Hungerford October 2011
HUNGERFORD UPDATE from PCSO Debbie RANDALL
At 11.10pm on Saturday 22nd October, 3 males were arrested by Thames Valley
Police after being caught attempting to steal lead from Hungerford Primary
School. This was after officers from Hungerford Neighbourhood team were on
night time foot patrol within Hungerford and heard banging and tearing noises
from the roof of the school.
All 3 males were arrested at the scene and taken to Newbury Custody where
they were remanded until court. In court all three males pleaded guilty of
the offence of lead theft. One male has been remanded in custody and the other
two males have been given bail to attend Newbury Magistrates court on 22nd
November. All three males were local to the West Berkshire Area. Two are local
to the Hungerford area.
We have launched the Hungerford Shop Safe Scheme which gives businesses a
direct phone line to an officer during the day to report any activity within
the town.
We still require a 999 call for crime which is in progress.
Within the town we have had 3 thefts of mobile phones from local shops which
belong to staff. In all 3 thefts the descriptions of the offenders were an
Asian couple, a male and female who entered the shop but did not purchase
any items. All three offences were committed within a space of a few days.
Staff should keep personal belongings in staff rooms or on their person to
avoid these kinds of thefts.
On Thursday the 27th October at 3.45am a burglary took place in Church Way.
A number of items were stolen including their vehicle which was a grey Ford
Mondeo. This was later found abandoned in Inkpen. If anyone witnessed seeing
anything around this time or saw the vehicle please call the 101
number or call myself on 07970 145703.
A male from Hungerford was arrested on the 29th October in the High Street
as he was found to be in possession of cannabis. He was arrested and will
appear in court. On the 24th October a male from the Swindon area was arrested
and found guilty of possession of drugs, namely Ketamin. The vehicle was travelling
through Hungerford High Street when officers became aware of it and stopped
it in Canal Walk. All four persons in the vehicle were searched under the
drugs act and one occupant was found with it on his person. The drug is waiting
to be tested and the male is on bail to return to Newbury Custody later this
month.
A local youth was issued with a S59 which includes a 12 month marker under
the Police Reform Act 2002 on the 12/10/11. This was for riding a motorcycle
on a public footpath at Sanham Green, Hungerford. If caught misusing a vehicle
again, from 12 months of the issue date, the vehicle used by the same youth
will be seized.
There were 45 crimes reported this month in Hungerford, 9 of which were bilkings
(theft of fuel from garages). The same time last year 60 crimes were reported.
We are still seeing rural crimes in our area, anyone wishing to join the rural
text alert system just need to call myself or PC Drewitt on 07974 152102,
leave your name, mobile or land line number to start receiving them.
Keep Yourself and Your Property Safe
As shorter days and longer nights are approaching, I would like to take this
opportunity to remind people to keep homes and property secure and ensure
personal safety, by following some simple crime prevention advice.
Autumn is a good time of year to revisit the crime prevention measures you
have in place. There are plenty of simple measures that you can take to minimise
your risk of being a victim of crime and keeping yourself and your property
safe.
One of the best ways is to join a Neighbourhood Watch Scheme - or set one
up if there isn't an existing one in your local area.
To set up a Scheme visit http://www.ourwatch.org.uk/get_involved/starting_a_scheme/
Scheme members work closely with neighbourhood police officers to help prevent
and detect crime as well as provide home security and other crime prevention
advice to residents. People in a scheme are 10 times less likely to become
a victim of crime.
Below are some crime prevention tips to keep in mind over the autumn months.
HOME SECURITY
In and around the home:
Lock all doors and windows when you go to bed - but keep keys to hand in§
case of an emergency.
Don't leave house and car keys and handbags in an obvious place, and make§
sure they are not visible through a window.
Fit security measures such as intruder alarms, door chains, security lights§
and door locks. A spy hole lets you see who's at your door, before opening.
If you have UPVC doors ensure they are double locked by lifting the handle,§
locking the door fully by turning the key and then removing the key and storing
it nearby, though not reachable via your letterbox.
Avoid leaving side gates open - Make sure ladders and garden equipment that§
could be used to force entry are not left out or insecure.
For further advice – click on this link http://www.ourwatch.org.uk/safety_advice/safer_homes/
PROPERTY SECURITY
•Security mark valuable property
•Photograph valuables - take colour photographs of any items that you
do not want to mark, paying special attention to any distinguishing marks
such as initials or crests.
•Record serial numbers and mobile phone IMEI numbers
•Register the serial numbers of your valuables on immobilise.com - the
UK National Property Database, Where you can Create a Free Private and Secure
Portfolio of all of your Personal Property.
•Door and window stickers that say 'property is security marked' may
deter thieves from trying to access your home .
PERSONAL SAFETY
When you're out and about:
Keep to well lit and busy areas, particularly at night
•Keep yourself visible when out and about at night
•If possible, spread your valuables around you (ie keep your phone in
a bag, your house keys in a pocket and your money in a jacket).
•When out walking or jogging, don't listen to a portable player through
headphones - you may be less alert to your surroundings
•Carry a personal alarm
•For advice http://www.ourwatch.org.uk/safety_advice/personal_safety/
The next Have Your Say meeting is –
30th November at the Hungerford Town Hall 11am -12noon
A ‘Have Your Say’ is your opportunity to come and meet the local
policing Team and inform us of local concerns or any information you may be
able to provide us with.
Community Messaging is a free service which provides information to subscribers
about crime and police activity in their area via phone or email. It also
includes information on what we and our partner services are doing to bring
offenders to justice or combat anti-social behaviour. More information can
be obtained via our website, and you can sign up by following this link: http://www.tvpcommunitymessaging.org/rmwebportal/startup.aspx’
Contact us
If you want any advice or would like to contact the neighbourhood team you
can call us on the police non emergency number
101 but if your call is an emergency then dial 999. You can
also contact us via email: HungerfordNHPT2@thamesvalley.pnn.police.uk
- please note this email address cannot be used to contact Thames Valley Police
to report crimes or for any urgent matters. If you have information about
crime or Anti Social Behaviour in your area but you do not want to speak to
the police, please call the Crimestoppers charity on 0800 555111.
Please note that as from the 14th November 2011 the non-emergency number 0845
8 505 505 will be changing to 101.
You can now send non-emergency messages to us using an online form that is
available on the Thames Valley Police Website at http://www.thamesvalley.police.uk/yournh-tvp-pol-area-n179-hys
You can contact any member of the team by calling 101.
To find out more about them please visit the Thames Valley Police website
at www.thamesvalley.police.uk
and follow the neighbourhood policing links.