NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH BULLETIN JULY 2017

Transcription

1 NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH BULLETIN JULY 2017

2 I was recently asked a question regarding how to contact the police and how to report particular crimes. We have included a little piece on this later in the bulletin but I ll deal with a couple of issues now. Generally unless it is an emergency the best point of contact is 101. The 101 number will deal with all of our non emergency enquiries, from taking a crime report or report of ASB, to giving general advice or to leaving a message for somebody on the team to return your call. We do provide the team address in these bulletins so that our NHW members can contact us directly about local issues but this is not a great route for reporting things and bypassing having to call 101. The reason for this is if something is reported to us directly a member of the local team will have to sit and enter the report onto our IT system. That takes quite some time. If you phone it through to 101 the dedicated call handlers are well placed to do that for us and when the report comes to us all of that initial work is done. Often staff in the enquiry centre can commence initial phone based enquiries or background research on the issue and if there is any risk attached to it that can be identified and dealt with much more quickly. I sometimes hear people say I didn't bother reporting it as I know you re really busy and it wasn t that serious or I didn t report it as I know you wouldn t attend anyhow. This is quite frustrating as we use call data to identify patterns, set priorities and allocate resources. In cases where we don t or can t attend the team do still look at trends in reporting and it may identify a repeat issue that we do need to focus some officers on. Every report is really useful. Using the team is really useful for highlighting local concerns or asking general questions or asking for advice from your local PCs or PCSOs. Often they will come round and see you as a result. It s good for scheme co-ordinators to encourage their members to let them know about crimes or ASB issues they experience and if you feel there is an issue in your scheme or surrounding area the team will happily pop in and have a chat to discuss what we can do about it and how you and your scheme may be able to help. Communication is the key and as we have said before crime doesn t flourish in communities that care! One route of contact you may be unaware of is the ability to contact 999 by text. This is a service set up for those who are hard of hearing to allow quick access but it does need to be registered in advance on the phone. If you or a family member might need this please set it up in advance now! More details on this later in the bulletin. Finally in last months bulletin I talked about 8 minutes, the time it took to shoot the London bridge attackers. This month I want to mention 6 minutes. This is the time it can take for a dog to die in a hot car. As we have suddenly found we have some really hot weather this is an issue that has again cropped up as it does every year. When we get called to an animal shut in a hot car it is really hard for us to know how long they have been in there, where the owner is and how dehydrated the dog is already. This means that in all likelihood we are going to break a window quite quickly to rescue them. Often leaving one window open a small amount makes little difference so please just don t do it! Stay safe. Dave

3 Sgt. Rob Brind PC Debbie Surridge PC Sarah Reeves PC Simon Smith PCSO Hamlyn Strawn PCSO Heather Wright PCSO Callum Younger Hampshire Alert If you are not already subscribed to our alerts you can do so by visiting:

4 June 2017 Number of Incidents Anti-Social Behaviour Environmental 1 Anti-Social Behaviour - Vehicle Nuisance 0 Anti-Social Behaviour - Rowdy and Inconsiderate 15 Criminal Damage /Vandalism / Graffiti 14 Cycle Theft 5 Drug related issues 1 Drunk and Disorderly Offences (Public Order) 13 House Burglary 2 Other Burglary (e.g. shed, garage, other building) 7 Offensive Weapons 0 Road Related Incidents 14 Shoplifting 11 Vehicle Crime (theft from or theft of) 1 Violent Crime 32 Other Crimes 51 Total 167 CRIME PREVENTION & SAFETY ADVICE GUIDE A comprehensive safety and crime prevention advice guide exists on the Our Watch website. This website contains lots of useful resources for NHW members and particularly co-ordinators. It is well worth having a look if you haven t already done so. To download our comprehensive booklet setting our Safety Advice in one document., please follow the link below: safety_advice/

