I ATTENDED the launch of Harrow's equality organisation last week, which was well supported by community leaders and the community.

This was only to be expected given our borough's great diversity.

The new census in 2011 will help to give us an accurate picture of Harrow's increasing multiculturalism.

However, we are already widely acknowledged as the most religiously diverse borough in the country.

Deputy borough commander Neil Vyse and I attended our regular performance meeting with the deputy assistant commissioner.

These meetings focus on Harrow borough's performance, but there is also an opportunity to discuss working more closely with adjoining boroughs.

At this meeting, the local borough commanders decided to co-ordinate some of our resources to deal with burglaries in the north west of London.

Meanwhile, I confirmed PC Darren Clarke in the rank of constable after he completed his two-year probationary period.

The Independent Advisory Group attended a meeting at South Harrow Police Station and I explained the consultation process for the review of safer neighbourhoods teams.

Detective Inspector James McEvoy, who leads the community safety unit, gave an excellent presentation on how the Metropolitan Police Service benefits from engagement and consultation with members of the Independent Advisory Group.

Harrow Police are working with the Young Foundation on delivering The Reliance Project, which involves police officers and youth workers working together to maximise the opportunities for some of our most challenging young people to change their behaviour.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Father John Spinks, who retired last month as Harrow's Police Chaplain.

Father John has provided guidance and support for many of our police officers who deal with traumatic incidents involving deaths, serious inquires and violence.

He is a former police inspector, who worked in some of the most challenging areas of London and understands the daily pressures faced by Harrow police officers and staff.

I wish him every level of happiness in his retirement, which is well deserved after his many years of public service. I will certainly miss his sound advice and regular visits.

Finally, I would like to warn all businesses of a scam which has been reported to us [for the full story see page 5].

The manager of a restaurant in Harrow received a booking by email for a large number of people. The email explained that the sender needed to know the exact cost of the meal in advance in order to transfer money from an account abroad.

They then supplied their credit card details and asked for a much larger sum to be charged to their card, requesting that the overpayment was transferred to a third party account.

Fortunately, at this point the manager became suspicious, cancelled the booking and contacted police. However, had the bogus transaction gone ahead I am sure that that the restaurant would have lost a large sum of money.

This scam has many variations. Please don't fall victim to this type of fraud and if you are suspicious, contact the police immediately.