Neighbourhood Watch Newsletter

Neighbourhood Watch Newsletter (January 2010): by Valerie Thorpe BE VERY WARY OVER THE HOLIDAYS I thought I would start this month’s article by describing the Safer Neighbourhood team (SNT) and some of what they do. The Duffield SNT comprises PC Dave Stephenson and PCSO Paula Martin who organise open session giving Duffield residents a chance to meet their local officers in an inform setting to give an opportunity to bring up any concerns they may have or to simple make suggestions and comments. These sessions take two forms: a Neighbourhood Panel Meeting or a Safer Neighbourhood Surgery. Meeting allow residents to raise and discuss any issues or problem within the area. Panels can be made up of Police officers, PCSO’s Special Constables and partnership members such as councillors, head teachers, park wardens and housing officers. local volunteers like Neighbourhood Watch and Key Individual Network (KIN) members are also involved. Residents are consulted on what they fell are the main issues are in their area, such as anti-social behaviour or nuisance vehicles. These issues are then prioritised and then addressed during the next three months with the results discussed at the following meeting. Residents are welcome at the panel meetings to voice their concerns or to learn about neighbourhood policing. One day each month the Mobile Police Office travels round the area stopping at various locations for the Safer Neighbourhood Surgery. This is to enable rsidents to meet their SNT and discuss any local issues they may have. Comments received during these informal drop-in sessions will then be fed into the Neighbourhood Panel meetings for discussion. The next visit of the Mobile Office is on Monday 18th january 2010 on Ecclesbourne Close between 2.15 - 2.45 pm. Mark Your Property: Now is a good time to consider marking any valuable items (particularly those you may have received as Christmas presents!) with your post code followed by the house number or the first two letters of the house name. If they stolen and later found, the police can identify them and return them to you. Use a permanent etching tool or an ultra violet marking pen and repeat this every six months. Remember to also to keep a record of serial number and a description of the items. If possible photograph valuable items such as jewellery, antiques and paintings. The Mobile Police Office will have marker pens when they visit on January 18th. Severn Trent Water doorstep caller check: The Severn Trent Water doorstep caller check line is 0845 604 1655. If someone calls at your door claiming to be from Severn Trent, even if they do have identity, please call this number. If someone calls from the ‘Water Board’ they will be bogus, don’t let them in and call the police straight away. A Reminder: Please remind anyone who has a bike to be vigilant when storing it or when out and about. If you have a bike lock make sure it is locked around a sturdy fixed object. If possible get a lock with a built-in motion detector sensor alarm hat will alert you if the bike is is being tampered with. Another reminder: Please be vigilant when using bank cards at cash machines or when out and about. never allow anyone to see the number you are in-putting by covering the key pad with your hand and never use a machine if it looks as if it as been tampered with or is usual. If you suspect anything talk to the staff in the bank or call Derbyshire Constabulary on 0345 123 3333 Parcel Delivery Warning:This scam has been around for a while but with Christmas approaching it is worth repeating. A card is posted through your door from a company called PDS (Parcel Delivery Service) suggesting that they were unable to deliver a parcel and that you need to contact them on 0906 6611911 (a premium rate number). Please do not call this number because as soon as you start to hear a recorded message you will already have been billed £15 for the phone call. If you do receive a card with these details, then please contact Royal Mail Fraud or ICSTIS (the Premium rate service regulator) at www.icstis.org.uk Telephone Scam Warning: Someone received a call from a ‘representative’ of BT, informing him that he would be disconnected because of an unpaid bill. The ‘representative’ demanded payment immediately of £31.00, or it would be £118.00 to re-connect at a later date, and was not even fazed when it was pointed out that he wasn’t with BT. The ‘representative’ realised he wasn’t being believed and so offered to demonstrate that he was from BT by asking the potential victim to hang up & try phoning someone and that he would disconnect the phone to prevent this. Which he supposedly did as the phone was dead until he phoned the person again. The ‘representative’ then asked for payment by credit card which was refused as the potential victim did not believe him and the call was terminated. The police had already heard about this scam. The fact that the phone does go off would probably convince some people it’s real. The cutting off of the line is very simple , he stays on the line with the mute button on and you can’t dial out but he can hear you trying (because the person who initiates a call is the one to terminate it). When you stop trying he cuts off and immediately calls back.. It is convincing and may well fool some people and once they have credit/debit card details, there is nothing to stop them cleaning out the account. Happy New Year! Police Non-Emergency telephone number change: The number for contacting Derbyshire police has changed to: 0345 123 3333 (replacing 0845 123 3333). This is to ensure callers are not charged excessively when making a call. The old number will continue to be operational for another year until people are familiar with the new number and then phased out. This number is for any policing matter which is not a 999 emergency.