Chief Superintendent Matt Gardner, Brent Police borough commander, sums up events in 2012

It has been a very good year for crime reduction in Brent with reductions across the board in burglary, theft from motor vehicle and assaults and I want to share a few of the small success stories through the year with you this week.

The most pleasing figure has been the 30 per cent reduction we have achieved in robbery which equates to 448 less victims in Brent so far this year.

This year has seen the start of some new partnerships to give routes out of gangs such as the one with St Guiles Trust and a multi agency jobs education and training event on the Chalkhill Estate, Wembley, in September.

I am sure that events such as these have played a significant role in helping to deliver the great reductions we have seen this year.

We have also achieved a reduction in theft person through pre-emptive operations in anticipation of crime spikes.

At significant public events at large venues such as Wembley Arena or Wembley Stadium we have on occasion suffered upsurges in crime.

This year we have worked closely with the management of these venues and the Local Authority licensing Department. We have selectively increased stewarding, policing, crowd management measures and licensing conditions. In one event which saw sixty victims of theft last year, by better partnership working, this was reduced to zero this year.

A happier and safer event was delivered for all 12,500 visitors.

This year the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) has been subject to significant scrutiny in relation to our use of stop and search. We have become more selective in those stopped and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) came to see how Brent police officers are mentored and trained in their use of stop and search as we are currently the highest performing Borough in the MPS.

Performance is measured in ‘outcome rates’ as HMIC and our Commissioner wants us to be as selective as possible in its use, to reduce negative searches and focus more on searching for weapons.

As a result of this we are doing some work with other London boroughs to help them improve.

Finally, looking forward, the crime reduction initiatives that we have started this year and will be taking forward into next year are the two Smartwater saturation zones, trap houses and trap cars in Harlesden that I shared with you a few weeks ago.

Smartwater is the invisible forensic marker that we will be now routinely scanning suspects and property for at stop and searches, search warrants and other operations.

We are still in the process of distributing the �60,000 worth of free kits so if we have missed you please contact the Safer Neighbourhood team using the details on the letter we left.

I kook forward to sharing the stories next year of the thieves who will be going straight to jail when they light up with the Smartwater like a Christmas tree when we put the UV lights on them.

As ever, if you have any information on crime matters, we will act. You can call us on Crimestoppers (0800 555 111), 101, or your local Safer Neighbourhood Team Teams accessed via the Met Police Website (www.met.police.cu.uk).

In an emergency, call 999. For daily updates and information about what is happening in Brent, you can follow us on Twitter at @MPSBrent

Thank you for your continued support Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Matthew Gardner