Issue number 3  2004

Community Initiative 

in partnership with

Who will tit the equipment? A volunteer from the Crime Prevention Panel or a Crime Prevention Officer from West Yorkshire Police.

Contact:

Community Consultation

E-Mail: neil@zigzaglighting.com

NEWSLETTER 2004 issue 2

GUARDING THE GARDEN

Now that the summer months are here, our thoughts may well turn to our gardens. Sadly the thieves' thoughts are likely to fol­low suit.

Gardens, by their nature, are difficult to secure against theft. None of us, after all, want to be surrounded by barbed wire fences. There are a few commonsense measures that we can take to make life harder for the crooks. You will have heard them all before but it is worth reminding you of some of them.

Thieves love power tools and other portable equipment; so always lock all tools and portable items away when they are not in use. (Not only could they be stolen, but also they could be used to break into our outbuildings and homes). Security mark all such tools and portable items.

THIEVES TARGET ALLOY WHEELS

Modern cars are increasingly dif­ficult to steal. As a result, petty crooks are more likely to steal items from the car rather than the car itself. That trend now appears to have extended to stealing components of the vehi­cles themselves rather than just loose items left on view inside them.

In nearby Bradford there has been a recent increase in the theft of valuable alloy wheels from cars parked at their owners' homes.

There has also been a spate of incidents of number plates being stolen from parked vehicles.

If you do have a garage, the best solution is to lock the car in it securely. If that is not possible then other steps can help.

Use at least one locking nut per wheel, manufacturers often fit them as standard, but unique key operated ones are better.

Garden ornaments are easy targets for criminals. Wherever possible try to fix them down securely. Otherwise mark them by engraving on the base, using a UV pen or any of the various security marking systems available.

Keep an extra eye out for suspicious behaviour and don't be afraid to call the police on 0845 6060606

Mark alloy wheels and radios with UV pens etc.

Have the registration number neatly engraved onto each wheel and don't forget the spare.

CARS AND CARAVANS

As well as providing targets for the unscrupulous thief, it seems that caravans are turning many of their owners into unwit­ting law-breakers.

In a recent operation on the A64, police have been stopping cars towing caravans and performing safety checks on them. A disturbingly large number of the vehicles turned out to be towing caravans which exceeded the maximum safe weight, as stipulated by the manufacturer. Of 70 cara­vans stopped, 14 of them were so over­^weight that the police had to order them off the road.

Sergeant Ian Butler said " This is a matter of safety, it really can be an issue of life or death."

SHED SECURITY

Just as the garden becomes a target for thieves at this time of year, so does the garden shed. Garden tools are easily turned into cash, at car boot sales etc. and the criminals are all too ready to take advantage. The advice to lock up portable items is of no use if they are secured in a shed with a flimsy padlock.

Most sheds come supplied with external hinges and a lock barely capable of keeping the door shut.

Replacing some of the hinge screws with bolts fas­tened on the inside with nylock nuts, will prevent the hinges being removed so easily.

It is advisable to replace !he flimsy locks with a stout hasp and staple and a good quality padlock. When doing this it is also worth beefing up the door and frame around the lock and hinges. No lock is stronger than the door it is fixed to.

If you are planning a caravan trip, it is well worth checking that you are not breaking the law and putting yourself and others in danger. Check your vehicle handbook for the maximum safe trailer weight and con­firm that your caravan is below that weight. If in doubt take your caravan to a public weighbridge and have it weighed.

It is likely that most of the offenders had not realised they were breaking the law or doing anything dangerous. It is much better to find out now, by checking, than the hard way by having an accident.

COMMUNITY CONSTABLE

This newsletter was to have carried an arti­cle about our new Community Constable, John Cooper. Unfortunately, John has suf­fered a mild heart problem, so we will have to postpone our story for another time. Neighbourhood Watch wish him a speedy and complete recovery.

As electronic products have come down so much in price, it is also worth considering fitting a battery or mains powered shed alarm. A number of brands are available from DIY stores. Any of them will help scare off thieves who are essentially cowards that will run rather than risk being disturbed.

