Friday, June 29, 2007
Meeting Feedback inc Crime Reduction Officer's Report
Great Totham South (I will also put this on the feedback forum)
Regarding the comment by anonymous person on the GTS feeback forum blog, enquiring about what can be done about the criminal damage in GTS, I asked, what can be done? Ray Stannard (Crime reduction officer) said regarding graffiti, that the police have a “Graffiti” file of tags which can be matched to names. Such damage needs to be reported to the police so they can photograph it for the files before it is cleaned off. Furthermore, if the culprit has eg cut themselves and dripped blood anywhere, please don’t clean it up, as it’s a good source of evidential DNA. In other words, don’t tidy up the mess until the police have attended.
Re offensive graffiti. If you feel you must clean it off because it’s too offensive to leave, at least take some photographs yourself.
Also, particularly in the rural locations, such damage tends to be by local people, and several people are aware of just who is responsible. But unless they are willing to make a statement, then there is little the police can do about it.
Heather said that people just aren’t reporting crime, not just criminal damage, but burglaries as well. She urged coordinators to make good use of the PCSOs and tell them what is going on, at the time, even if the information goes no further than the PCSO’s head or pocket notebook. Then it can slot into the bigger picture. Ray reiterated this, saying that resources are allocated according to need, and a place with only two reported pieces of criminal damage is going to get less attention than a place with 10 recorded incidents. So underreporting leads to under-resourcing, which means the problem is less likely to get sorted.
Crime Reduction Officer’s Report
· Most serious crime at the moment is PURSE DIPPING. There were 5 incidents in one hour. It has shifted back to the supermarkets… Tescos… Morrisons… Iceland and there are possibles from Woolworth’s and Budgens. The thefts have become bolder, with at least 2 incidents being from bags held over the shoulder at the time. Advice. Do not leave the purse easily accessible from even a big bag over the shoulder.
Further a field, the problem has also been experienced in Asda in South Woodham Ferrers, and the major supermarkets in Chelmsford, which had 3 in an hour. This time, there were no distraction techniques used. People should not carry large sums of cash around, eg one person lost £300. All the coordinators had stories of people in the supermarkets with open invitations in the supermarket trolley.
· Cycle thefts. Though in comparison with other places we are low in cycle crime, 30 have gone missing recently, of which about 2 dozen were unsecured bicycles just left lying around. Make sure they are secure. Make sure the kids don’t just dump the bikes in the front garden. That makes for easy pickings.
· There is an ever increasing problem of thefts from rural locations such as farms with industrial units attached. They are losing vehicles, petrol tools, power tools, hand tools, metals.
· Cars. There are far too many insecure cars, some being left with the keys in the ignition even. Not just old heaps, either, but quality cars. One person lost his van when he was loading it up. He put one lot of tools in the van, went away for the second lot, and the van had vanished. The keys were in the ignition… And a post van went missing in a similar incident. Lock it up, and don’t leave the keys in the ignition.
The reason car crime must be emphasised to residents is that there is a big problem with serious car crime problem working its way from Billericay, Wickford, South Woodham Ferrers, out towards this area, and we need to be less complacent to combat it. Cars are losing things like laptops left visible on the seat, mobile phones etc. Often this is made easy by the car being insecure. People will find they are not insured for such thefts as they haven’t taken the basic safety measures, so why should the insurance company pay out?
· Ray said that if the basic crime prevention precautions were followed by residents, ie not leaving purses vulnerable, back doors unlocked, cars unlocked and items temptingly visible, cycles locked and put away, crime could drop from its already low figure of just under 8 per day to under 6 per day. Just with a few simple measures.
PSCO Report from Heather
Scrap metal thefts in the area are still high
Tolleshunt D’Arcy are setting up a Neighbourhood Watch
Heather wanted to talk about communication, or rather, lack of it. She told us that someone had told her in passing that they had been burgled. They said they hadn’t bothered reporting it because they felt that there was little chance of catching the persons responsible. But if it’s not reported, there’s no chance!
Can you help regarding communication and information dissemination?
Some of our coordiators are not on emal, so can't receive information easily, which means their esidents sometimes miss out. Even if you don't want to be a street coordinator, wold you be willing to have information and alerts emailed to you so that you can pass it on toa coordinator near you who isn't on elai? Would you like us to email you the information directly? If so, please contact me on nw-gts@excite.com. Please, please, put NHW in where it says re, so I know what it's about, otherwise it will be regarded as spam.
Regarding emailing our local police officers and PCSOs, emails sent to the police which contain graphics of any description were often diverted for scrutiny or rejected, so please be aware of this.
The Fire Brigade are offering free Fire Safety Checks and fitting smoke detectors for free. Contact Carl Pullen, the Community Safety Officer 01245 328388
Alcohol and Boats don’t mix very well. Be aware of the perils of using a boat whilst drunk, because there have been fatal accidents.
