January 2009 Archives

Three men have been arrested following a raid on a Wembley house where drugs and ammunition were found.

Police executed a drugs warrant at the address in Alexandra Court, Empire Way on Wednesday.

Police recovered a large quantity of drugs and around 18 rounds of ammunition.

The men, aged 23, 30 and 35 years, have been bailed until April 15.

Sergeant Liam Tierney from Tokyngton Safer Neighbourhoods Team, said: "We are committed to improving the lives of residents whose daily life is blighted by drugs and violent crime. I hope this action sends a positive message to the community that we will take whatever action necessary to improve their lives and tackle crime."

Anyone with information regarding criminal activity in their area should contact their local Safer Neighbourhoods Team or Crimestoppers anonymously 0800 555 111.

Seven teenagers have been sentenced to a total of 18 years in jail for a string of robberies which included ripping gold chains from their victims' necks.

The thugs targeted their victims on buses, the Tube and streets.

All seven were found guilty following a trial for robbery in November. They were sentenced at Harrow Crown Court last Monday.

Brent Police explained how in June last year, two helpless victims were with their friends asleep on a night bus travelling along The North Circular Road when the gang surrounded them.

One ripped a gold chain from the neck of the passenger and then punched him in the face several times. A watch was then ripped from the other victim's arm. Little did they know they had been caught on CCTV.

Two weeks later a mother, walking with her three young children in Brentfield Road, Willesden, was followed by the gang. One of the robbers came up behind her, ripped the gold chain off her neck and ran off.

The youths all committed more robberies on the Tube, which police are investigating.

PC Nick Harvey from Brent Police said: "This is a great result. I am pleased that these dangerous young men are no longer on the streets. These sentences send out a clear message to those who are contemplating committing offences on our borough that the sentences being given to offenders will reflect their actions and that the judicial system will work with the police in ensuring that the full weight of the law will be used."

Isak Mohamed, 18, of Cobbold Road, Willesden, was sentenced to one year imprisonment for robbery.

Abdi Nasir Abdi, 18, of Helpbery Road, was sentenced to three-and a-half-years along with a 17-year-old who was jailed for four-and-a-half years. Four other 17-year-olds were also given a custodial sentence.

Passengers can quiz British Transport Police (BTP) officers next week about crime and safety on the Jubilee line.

The Jubilee Line Neighbourhood Policing Team - comprising one sergeant, two constables and two PCSOs - has been patrolling the line and stations between Stanmore and St Jonh's Wood stops since its launch in August.

They will take questions at the conference room at Wembley Park London Underground Station, Bridge Road, Wembley, on Thursday 5 February from 7pm onwards. It will the second such public Q&A the team has held.

PC Matt Dobbs said: "The neighbourhood team means we can respond to issues and needs more easily, as well as making people feel safer using the Tube.

"We are easy to contact and always welcome feedback from the community.

"These meetings give passengers the opportunity to highlight issues of concern and discuss them with us. ItÕs always very helpful to speak to people face-to-face."

Tunde Taiwo, group station manager for the London Underground's Willesden Green Group, said: "Our staff work closely with the BTP Neighbourhood Policing Teams and whilst crime remains low on our network we know it's important to talk with our passengers as well as the communities that live and work close to our Tube station.

"We are fully supportive of these meetings and hope they'll help everyone move around more confidently and safely across our network."

n Anyone who is unable to attend but would like to share comments can email the Jubilee Line NPT by email at Jubileelinenorth.npt@btp.pnn.police.uk

A survivor of the 7/7 London bombings declared the new Brent Ambulance Station officially.

Gill Hicks MBE was taken on a guided tour of the station in Neasden lane, which features an open plan mess room with kitchen and seating area, fully-equipped offices and a large training room.

She was also given the opportunity to meet some of the staff who worked on July 7, 2007, and see some of the vehicles that respond to emergency calls in the area.