A simple sign on the shed telling a potential burglar that the contents are all security marked and post coded can be remarkably effective.

COMPUTER VIRUSES

I know from your e-mails .that many of you access the internet and use e-mail. f have encountered a number of viruses and even hoax viruses recently and have been asked for advice by a number of members. There is no substitute for a good anti-virus package but if you haven't got one you can get your computer virus checked for free, on-line at: http://housecall.trendmicro.com

I have used it myself and it seems very useful. It can take rather a long time though. !f you think you may have a virus, it makes a good stop gap measure. They do try to sell you their products, but there is no obligation so don't fee! compelled to buy anything!

CONTACT US

If you would like to contact the committee or write an article far the newsletter, you can telephone me, Neil Hunt on the number below. For those who prefer E-Mail my address is also provided. Telephone: 07831 482405                        E-Mail: neil@zigzaglighting.com

Newsletter 2004 issue 1

FIGURES SHOW FALL IN LOCAL CRIME RATES

Crime figures for the period from November `03 to January `04 show reductions in the numbers of burglaries and car crimes committed in Horsforth.

Compared to the same peri­od twelve months ago, bur­glaries fell by 22% and car crimes were 25% lower. Robberies for the period,

Although a big improvement, this still represents a large number of crimes. The 107 burglaries means that rough­ly one in 60 households in Horsforth were burgled in a 3 month period. An alarming proportion of burglaries still occur in unsecured premis­es, reminding us of the need to re-enforce the "lock it or lose it" message.  

HORSFORTH

TO HOST NEW VOLUME CRIMEUNIT

Pudsey Weetwood Division has been selected as one of only seven police divisions in the country to pilot a National Volume Crime Management Model.  

Although there are no plans at this stage to re-open Horsforth Police Station to the public, the new unit is to be based there. Specially trained offi­cers from both uniform and CID, together with police staff members have already begun to transfer to the building with the project due to commence on April 1.

It is generally agreed the police excel at investigating very serious crime, such as murder. A problem arises in dealing with `volume crime' such as burglaries, robberies and car crime. In these areas, reactive investigation is increasingly less successful. This new proj­ect will introduce a rigorous `crime screening' policy. Those crimes deemed `solvable' will be targeted, by a Crime Management Unit, for immediate further investigation, implementing similar administrative procedures to those used in Major Incident Rooms.

WEST YORKSHIRE

 POLICE WORK LOADS

At this time of year the police authority holds a number of meetings to discuss the level of funding it will require for the financial year. The purpose of these meetings is to consider the level of "precept" which will be^- added to council tax bills throughout the county. One of the most common questions asked by the public is about where the money is spent. The following is a brief overview of the work undertaken by the police in our region.

West Yorkshire has 5,206 police officers. Around 1,100 of those are deployed an specialist duties. That leaves 4,100 officers to perform day-to-day policing duties.

In addition to the police officers the Force has 2,705 police staff members.

They police round-the-clock, 365 days a year. In order to achieve this, less than a quarter of the officers can be on duty at any one time.

Just over 2.1 million people live in West Yorkshire. That means that there is on average one police officer on duty for every 2,000 people.

In a typical day West Yorkshire Police;

-Respond to 1,317 `999' calls;

-Attend 1,507 incidents;

KEEP YOUR PIN PRIVATE

These days most people have credit cards or cash point cards of one sort or another. To use those cards in automat­ic machines we are issued with P. I. N. or personal identity numbers. Without that number, thieves have a much harder time using the card. With it, all they need is a cash point and they can empty your account.

There have been a number of cases reported in the media of thieves obtain­ing cards and then ringing the owners pretending to be from the bank. They ask for your PIN claiming this is to con­firm your identity. If they are given the number they then remove as much cash as they can from the account. One example was a 50-year-old man who had thousands of pounds stolen in this way.

If you do lose your card, NEVER give your PIN number to anyone, either in person or over the phone. Like all such cons, the perpetrators are very plausi­ble. However convincing they seem, anyone asking for your PIN over the phone is almost certainly a criminal.

