Cricket projects to include young women (second version)

by Yixiang Zeng

Young women in Harrow are to be encouraged to join cricket schemes to tackle anti-social behaviour and reduce crime.

Chief Inspector Nick Davies gave the Harrow Police and Community Consultative Group (HPCCG) a presentation on Monday night on how the sport is being used to bring different religious groups together.

The meeting at the Civic Centre also included updates on issues including police performance and ‘stop and search’ powers.

Speaking about the police’s coaching projects, Chief Inspector Davies said: “We want to involve different groups in the cricket scheme and it is hard to reach young people.

“Crimes target young people, so by involving them into the scheme, it can improve their self-esteem.”

The Borough Commander, Chief Superintendent Dal Babu, also updated the HPCCG meeting on how his force was performing.

He said motor vehicle crime and the theft of motor vehicles had declined by 18 per cent compared the same period last year, which meets their target.

Other offences, such as residential burglary and robbery, had also steadily declined but were not currently meeting targets that had been set.

Mr Babu also said he wanted to make sure people were offered more support when involved in crimes. He also stressed the need for police and local authorities to work more efficiently when handling offenders.

He said: “What we need to be looking at is how we support victims, and make sure they get support while they go to prosecution.

“We also make sure the information on offenders is shared.”

Mr Babu also answered questions about cuts in police funding, but said he would have to wait for full details to be released by the Government to see what effect the changes would have on Harrow,

Concerns were raised about the police’s use of ‘stop and search’ powers, with one Queensbury councilor calling for better education on which extremist or radical groups had been banned.

Councillor Zarina Khalid said residents were sometimes handed leaflets from groups without knowing who they were.

She said they faced long delays when stopped by officers, but without knowing the material they had been given would get them into trouble.