At 13,500 sq ft, Brent Ambulance Station, which was opened on January 16, is now the second largest ambulance station in London and will be base for around 70 members of staff including paramedics, emergency medical technicians, A&E support, urgent care along with administration and management.

The Brent complex will respond to around 100 calls per day in an area covering Hanger Lane, to Brent Cross, Wembley and Kilburn.

Ambulance Operations Manager for Brent, Kevin Brown, said: "The ambulance station is an excellent environment for us to work and train in and I would like to thank everyone who has been involved with the project.

"The new station is ideally located and will help us to deliver a faster response to patients in the Brent area.

"We are honoured to have had Gill along to officially open the station. As a survivor of the 7/7 bombings and a tireless campaigner for peace, she is an excellent motivation for all our staff."

Libraries in Brent will be open for longer from February.

Most libraries will now open from 10am on the days they operate and some will close later. Three libraries will now be open seven days a week.

Brent Council leader Paul Lorber said: "Brent Council constantly wants to provide excellent library facilities that give our customers the best possible services.

"These new hours are a vast improvement. They will enable users to enjoy all that our libraries have to offer during longer hours every week."

The new hours run from Monday February 9.

See the new hours of your local library at www.brent.gov.uk

All but a handful of Brent's schools have improving GCSE results, according to the Government's figures released last week.

An impressive 85 per cent of secondary schools saw an increase in the number of 15-year-old pupils achieving five or more A* to C grades.

And only three of the borough's 19 educational institutes saw a slump in the number of students achieving the top grades in August last year.

John Christie, director of the children and families service, said: "We are all very proud of Brent schools, which perform exceptionally well against regional and national targets.

"Brent is in the top tier of school results despite being one of the most deprived boroughs in London and this yearÕs improvement is a wonderful tribute to staff, pupils and parents."

Alperton Community School, in Stanley Avenue, Wembley, saw the biggest jump in results with 13 per cent more teenagers getting A* to C grades, in subjects that included English and maths.

Copland School, in Cecil Avenue, Wembley, saw a 12 per cent increase, with 51 per cent of students falling into the category in 2008, compared to 39 per cent in 2007.

Sir Alan Davies, headteacher of Copland, said: "We did very well and shot up last year so are very pleased.

"A lot of effort is put in to improve studentsÕ English and Maths results and we run a Saturday school as part of this.

"We also have appointed intervention support monitors to help students improve their grades."

On average 55 per cent of Brent students achieved the five A* to C grades which is above the national average of 47 per cent.

Islamic boysÕ school, Brondesbury College, saw it results fall by 11 per cent, but it did set its standards extremely high in 2007 when all its pupils managed to achieve five or more A* to C grades.

The most successful was Brent's all-Hindu Swaminarayan School, which achived a clean sweep with 100 per cent of pupils getting five or more A to Cs.

Capital City Academy in Doyle Gardens, Willesden had one of the lowest percentages of successful pupils but has seen a steady improvement in grades since it was taken out of special measures in 2005.

Principal Philip O'Hear, said: "We are pleased that our steady progress has been maintained with our GCSE results.

"We are rapidly closing the gap between our results and the national and Brent averages."

A Brent policewoman is facing jail after being accused of professional misconduct and sharing confidential information with friends.

Keiley Patton, of Raleigh Road, Hornsey, has been charged with four counts of misconduct in a public office and appeared in Southwark Crown Court, in London, last Friday.

From January until June 2008 the 26-year-old is accused of supplying a class C drug, as well as conducting unauthorised checks on confidential police computers systems and disclosing the information to others.

The police constable, who was based in Wembley, also obtained car insurance for another person through misrepresentation.

During the same period Patton ran police computer checks for people including Nathaniel Williamson, Menlik Lewis, Corey Wright, Carly Learmonth, Acer Reed and Anna and Paul Curtin.

Patton is also charged with burglary of World Airways, in Ealing Road, Wembley, on April 16, 2008, where £4580 worth of cash and calling cards were stolen.

