Neighbourhood Watch News
[Monthly Crime Report] [Village NHW Coordinators] [Your local Police Team]
December News
“A thief strikes every 45 seconds in countryside”. This headline appeared recently in one of the national newspapers at the top of an article which went on to say that 507,609 crimes took place in the countryside in the first half of this year compared with 195,907 over the previous six months.
The possibility of an increase in crime in our
four rural parishes
In this current tough economic environment with rising unemployment at a time
when cut-backs in local Policing are being implemented, it is wise to think
again about the possibility of an increase in crime in our four rural parishes.
Householders should think carefully about all home security measures. Three
important ways to combat this threat are precaution, vigilance and an awareness
of crime by deception:
Precaution.
During recent years there has been plenty of crime prevention advice in the Neighbourhood Watch articles in the Parish News and further advice is available from the Police on telephone number 101. Also, Hampshire Constabulary has provided this “seasonal” advice:-
 | Light timers should be used in unoccupied houses. |
| Christmas presents should not be displayed where they can be seen through windows. |
| When shopping, do not leave valuables visible in your vehicle. |
| Dispose of packaging for valuable items in a general refuse bin, away from your house. |
| Keep an eye out for vulnerable neighbours; also make sure they are not the target of bogus callers. |
| When you go out check that all is in order in the nearby area. |
| If you plan to be away at Christmas make your neighbours aware. |
Vigilance.
The Police ask that we all become “neighbourhood watchers” and keep a lookout for anything suspicious and report suspicions to them without delay. The Police telephone number remains the same - 101. Dial 999 in an emergency.
Deception and Fraud.
Crimestoppers-UK tell us that “Fraud costs each UK adult an average of £765 a year”. Neighbourhood Watch Co-ordinators regularly face a dilemma when selecting the most helpful information to circulate to our communities. Fraud and various “scams” are perhaps the most difficult because of the diversity, complexity and the high number of deceptions and we are aware that sometimes these warnings themselves can be bogus or misleading.
The fraudsters usually operate in very subtle and seemingly innocent ways; frequently on the telephone, the internet or at your front door. Below is some advice about fraud and sources of helpful information:-
| Beware of suspicious sales pitches, unexpected telephone calls or items that arrive through the letterbox that ask you for information or invite a response. If you are worried about cold calling Hampshire County Council Trading Standards team on 01962 833666 can help. |
| If you are asked to call an unfamiliar premium rate number, you can contact PhonepayPlus on 0800 500 212 (Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm) for guidance. If you would like to know more about how to recognize premium rate services, understand what they cost and how to use these services with confidence visit www.phonepayplus.org.uk/For-The-Public/FAQ.aspx |
| If anyone is troubled by rogue traders or cold calling you can contact Hampshire County Council's Quick Response Team on 01962 833666 (Monday – Friday 0900hrs to 1700hrs) where specially trained officers are on hand to provide assistance. |
| Tell the Police if you have been defrauded or have suspicions about fraudulent activity. |
| For more information about fraud, visit www.crimestoppers-uk.org/fraud or www.citizensadvice.org.uk/index/campaigns |
And finally.......... Neighbourhood Watch wish you a very happy and safe Christmas.
Other Neighbourhood Watch News
There
have been many complaints by residents about speeding cars on our local roads.
Our PC, Roger Kitson, has now started using a laser device to check speeds. He
says that he hopes that residents of our villages will not be among those to
attract fixed penalty notices from him. The 101 Non-Emergency Number that we
have been using in Hampshire for some time is to be rolled out nationally by the
end of this year. All 101 calls, whether from landlines or mobiles, will now
cost 15p regardless of duration or time of day. Postings and promotions among
the Test Valley Rural PCSOs have led to a change in the PCSO working with PC
Roger Kitson in our area. Our new PCSO is David Trowbridge. He looks forward to
making himself known over the next months. In the meantime he will welcome any
contact for an informal chat about any local issue or problem (or just to say
Hello!) through the non-emergency 101 number or through his email address david.trowbridge@hampshire.pnn.police.uk
The telephone numbers for the Police appear in the front pages of each edition of Parish News.
| For reference, the village Neighbourhood Watch coordinators are: | |||
| Tel: | Email: | ||
| Amport | Brian Nolan | 772007 | bnolan@btopenworld.com |
| Amport - North of A303 | David Yates | 773646 | nhw@david-yates.com |
| Monxton | Robert Davies | 710403 | r.gdavies@yahoo.co.uk |
| Grateley | John Stamp | 889226 | johnandnatalie@btinternet.com |
| Quarley | Keith Puttock | 889177 | keith.puttock@btinternet.com |
Our New Beat PC
Recent
changes in the deployment of officers in the Andover Rural team mean that PC
Bill Williams has left us for the Sombornes beat and to spend more time on the
Farmwatch project. PC 2911 Roger Kitson will be taking over our beat. We have
enjoyed very good working relationships with Bill and will be sorry to see him
go, but he is due to retire in 12 month’s time so he would not have been with
us much longer in any event. We welcome PC Roger Kitson as our new Beat PC. He
will know our area well because he once lived in Quarley. Our early contacts
with him indicate that we can expect to have as good a rapport with him as we
did with PC Bill Williams. He has been a police officer for 14 years starting
his police career in Southampton and serving at Portswood and Southampton
Central for six years before moving to Andover in 2003 and then to Weyhill in
2004 when he took on the beat covering the area of Hurstbourne Tarrant and its
surrounding villages north of Andover.
We expect that residents will get to know Roger (in an appropriate way!) as he goes about his working routines and meetings. He may be contacted directly by leaving a message for him via the 101 non-emergency phone number or by email on roger.kitson@hampshire.pnn.police.uk