POLICE cars are in constant use 24 hours a day, seven days a week and need to be maintained and cleaned to maximise their safe and effective use.

I was extremely impressed to see Harrow Police Cadets, many of whom are in the middle of their exams, spending the weekend washing and cleaning the police vehicles.

Harrow Police Cadets are from local schools including Harrow High, Nower Hill and St Dominic’s College.

Despite the cold and unseasonably wet weather, the cadets worked enthusiastically to ensure that our officers had a gleaming fleet of police cars.

The challenge now, is for police officers to ensure that these vehicles are maintained to their current high standards.

I would like to say a huge thank you to all the police cadets for their enthusiasm and dedication.

I was particularly impressed with 6ft 5ins Ali Roman Jouyan, from Harrow High School, who managed to clean the top of the police van without using a ladder.

Thank you also to PC Lou Everett, PC Jeff Barnbrook, PC Mike Penny and PC Sasha Herbert who helped out on the day.

Harrow Safer Neighbourhoods Teams will be visiting roads across the borough looking our for parked vehicles, particularly those where valuables have been left on view and advising motorists on crime prevention.

By following these few basic crime prevention tips you can avoid becoming a victim of vehicle crime:

l Never leave valuable items in your car, including sunglasses, the removable radio cover and your Sat Nav. Do you really need to keep those items in the glove box?

l Wipe away the Sat Nav mark on your windscreen.

l Consider fitting anti-tamper screws to your number plate. Free screws can be obtained from your Safer Neighbourhoods teams

l Never leave your car keys where they can be seen from the front door.

For further crime prevention advice, go to www.met.police.uk/crimeprevention/vehicle.htm.

I attended a briefing of B Team officers this week and was introduced to some of the 21 new officers who have joined the borough.

I was impressed to see the officers working very hard under the supervision of Inspector Kate Cook, who is a very able and experienced officer.

I was also out on patrol with D Team this week and became involved in intelligence gathering around street robbery of gold chains.

There have been a few reports in the last few days of thieves stealing lead and copper-piping which is visible on the outside of houses. Roads affected have been Kenton Lane, Whitchurch Lane and Weston Drive, Stanmore.

Please be on the look out for vans, especially late at night and report any suspicious activity to police by calling 999.

As I was leaving the police station late one evening, I saw one of our police volunteers, Lorraine Jackson, who is working on improving the service we deliver to victims of crime.

We have 60 office-based volunteers working with Harrow Police, who provide support allowing police officers and PCSOs to maximise their presence on the streets of Harrow.