shaftesbury Circle in South Harrow.

A black male was seen getting on the bike and driving off down Roxeth Green Road at about 2.30pm.

Two men have been interviewed under caution in relation to last year's fatal Stanley Road gas explosion.

The pair voluntarily attended attended Wembley police station on Thursday to "assist" detectives from the Putney-based homicide and serious crime directorate, who are investigating the blast.

Neither interviewee was arrested, police said.

Emmad Qureshi, 26, was killed by a wound to the neck in the blast on May 7, 2009, that destroyed three houses and left two others injured and numerous families temporarily homeless.

Since the criminal investigation is ongoing, the inquest into Mr Qureshi's death will continue to be delayed.

There have been no arrests or charges so far, although the detectives involved recently received back from the Health and Safety Executive laboratories the results of tests carried out on pipes and gas equipment removed from the blown up house.

Robbers threatened a driver with a knife and stole his cash box in a Sainsbury's supermarket car park in South Harrow.

The security company driver was returning to his van at Sainsbury's, in Northolt Road, South Harrow, when three men attacked him, threw him to the ground and ran off with the cash towards Corbins Lane.

The Flying Squad at Finchley are investigating the raid late last month. Anyone with information on should call 020 8358 1751, or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

A burglar squeezed through a window at a house in Rayners Lane to steal jewellery and a briefcase.

A window was forced open on a flat roof extension at the home on February 6 between 5.45pm and 9pm.

The 69-year-old home owner returned home to find his belongings missing.

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.

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.