THE NEW top cop for Westminster has revealed he will be patrolling the borough's streets himself.

Borough commander Simon Bray, who has spent 25 years in the police force, plans to set aside time each month when he will go out on patrol.

He said: "I'll be spending some time out with the Safer Neighbourhood Teams, popping into stations unannounced and going on raids.

"I've been trying to get around all the different parts of Westminster, but I never seem to have as much time as I'd like."

Mr Bray added that when he started in the police force, around 25 years ago, his commander at the time had a similar approach to the job.

He said: "He had a habit of asking constables what they were doing, which they didn't seem to like much.

"Now I'm commander, I've realised it's a good idea. I like to wander around a bit and I like to make clear my expectations of people."

While going out on patrol, the new commander emphasised he will also be carrying out his other duties, including attending community meetings, holding regular meetings with staff and his national and pan-London responsibilities.

One major target during his time in office is to cut down on violence among young people.

He said: "It's less of an issue in Westminster than some other London boroughs, but we can never be complacent.

Referring to the stabbing of Amro Elbadawy, near his Queen's Park home last year, he added: "I'm very mindful of those events. We've not had a violent death since Amro and I'm very keen that we don't have any more.

"Last year in London, we had a spate of murders among young people, so we have to make sure we don't take our finger off the pulse.

His plans for cutting down violent crime include setting up exclusion zones for young people in crime hotspots, introducing more targeted stop and search operations and installing metal detecting 'knife arches' where necessary.