'One rape or gun crime per week in Harrow'

Dec 2 2009 By Ian Proctor

RAPES, and crimes involving a gun, are now both occurring in Harrow an average of more than once a week.

The numbers of offences recorded for each category have jumped by more than 70 per cent, according to statistics published by the Metropolitan Police.

These figures show the percentage increase in rapes is more than three times the London average.

Sixty-five rapes were reported in the borough between October 2008 and October 2009 compared to just 38 for the same period 12 months previously.

This equates to a 71 per cent surge compared to the 19 per cent for the whole of the capital, while officers 'solved' – whether by securing a conviction or issuing a caution or warning – 11 of the 07/08 cases and just seven of the 08/09 batch.

The volume of incidents involving a firearm in Harrow grew from 37 in the year up to October 2008 to 63 in the year up to October 2009 - a 70 per cent increase – while the number of 'gun-enabled crimes' happening across all 33 boroughs almost doubled to 3,315.

However, detection rates as not so readily available for comparison.

In May, the responsibility for investigating sex crimes was swapping from individual Sapphire Units based in the boroughs to a centralised unit at the Serious Crime Directorate at Scotland Yard, while in June Harrow gained a new borough commander with Chief Superintendent Dal Babu taking over from Richard Walton.

A general statement issued by the Metropolitan Police said: "The MPS recognises that rapes and sexual offences remain under-reported and we continue to encourage victims to report these serious crimes to police.

"The rise in recorded crimes is due partly to an increase in victims coming forward to report these crimes, and because also over the last six months the MPS has had better compliance with the Home Office counting rules in the recording of crimes and now has a centralised crime management unit to improve the consistency and quality of crime recording practices."

The total number of crimes recorded in Harrow went up by 5 per cent between 2007/08 to 2008/09 to 15,332, with the borough suffering increases in homicides, sexual offences excluding rape, violence against people, domestic crime, homophobic crime and racist crime.

But burglary, robbery and motor vehicle crime fell.