Camden’s new borough commander reports for work – back where he met his wife

Camden’s new borough commander has spoken of his connection to the patch – revealing that he met his wife in a Kentish Town pub.

Ch Supt Ben-Julian Harrington has now taken over from acting borough commander Richard Tucker, who is returning to detective work.

The 44-year-old said: “It’s not as though they have sent me to somewhere I’m not familiar with. I grew up in north London. I bought many pairs of jeans from Camden Town as a younger man, and I met my wife in a pub in Kentish Town 18 years ago.”

Mr Harrington has been working on the Met’s corporate strategy for the past year and ran the central communications command dealing with emergency calls for more than three years.

“I’m excited, it’s a fantastic borough,” he said. “One of the biggest challenges for me is to consolidate and build on the success Camden has had.

“There have been massive reductions in crimes like burglary and robbery, with fewer victims over a number of years, and to continue that is a challenge.”

In the shake-up to policing, many officers previously assigned to individual wards, will cover larger areas within Camden. “We’re confident we will see a continued reduction in crime [under the new model],” he said.

The impending closure of Hampstead Police Station was “not ideal”, but: “I can guarantee it won’t mean a reduction in service to that area.

“The same officers to be responding to incidents and patrolling the streets of Hampstead and the north of the borough.”