-Deal with 884 new crimes;

-Make 278 arrests;

The banks and other card issuers have confirmed:

BANKS ETC. NEVER USE PiNs to PROVE IDENTITY VIA TELEPHONE.

-Patrol a distance of 24,682 miles of the county's roads.

* On average, each police officer must cover an area of two square kilometres, containing 880 houses, 1400 cars, 2000 people and miles of roads.

* Using those roads are 1.4 million vehicles licensed to West Yorkshire residents. Around 450 police vehi­cles are available to patrol and respond to incidents. That's one police car for every 3000 cars on the road.

* W.Y.P. vehicles cover some 15 million miles a year.

NEW COMMUNITY CONSTABLE

Horsforth's long standing Community Constable, Tim Baxter, has moved on to pastures new. His replacement is PC John Cooper who we will, no doubt, all get to know in due course. Some of us had the chance to meet him when he turned out to help Father Christmas park on New Road Side for the Christmas lights switch on. A fuller intro­duction will follow in the next newsletter.

CONTACT US

 COMMITTEE RE-ESTABLISHED

The first Horsforth Neighbourhood Watch committee was established in 1996 by Arthur Blackham. Arthur was the motivating force behind the group and, following his sad departure, the committee lost direction and became inactive. Over the last 18 months or so, Dawn Collins, Susan Pape and Neil Hunt regularly attended Police Community Forums and became aware that Horsforth was missing out on many advantages that neighbourhood watch could offer. Although still receiving regular voicemails from Peter Krushniak, few of the other facilities, enjoyed by our neighbouring groups, were available in Horsforth. After much lobbying and behind the scenes work, the trio managed to enlist enough sup­port to re-establish the committee. A meeting was held on Jan 23rd 2003 , attended by over half the coordinators in Horsforth. The mood of the meeting was positive and eight people volunteered to be part of the new committee, including George Dawson who agreed to continue as treasurer. Neil Hunt, the new Chairman commented "Neighbourhood watch in Horsforth has lacked focus since Arthur's loss and this Committee gives us the ideal platform to provide that focus and to give the group some of the tools with which it can more effectively help the Police in cutting crime in our community".  

Some of the new committee are Neil Hunt (Chairman), Susan Pape (secretary), George Dawson (Treasurer), Dawn Collins, James Sollitt, Maureen Rhodes, Peter Manning and John Hempshaw.

COMMITTEE MEETS FOR THE FIRST TIME 

Following the January meeting, the committee has now met for the first time and we are already making progress. This newsletter will be printed once every two months as a means of keeping in touch. we will also produce "special editions" from time to time when a particular topic justifies it. The first "special" will carry all the information we have gath­ered from the distraction burglary conference held on 23rd Feb. Five of the committee attended and we were able to gain a great deal of useful information which justifies the production of its own newsletter.

Most of the committee are new to such things but we do have an enormous wealth of enthusiasm at our disposal. If you do have any questions please let us know, if we don't know the answers we will certainly find them out for you.

 HAVE YOUR SAY ! 

This newsletter is not intended as a voice-piece for the committee. We want it to be a conduit by which we can pass on useful information. We would also like to be able to print con­tributions from yourselves. If you would like an issue aired or if you would like to write an article for print­ing, please get in touch via the con­tacts over leaf. We would love to hear from you. It's your neighbourhood, your neighbourhood watch and your newsletter so please get in touch.

FED UP WITH COLD SALES CALLS?

 NUISANCE FAXES?

THEY CAN BE STOPPED

Register with Telephone Preference Service

on 0845 07007007

And it is then an offence punishable by a £5000 fine to cold call your number.

Register with Facsimile Preference Service

on 0845 07007005

And the same applies to unsolicited faxes.

(a word of caution - it takes 8 weeks to take effect and in that time some unscrupulous companies may fax you asking you to fax them back to be removed from their, records. The numbers are premium rate and can cost up to £10.00 They are a con. and should be ignored)          

The Mailing Preference Service now offers a similar voluntary system for junk mail and should stop most unwanted letters.

on 0845 7034599

These services are free and, once the eight week period is up, they really do put a stop to 90% or more of these problems.