Patton will be sentenced at a later date.

All of the borough's diverse communities are invited to come together for Brent Holocaust Memorial Day.

Brent is marking the nationally recognised event at its town hall in Forty Lane, Wembley, between 2.30pm and 4pm on Sunday.

There will be talks by representatives of the Anne Frank Trust, anti-facism magazine Searchlight and the anti-racism football campaign Kick it Out.

Brent Junior Choir will also perform throughout the afternoon along with pupils from Claremont High School, who will read poems.

Reverend Anthony Wolfson, Wembley United Synagogue, will lead a memorial prayer in Hebrew and English followed by a one minute silence to close the commemoration ceremony.

More than 150 fuming residents joined forces to fight proposals for a new rubbish dump on the outskirts of Brent.

The outraged protesters from Dollis Hill attended a public meeting to discuss Barnet Council's planning application to relocate a large waste reprocessing plant to the Edgware Road.

They said the development would mean hundreds of rubbish trucks passing through their leafy residential hub every day, increasing levels of noise, traffic and pollution.

MP for Brent East, Sarah Teather (Liberal Democrat), joined the debate.

She said: "Residents are quite rightly furious at the plan to build a dump on their doorstep, and it is absolutely vital that they get a fair hearing from the leaders of Barnet Council.

"There could be hundreds of extra lorries passing through residential areas in Dollis Hill every single week, not to mention the potential impact of pollution upon residentsÕ health and the environment."

The politician said more time needed to be given for a proper assessment on the impact of Barnet's plans.

She added: "To press ahead regardless of such passionate opposition would be a gross insult to all those who turned out to defend our quality of life."

The dump is planned to be built on the current site of Bestway, close to close to Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School.

Dawood Parvez, director of the cash and carry, said: "The developers are proposing to compulsory purchase our store, threatening jobs, livelihoods and the many local businesses that we serve."

Plans also include a site on Tilling Way, next to the North Circular, where the developers intend to burn waste.

They claim it will be a combined heat and power station, but Brent Friends of the Earth have voiced concerns that an incinerator could be built there.

Viv Stein, spokeswoman for the green organisation, said: "Developers' plans lack crucial detail on the type of technology and likely emissions, so we cannot assess the full environmental impact. We cannot let this application go through in outline without this information.

"Incineration undermines recycling, contributes to climate change, and is not a sustainable way of dealing with waste."

Protesters say only a handful of Brent households have been consulted about the plans which are due to go in front of a Barnet Council planning committee next month.

Brent borough's most vulnerable residents could suffer if plans to charge for vital care services are approved.

Elderly people who attend day care centres, disabled people living in sheltered flats and hospital patients receiving re-enablement care will have to pay increased fees under the proposals being considered by Brent Council.

Day care centres are currently free to attend, but from April this year council bosses want to slap a £3.75 per day charge on the service.

They have justified this by saying many other councils already charge for the service.

Re-enablement care charges for people who have just left hospital will also be hiked to £16.65 per hour and sheltered care charges will rise 292 per cent, from £39.90 per week to £116.55.

Brent Labour party is calling for the proposals to be scrapped and to charge users no more than the rate of inflation.

Its leader, Councillor Ann John, said: "The council is hitting residents with a series of stealth taxes in the form of increased charges for council services or new charges. In the case of these proposed increases in care charges they are balancing the books by targeting the elderly and disabled."

The decision to implement the proposed charges will be made at the council's executive meeting on February 16. Residents are being consulted and have until January 19 to put their views forward.

Brent Council said that 70 per cent of people would still received the services for free.

Councillor Reg Colwill, responsible for adults, health and social care, said: "We believe the day care charge is excellent value for money, as it also includes transport to and from the centre. It's a very small contribution, as a day centre costs from £38 to £170 per patient per day to provide.

"Only people who can afford it will have to pay. For example, an older person with an income of £163 per week will pay nothing. Nobody in Brent will have to pay charges that leave them without enough to live on."