PCSO Heather Owen is leaving at the end of August. Heather has done a brilliant job, is definitely one of the best PCSOs in the District, if not the best. We will miss Heather greatly and wish her well for the future.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Neighbourhood Action Panels (NAP)
The “specific point of contact” (SPOC) has been renamed the “Neighbourhood Specialist Officer”. This is still Pc Bagley. (I hope you’re keeping up with the jargon and acronyms… Tee hee)
Why set it up?
Under the Crime and Disorder Act, Neighbourhood Policing has to be rolled out across the country by January 2008. Part of this requires the police to engage with the community they are policing. For this, Neighbourhood Action Panels are being set up. The aim is an informal liaison with the police and interested bodies to help focus some attention on local issues.
The way it works
Each Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT) has a Neighbourhood Action Panel (NAP) made up of Key Individuals in the Neighbourhood (KIN). KIN should be as representative of the locality as possible. eg Residents, people who work in the neighbourhood, or own businesses, Churches and other religious bodies, Parish councils, youth groups, etc, ie anyone who has in interest in that neighbourhood. The NAP will include one police officer.
Basically NAPs are locally based partnerships. The aim is community engagement, discussing the local issues which local people are concerned about. The NAP will meet about every 8 weeks to discuss the issues which are most concerning the neighbourhood, ie the Policing Priorities.
These concerns will be sampled by doorstep questionnaires from the PCSO asking people what their concerns are, and a form available from various sources like the shop, maybe online, and the NAP meeting itself. There is a facility to leave comments on this blog, if you wish. I may convert the Feedback Forum to be the NAP feedback area.
The NAP meetings will be held every 8 weeks or so, and will be advertised in the Press (and on this Blog, hopefully). The first part will be open to the public for discussion and feedback. Then the NAP will retire in private to discuss matters arising from the meeting itself, feedback forms, emails to the police, the Parish Councils, NHW coordinators etc, and list the three Policing Priorities which the community wants to be addressed.
This list of three Policing Priorities will then be taken to the Joint Action Group (JAG), which in Maldon meets weekly. It will be decided how best to tackle the issues, and who should be tasked with tackling those issues. They will also give feedback to be presented at the next NAP meeting.
The Priorities will also be advertised on the Essex Police Website. On the page about Great Totham NPT
Prior to the next NAP meeting, the police will tell us what has been done to address those issues.
Some points about the NAP
It is important that everyone feels represented by this panel. It is not intended to supersede other community engagements with the police, like NHW and Parish Council meetings, but to supplement them. It is important, too, that the meetings are not dominated by one group alone.
One factor which is evident, is that Wickham Bishops is a separate NAP, yet we share many of the same problems. It would make sense for some of these issues to be tackled jointly. It may be that the overlap of the Neighbourhood Watch interests will help in this respect.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Criminal Damage
Dear Resident,
As far as people being brought to justice having caused the damage, we have had 2 positive results in the last 3 years - Regarding the B1022 bus stop, when the brickwork was damaged, a local male was charged with criminal damage and given a caution.
Regarding damage to the village's bus stop signs, one local youth was arrested for damaging the Catchpole Lane bus stop and was given a reprimand last November. Thanks went to the member of the public who happened to see the damage being committed.
Although I have recieved hearsay information as to could be responsible for the damage to the war memorial wreath, the police would require more substantial evidence to be able to arrest someone for this.
Interestingly, the chap given the reprimand for the damage to the Catchpole Lane bus stop and the name given as responsible for the war memorial wreath, are males from the same family, who are very well known to the police. We are monitoring this family closely, and are in regular discussions with their housing officer.
I continue to patrol these areas at different times of the day and speak to the people who use the area to meet up with friends.
As far as getting a police surveillance camera goes, this could be possible, however I believe we would need a heavy back-up of continuous repeated damage to the area over a certain period, to be able to get the authority to place a camera there. To my knowledge over the past 3 years, there have been 2 attacks to the bus stop and 2 attacks to the telephone kiosk. This would not justify the police obtaining a surveillance authority, when there are other 'hotspots' with problems every week throughout the year. I will forward your comments to our Sergeant, PS Tim Marshall for his consideration. Alternatively you can contact him on 01621 869851 or 01621 868576 - Tolleshunt D'Arcy Police Post.
Finally, regarding the criminal damage being caused to the Jubilee Playing Field equipment, the Parish Council are currently in discussion as to what steps to take next, as it seems as soon as a piece of equipment is mended, it is broken again. Options of installing CCTV, obtaining a grant form the District Council for newer, more damage-proof equipment, and doing some local fundraising event to get more funding, have been discussed so far.
There is a new antisocial behaviour coordinator at Maldon District Council, Clare Lawrence, who may be able to help the village with youth inititiatives such as setting up a youth club, organising sporting events, building graffitti walls etc. She can be contacted on 01621 875821, and I'm sure she would appreciate your comments. I have spoken to her previously, and she was keen to engage with the youth in the Maldon North villages.
I hope this helps, Heather Owen
Police Community Support Officer 8385
Great Totham Neighbourhood Policing Team
- My mobile 07958 379451
- Maldon Station Front Office 01621 852255
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Heather's Report May 07
Police Community Support Officer Heather Owen
Maldon Police Station 01621 852255
Tolleshunt D'Arcy Police Station 01621 868576
Point of Contact Mobile 07710 046156 - This is picked up by the officer on duty.
