Police kiosk comes to Harrow town centre in March

WORK has begun on a kiosk that will allow police officers who patrol Harrow town centre to spend more time on the beat.
Members of the nine-strong town centre team, jointly funded by Harrow Police and Harrow Council, currently have to return to their office at West Street Police Station, West Street, Harrow on the Hill, in order to complete paperwork and record crimes.
But the new £150,000 glass-sided structure, nicknamed the iPlod and to be located outside BHS in St Ann's Road, will provide four desks for wireless laptop working and act as a drop-in centre for officers on patrol.
The building is being fabricated off site and will be lowered into place by a crane in mid-March.
This week engineers began the six week long task of preparing the foundations.
Councillor Susan Hall (Conservative), the council's portfolio holder for the environment, said: "We believe putting a police base into the heart of a shopping street provides extra reassurance to residents and is a sign of our commitment to providing cleaner and safer streets.
"This new base is a really practical and wireless base that officers can drop in and out of while on patrol. It means that officers will spend the maximum time possible on the beat."
Harrow's borough commander Chief Superintendent Dal Babu said: "This is excellent news for the borough. The town centre team has already made a big difference in terms of reducing crime in the town centre.
"Having a police base located in the heart of the town centre will mean that the team are even more visible and should help to reduce crime even further."