5 Priorities for this month remain unchanged. 1. Non-Dwelling Burglaries. Over recent months we have seen an increase in the number of sheds, garages and beach huts being targeted by burglars with a range of items being taken. 2. Anti Social use of vehicles - Speeding The anti-social use of vehicles and speeding remains a concern for the community of Hayling Island. In response to this Hayling Island Neighbourhood Team will target specific locations where it is believed vehicles are being driven in an anti-social manner and or speeding. 3. Drugs and related offences. In recent months there has been an increase in drug related criminality in the Hayling Island area. Tell Us Your Priorities.. Every quarter we collate community views on local priorities, we need your views to understand what you currently see as important for the police in your area. Please complete our really short Your Voice Counts survey by following this link: Goodbye Sarah! This week is PC Sarah Reeves last week with the team. Sarah will be well known to many of the members of our community and will most definitely be greatly missed by all of us. Sarah is leaving us for a complete change of role as part of the offender management team based at Havant. This is a specialist post that she had been interested in and had applied for when positions there recently came up. So, many congratulations to her for her success in getting the job and we wish her well in her new role. Sarah will be immediately replaced by PC Elliot Mowbray and we will introduce you to Elliot in more detail next month. Elliot joins us from the offender management team and we look forward to welcoming him on board.

6 Here s the summary from us for this month: Speedwatch PCSO Heather Wright has been holding Speedwatch on almost a weekly basis over the past month. You may have seen them about on Elm Grove, Selsmore Road and Hollow Lane to name a few. The scheme has been very successful with lots of drivers being recorded driving too quickly, but equally we ve seen lots of drivers driving within the limit. The group will continue to target problem roads over the next few weeks. Parking We ve had a lot of requests around parking across the Island. Whilst unfortunately most parking issues are handled by the council and therefore unable to be directly enforced by us, we are happy to speak to drivers we spot parking inconsiderately. We have been putting regular patrols around the areas most mentioned by residents and will continue to do so as best we can. Bicycles With the weather (hopefully) warming up, it is no surprise everyone wants to go out cycling (I know we have!). However, with this comes an increase in bicycle thefts and we want to remind everyone to keep their bikes locked up securely and not left outside unattended even if it is just for 2 minutes. We highly recommend everyone signs up to and registers their bikes on immobilise.com. They also offer RFID tags and locks. Kitesurfing Armada Festival PCSOs Younger and Wright were patrolling the Kitesurfing Festival earlier this month, making sure everyone kept safe and had fun. The event ran really smoothly and the weather held up perfectly. Attendees and Security alike really appreciated police presence and we look forward to when they return next year. Flower and Produce Fayre We popped in to visit the Flower and Produce Fayre by the Hayling Island Horticultural Society at the Hayling Island Community Centre on 24 th June, a very popular event for residents on Hayling. There were lots of amazing displays and it was a great opportunity for residents to speak to us, which many did! Forthcoming Events: Summer Party : 28/07/ :00 15:00 at the Hayling Island Community Centre Beat Surgery: Beat Surgery: 14/07/ :30 17:00 Hayling Island Community Centre with Alan Mak. 02/08/ :00 12:00 Beachlands.

