Brent Council has agreed to pay more than £400,000 to have extra police officers patrol the borough’s streets.

Cabinet members gave the green light to a three-year partnership with the Met Police who will match the council’s money to offer “two officers for the price of one”.

The MetPatrol scheme will fund 12 extra police officers who will be placed in targeted “hotspots” to crack down on crime and anti-social behaviour.

Cllr Tom Miller, lead member for stronger communities, said. “This is a flagship measure.

“We have the option of increasing police presence across the borough using council money which will be matched by the met where we get double the value for money if we invest in this police provision. £408,000 will get us 12 police in total, a sergeant and five officers funded by us, six officers funded by the Met.”

He added: “The gravity of our situation in answer to violence and injury at the moment is particularly pressing. This is the sort of problem that enhanced visible police presence can really deal with. It also allows us to make a more efficient go of management of this. We will be in charge of tasking these police officers so they will be directed towards priorities for the council and my portfolio, rather than those set by the Met.”

Cllr Krupesh Hirani, lead member for community wellbeing and councillor for Dudden Hill, said: “I welcome this, as we’re a bit powerless in tackling the issues. I cover two very busy high streets in my ward, Church Road is one. There are crime issues there where the police just cannot cope and they don’t have the presence there to deal with those hotspots.”

Nigel Quantrell, Brent Borough Superintendent, said: “I am pleased to see that this report has been approved by Brent Council’s cabinet. The MetPatrol Plus scheme has been successfully used in other boroughs across London to reduce crime and make people feel safer. We hope that this trend will continue if the scheme is rolled out in Brent.”

The agreement is subject to the budget being set in February.