LAST week Brent police arrested 240 people. We are being more efficient in targeting the right people, executing more warrants, arresting more people who are wanted and arresting more drug dealers.
In fact, a number of the warrants executed come direct from community intelligence, so thank you.
Part of the challenge for us, as your local police service, is how much information we are able to share with the press and the public about all of this good work.
For example, last week there was some really good work by the Northwick Park Safer Neighbourhoods Team who executed a search warrant and found 320 grams of crack cocaine with an estimated street value of £16,000, white powder which has been sent off for analysis, and 64 cannabis plants. Two people were arrested and charged.
Some of you may have seen the Crimewatch programme last week on BBC1. This came about as police colleagues in Bristol asked for our help in leafleting the Church Road area in Willesden where Bristol police believed members of our community may have had some information in relation to a murder.
The area was leafleted by our volunteer cadets and some of you may have come across them.
This is just a small piece of work volunteer cadets are involved in and we are always looking for young people to join the cadets and give a little back to the community they live in. If you are interested, please contact your local Safer Neighbourhood Team - see www.met.police.uk/saferneighbourhoods/ .
On a separate matter, often we are restricted by what we can release to the press and local communities because of ‘subjudice’ rules.
These are the rules to ensure that when a case gets to court the magistrate or the jury are not swayed by any information they have already heard or read about in the papers, and that they judge the case only on the facts presented to them.
This is obviously a good thing, but what it does mean is that it is sometimes weeks or even months before a significant crime gets full coverage. We, as your local police cannot make comment until the conclusion of a case. This is worth remembering if you think that it has gone quiet about a crime that you are interested in, or have read about. Please be patient.
The rules are very different if you are a victim of crime; we realise it is essential that we share as much information as possible about the state of an investigation with victims.
How well-informed victims feel obviously impacts on how satisfied they are with the service we provide. This was something we were not always very good at, as most of our efforts were spent tracking down criminals.
Victim updates is something we are working hard at to improve.
On a final note, as the clocks have gone back, please be careful to take care of your homes as criminals use darkness as a cover to commit their selfish crimes. Please lock your windows and doors.
The bottom line is this - remember that with all the media coverage of crime, being an actual victim of crime in Brent remains low. Thank you for your support. We are here to serve you.