My mobile 07958 379451
Some general crime prevention tips;
As the summer arrives, please be aware that opportunists are already targeting open properties for easy burglaries, sometimes when the occupants are even in the house. Hide keys/ wallets etc. in drawers upstairs rather than by the back door!
You can buy personal attack alarms from Maldon Police Station and Maldon District Council Offices for £1.50.
- If you are going on holiday, think about purchasing timers for lights/ radios, to give the impression of someone being in the house. Ask your neighbours to draw the curtains and clear your post each day.
- If a person knocks on your door asking to read your gas/ water meter and you are unsure as to whether they are legitimate, ask them for their head office phone number, so that you can make a phone call to them first to check their validity. Ask them to make an official appointment, ask for identification and ask a neighbour to be in with you when they return, IF they make an appointment.
- Take your Sat Nav holders inside when parked at home, as thieves are casing cars that have the holders on a regular basis.
- There are still a small number of purse dipping incidents happening in the Maldon area. Keep your purse in your jacket, or in a zipped up handbag. Buy handbags that have a long strap to place diagonally over your body, so that thieves can't quickly slip it off of your shoulder.
- To make it more difficult for intruders to gain access to your property, lock side gates, and remove dustbins etc. from the walls to stop them from using them to jump over fences.
- The country's biggest growing crime is identity fraud. Buy a shredder and use it! Identity thieves only need a name and address.
- Fitting a spy hole in your front door is a cheap option, which will allow you to see who is at your door.
- Keep a telephone by your bed. Then, if you think you have intruders in the house, the police are a quick phonecall away.
- Never leave anything on a passenger seat in a car. Even a jacket may attract opportunist thieves into breaking a window to see if anything else is in the vehicle.
Great Totham
28-29/05 - School Road, a tree was dug out from resident's front garden and stolen.
28/05 - One male arrested for a public order incident outside the Prince Of Wales Pub, 2355 hrs.
24/05 - Suspects heard on premises, Plains Road. At 2255 hrs, people were heard on a building site. It is thought the unknown males made off towards Great Braxted, crossing the B1022 at 2340 hrs. No descriptions available.
17/05 - The occupants of a maroon Ford Panel Van, H1** BMM, seen acting suspiciously around the Staplers Heath area. Police checks reveal no tax or insurance, and it is notified off-road. Registered owner is from Kelvedon.
15/05 - Great Mountains Farm,Colchester Road. Suspicious white Transit Connect Van, LY** DDK, seen on site. 3 males were looking into the farm buildings, and when disturbed, drove off without explanation. The vehicle is wanted for 4 offences around Essex. If you see this vehicle please call the police as soon as you can! ie 999
12- 14/05 - Dairy Crest Dairies, Broad Street Green, had unknown suspect(s) enter property by breaking window, and take cheque books to the value of £14.
14/05 - 1500 hrs, red Subaru seen doing laps around Stapler's Heath. Owner was from Witham.
03/05 - A white Ford Escort Van, G3** WHJ was seen parked up along Beckingham Road. This vehicle is owned by the male responsible for stealing golf balls from a number of golf clubs in the area.
Wickham Bishops
There have been a couple of reports of badgers being killed in rabbit snares in the Wickham Bishops area. Can I request people keep a look out for these snares so that checks can be made to make sure that they are legal. There is a hotline number for the North East Essex Badger Group that can be called if anyone has any information. 07751 572175.
22/05 - Armed robbery at The One Stop Store, 2125 hrs. A white male, late twenties, with skinhead, wearing glasses and a dark polo shirt, threatened to use a knife if the cashier refused to hand over the cash. £300 taken, the male ran off on foot towards Snows Corner. A red Fiat Punto was seen driving away from the scene although we are not sure whether this was connected.
13/05 - One Stop Store. 1620 hrs. 2 shoplifters stole various food items by putting the goods into a shopping trolley. The male, mid forties, with black hair with blonde highlights, put the items into the 80 year old lady's shopping trolley, before they both put the trolley in a car and drove away without paying. The female wore glasses and a green jumper.
11/05 - One Stop Store. 1530 hrs, 2 males, early twenties stole handwash and beer.
Little Totham
No reported crime.There have been renewed complaints about the white van parked at the Sawyers Road/ The Street junction. This is being monitored by the local beat officer.
Great Braxted
24/05 - Dwelling burglary, Tiptree Road, at 1550 hrs. An unknown suspect entered the property from the open back door and stole a jacket containing a wallet with cash.
06/05 - Braxted Golf Course, late morning. 2 males in a Nissan Primera, PN** XDB were parked up in the golf club, despite the club being close Sunday morning. When questioned, they stated that they were just looking at the course. One male had a hand-written map of the Braxted area. A check of the vehicle reveals the owner is from Bristol.
Little Braxted
No reported crime.
It has been reported that a red pick-up may be flytipping in the Braxted area. It is thought the truck comes from Little Braxted.
See you on my patrols, Heather Owen
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible
