Security

Bellingdon Village Neighbourhood Watch (NW) New coordinator needed

~ bacaadmin
For many years the NW scheme covering the whole of Bellingdon Village has been managed by Alan Page, as you will be aware. Alan has given his community many hours of voluntary service over this time, and I’m sure that you and other residents will be grateful to him for this.

Now Alan is hanging up his Neighbourhood Watch sign and retiring from this role. Having an active NW scheme is a key part of the village’s defence against criminals, so it is important to everyone in the community that a new Coordinator steps forward. Could that be you?

Rest assured that this is not an onerous role, even though an important one. These days most interaction is by email, although it is naturally vital to cater for those residents who do not use this technology. In taking over this existing scheme most of the work has been done, and I can promise my active support for the newcomer too.

So, please contact me if you are wiling to consider taking over from Alan – and it will be great if several of you offer at once, so the role is not all on one individual!I look forward to hearing from you shortly!RegardsDavid  
Message Sent By
David Alder
(NWN, Area Representative, MSA, Thames Valley, South Buckinghamshire ( East))
[This message was sent via Thames Valley Alert system. If you would like to respond please either register for the TVA system (https://www.thamesvalleyalert.co.uk/) or email contact@bellingdon.com and we’ll pass your message on, in confidence.]

NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH 2021 CRIME AND COMMUNITY SURVEY LAUNCHED

~ bacaadmin

For the second year running, we want to hear your thoughts about crime, community, and how effective Neighbourhood Watch is.

www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/CL72YGJ

The survey, launched on Wednesday 20th October 2021, is open to the public across England and Wales, regardless of whether they live in a Neighbourhood Watch area or not.

The results will enable us to better understand on a national and regional level crime, fear of crime and benchmark whether membership to a Neighbourhood Watch scheme, or living in a Neighbourhood Watch area, has an impact on levels of crime, concern about crime, neighbourliness, and the willingness of communities to work together.

Last year our survey received just over 30,000 responses from across England and Wales providing us with a rich and useful set of data. This year we will be able to compare our data to last year’s results.

Please share this survey via email and social across all the various communities to which you belong whether they be a Neighbourhood Watch community or others such as sport, religious or work communities.  This will help us receive a good balance of responses from Neighbourhood Watch members and non-members which will enable us to compare experiences between these two groups.  To help you reach others we have attached a poster that you can print and display locally or share digitally. Alternatively, re-share our social posts (Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / LinkedIn) to your channels.

A good response in all regions will ensure we can publish a national report and provide individual regions with their own reports.

All data will be anonymised and aggregated and will be used by Neighbourhood Watch to ensure our work is effective, inclusive, and representative.

www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/CL72YGJ

The survey closes on the 16th of November. Thank you for your support.

NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH NETWORK, Central Support Team
Follow us.. ourwatch.org.uk / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / LinkedIn
Neighbourhood Watch Network is a charity registered in England & Wales, CIO no: 1173349

TVP: Changes To Front Counter Provision In Thames Valley

~ bacaadmin
We will soon be changing some of the ways in which you can access our front counter services across Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Oxfordshire.

Thames Valley Police is adapting to the different ways people now wish to make contact with us to ensure we continue to meet the changing needs of the diverse communities we serve.

These changes do not affect police officer numbers nor the number of operational police bases so you will not experience any difference in the ongoing commitment we have to visible policing in our Thames Valley communities.

There will continue to be good geographic coverage of front counters across the Thames Valley if you need to access one.

As part of these changes, the force will retain its front counters at Milton Keynes, Oxford, Reading, Slough, Aylesbury, High Wycombe, Abingdon, Banbury, Newbury, Loddon Valley and Maidenhead, however some will experience changes to their opening hours.

Front counters at Amersham, Bicester, Bracknell, HQ South in Kidlington, and Witney will close. These counters have already been closed since March 2020 due to the global Covid-19 pandemic, with the exception of HQ South in Kidlington, which reopened following an initial closure.

These changes, which were subject to a public consultation, will be implemented from 30 August 2021.

Further details are available on our information page.

There are a number of really convenient alternative ways to contact Thames Valley Police.

More and more, people contact us online and by phone. You can also access a number of our core services on our website. This includes reporting non-emergency crimes or incidents, anti-social behaviour, applying for firearms licensing, telling us about something of concern or updating us on a crime report, among many other functions.

Further information about when and how to make a report to police is available on our website.

Our non-emergency number is 101. In an emergency always dial 999.
Message Sent By
Hannah Jones (Police, Communications Officer, Thames Valley)

TVP: Warning To Vehicle Owners Following Increase In Catalytic Converter Thefts Across the Thames Valley

~ bacaadmin

Thames Valley Police is issuing a warning to motorists following an increasing number of thefts of catalytic converters.

Offenders are most commonly targeting parked Toyota Prius, Toyota Auris, Honda Jazz, Honda Civic, Honda CRVs and Lexus RX400 vehicles.

Officers are investigating the offences, many of which are believed to be linked.

Since the start of the year, there have been 1,210 offences reported to the force up to the end of November, with an increasing number of reports since August.

In many of the cases, offenders use car jacks to lift the vehicle and are able to remove the catalytic converter in a matter of minutes.

Detective Superintendent Jim Weems, Head of Intelligence, said: “We are taking these offences seriously and investigating in our efforts to identify and arrest offenders.

“It appears there are a number of factors contributing to the increase in the theft of catalytic converters from vehicles. Significantly, they contain precious metals, from which criminals are profiting.

“Not only does it cause distress and inconvenience, it is likely to cost victims to replace it and repair any damage to the vehicle.”

There are a number of steps you can take to try to protect your vehicle’s catalytic converter. Please speak to your vehicle’s manufacturer to establish what locks and guards are available.

If your catalytic converter is ‘bolt on,’ you can speak to a mechanic about having the bolts welded shut.

When parking in a car park and having to leave your vehicle unattended, try to park with the front of your car against a wall and avoid parking at the end of a row. This makes it harder for offenders to gain access.

When at home, if you can, park your vehicle in a locked garage or, if that is not possible, park in a busy well-lit area, as close to your property as possible. You can also consider installing a Thatcham-approved alarm to your vehicle, one that activates when the vehicle is lifted or tilted offers effective protection. You can also mark your catalytic converter with a forensic marker.

Det Supt Weems added: “You may see what appears to be people carrying out repairs or work to a car but please look closely and report any suspicious activity to us immediately. Within moments, the catalytic converter may be gone. If you see such a crime in progress, please call 999 immediately.”

Anyone with any information about catalytic converter thefts should call the non-emergency number 101 or make a report on our website.

Message Sent By
Hannah Jones (Police, Communications Officer, Thames Valley)

Shop online safely this Christmas

~ bacaadmin

Reports of online shopping fraud have surged by 30% over the pandemic as many of us continue to shop online in light of current restrictions.

Figures from Action Fraud show that criminals conned 17,407 shoppers out of almost £13.5 million over the Christmas period last year, an increase of over 20% when compared to the same period in 2018.

Action Fraud is warning the public to take extra care when shopping online, ahead of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, as shoppers search for bargains and gifts for loved ones in the run up to Christmas.

Top tips to shop online securely this festive season:

Where to shop:

Making a purchase from an online store you haven’t used before? Carry out some research first, or ask a friend or family member if they’ve used the site and about their experiences before completing the purchase.

Your information:

Only create an account if necessary or to save you effort if you’re going to use that site a lot in the future. Be cautious if the website asks you for details that are not required for your purchase, such as your mother’s maiden name or the name of your primary school.

Payments:

If you decide to go ahead with the purchase, ensure that the webpage where you enter your payment details is secure (website address starts with “https”). Using a credit card to pay online also means that should the worst happen and your payment details are compromised, your main bank account won’t be directly affected.

Phishing:

Some of the messages you receive about amazing offers may contain links to fake websites. Not all links are bad, but if you’re unsure, don’t use the link – go separately to the website. Report any suspicious emails you receive by forwarding them to: report@phishing.gov.uk You can also report suspicious text messages by forwarding them to 7726.

For more information about how to shop online securely, please visit:
actionfraud.police.uk/shoponlinesafely

Message Sent By
Action Fraud (Action Fraud, Administrator, National)