7 What to do if you see a dog in a hot car. Dog displaying signs of heatstroke. What is the dog doing? Is it showing any of the following signs of heatstroke? Is the dog panting heavily? Is the dog drooling excessively? Does the dog appear lethargic, drowsy, or uncoordinated? Is the dog collapsed or vomiting? If you see a dog in a hot car showing any of these signs, dial 999 immediately. Many people s instinct in this situation would be to call the RSPCA, or other welfare organisations. In an emergency, RSPCA inspectors may not be able to attend quickly enough and - because they have no powers of entry they would still need police assistance. Don t ever be afraid to dial 999 the police deal with hundreds of such incidents each year. If the situation becomes critical for the dog and the police are too far away/unable to attend, many people s instinct will be to break into the car to free the dog. If you decide to do this, please be aware that, without proper justification, it could be classed as criminal damage and you may need to be prepared to defend your actions in court. Make sure you tell the police what you intend to do and why, and take images/footage of the dog and the names and numbers of witnesses to the incident. The law states that you have a lawful excuse to commit damage if you believe that the owner of the property that you damage would consent to the damage if they knew the circumstances (section 5(2)(a) Criminal Damage Act 1971). Dog not displaying signs of heatstroke. If the dog s not yet displaying signs of heatstroke, follow these few simple steps: Establish how long the dog has been in the car is there a pay and display ticket showing a start/expiry time? Make a note of the registration number of the car. If the owner returns but you still feel the situation was dangerous for the dog, you may wish to report the incident to the police. If you re at a superstore/venue/event ask the staff to make an announcement to alert the owner of the situation. If possible, get someone to stay with the dog to monitor their condition. If they begin to show signs of heatstroke, call 999 immediately. You can also call the RSPCA cruelty line for advice on what to do at any time but please be aware that if the situation is dangerous for the dog, dialling 999 should always be the first step. Emergency first aid. For the best chance of survival, dogs suffering from heatstroke urgently need to have their body temperature lowered gradually. Move the dog to a shaded/cool area. Immediately pour small amounts of room temperature (not cold) water onto the dog s body to avoid shock. If possible, you can also use wet towels or place the dog in the breeze of a fan. Allow the dog to drink small amounts of cool water. Continue to pour small amounts of room temperature water onto the dog until their breathing starts to settle but never so much that they begin to shiver. Once the dog is cool, take them to the nearest vet immediately, even if they seem to have made a full recovery. Keep your pets safe this summer. With temperatures soaring, mercury rising and the sun beating down, think about how you can help your precious pets including how to travel safely with them in summer. We ve compiled some top tips for keeping pets cool in hot weather, so check out our seasonal pet care advice and keep your pet happy and healthy in the heat.

8 Crime Reporting Should you call 999 or 101? You should always call 999 when it is an emergency, such as when a crime is in progress, someone suspected of a crime is nearby, when there is danger to life or when violence is being used or threatened. You should call 101 to contact the police in non-emergency circumstances, such as reporting an incident that has already occurred, giving the police information about crime in your area and making general police enquiries. 101 is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Calls cost 15 pence per call. This charge is irrespective of the length of the call, the time of day and the location from which it is made. 101 calls are initially answered with a recorded message explaining that the call is being connected to the force area from which the call is being made. You will be given the opportunity to use the voice activated system or to speak to a 101 operator to select an alternative force if required. If you have a hearing disability, you can text If English is not your first language your local police have access to professional interpreters so they can quickly translate your call. Easy way to remember when to call 999 and when to call 101 is: Phone 999 only if Reporting Crimes. You can currently report criminal damage, theft and theft from a motor vehicle online. You can click here to access the online portal or visit the contact us section of the force website. Your report will be sent to our Force Enquiry Centre and they will send you an explaining what will happen next. A new online crime recording service will hopefully be available later in Fraud. We don t initially deal with Fraud cases. They are all reported to and coordinated by Action Fraud in the City of London police. Where Fraud is reported to us we pass that report on to them. You can really help us by reporting fraud issues directly to Action Fraud, either via their website or by phoning or click here to report fraud direct to Action Fraud Hampshire Police Website. The force website offers an online way to deal with a number of enquiries as an alternative to 101 and contains a lot of useful advice and contact details. The Services and Contact Us sections contains routes to self serve a lot of issues such as making a complaint or highlighting good work, contacting the local team or leaving a message. Reporting anonymously to Crimestoppers Offenders are nearby Life is at risk Injury caused / threatened Crime in progress Everything else call 101 There is also a 999 emergency SMS text service allows deaf, hard of hearing and speech-impaired people in the UK to send an SMS text message to the UK 999 service. See the next page for more details on this. If you feel worried about reporting an issue to the police you can call Crimestoppers on to make an anonymous report. They will never ask you for your name, you will not have to make a statement to the police and will never have to give evidence in court. Crimestoppers will record your information and pass it on to the police or other agency.

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