THE NUMBER of police officers in Harrow has fallen by 22 per cent, leading to an MP calling on the Mayor of London to rethink his ‘reckless’ plans.

There were 403 police officers and 116 community police officers working in the borough in March 2010, however, new figures released by the Met Police show there are now 336 and 67 respectively, amounting to an overall loss of 116 officers.

During his re-election in May 2012, Mayor of London Boris Johnson promised 1,000 more police on the beat to ‘make streets and homes safer’, but the figures indicate he has reduced the number.

Labour’s Harrow West MP Gareth Thomas said: “It’s vitally important that Harrow police have the resources they need to tackle crime in the borough and keep our streets safe.

“In Harrow we have lost 116 officers, including many officers who had years of experience behind them. It’s time Boris rethought this reckless plan to reduce the police presence across London.”

The reasoning behind the sharp drop is being attributed to a freeze on recruitment during the London 2012 Olympic Games, while the plans forwarded by Boris to close stations and front counters across the city is being defended as a way of managing their resources in a way that retains a visible police presence.

Stephen Greenhalgh, deputy mayor for policing, told the Observer: “Police officer posts are not being cut, in fact the Metropolitan Police is now training new officers and numbers are already rising.

“Later this year we will embark on a massive recruitment drive to hire 5,000 new constables and unlike many parts of the country, the balanced budget we have agreed enables us to keep police numbers high with reform plans that will put an extra 2,600 cops into neighbourhoods by 2016.”

The mayor announced earlier this year that 63 stations and front counters will close across London by 2016.

Under the plans, a new 24/seven desk will be open at South Harrow Police Station in Northolt Road and ‘contact points’, which will be open at least three times a week, will replace counters at Pinner Police Station and Harrow Civic Centre in Station Road, Harrow.