Monday 10th April saw 1000s of police officers lining the streets of London in honour of murdered PC Keith Palmer. Hampshire officers, many of whom were off duty, attended to represent us all there and provided an honour guard at Southwick Cathedral with our colleagues from the Metropolitan police. seen much more widely than in just the immediate aftermath of that incident. The lady that lay the flowers, she was a helper. Over 35,000 people that have donated to the family of PC Palmer, they are all helpers. Whilst one person did a truly terrible thing thousands and thousands of people have responded by doing good things as a result and for that reason terror will never win. Always look for the helpers! In other news (the Sun!) some police officers in Plymouth stopped for a cup of tea! Not only that they did it in public! It turns out this was at 7.45 in the morning, they had bacon rolls and Locally the Waterlooville Neighbourhood and Response Teams joined thousands more officers across the country in marking a 2 minute silence at the front of the station. We were all quite touched by a lady who lay a bouquet of flowers at the door of the station as we stood there and whilst we don t know who that lady was we all really appreciated that gesture of support. When I came into work the following day her bouquet had been joined at the door by a couple more. There is a little saying that goes when bad things happen always look for the helpers as they will be there. The tragic events in Westminster demonstrated this very clearly and the helpers were very evident in the aftermath of that. But the helpers can be they were there for 45 minutes. It seems again the public are largely supportive of the officers in this case and most people accept that we too need to eat. As officers are entitled, under police regs, to a 45 minute meal break and the officers appear to be on an early shift, I would suggest they chose to grab some breakfast knowing they would likely be too busy to get a break later in the day. No doubt if an urgent call had come in they would have gone straight to it leaving their food, something our response teams experience a lot! As for choosing to do this in public, well I think that is a good thing, they remain out on patrol, being visible and accessible to the public. Here in Hampshire we too encourage officers to take meal breaks in public so please don t be alarmed or annoyed if you see this happening. If I see this happening I ll certainly be going up to thank them for being out there and ready to help! Dave
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: www.hampshirealert.co.uk
March 2017 Number of Incidents Anti-Social Behaviour Environmental 2 Anti-Social Behaviour - Vehicle Nuisance 0 Anti-Social Behaviour - Rowdy and Inconsiderate 13 Criminal Damage /Vandalism / Graffiti 16 Cycle Theft 2 Drug related issues 1 Drunk and Disorderly Offences (Public Order) 4 House Burglary 2 Other Burglary (e.g. shed, garage, other building) 11 Offensive Weapons 0 Road Related Incidents 19 Shoplifting 10 Vehicle Crime (theft from or theft of) 1 Violent Crime 37 Other Crimes 29 Total 147 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: http://www.ourwatch.org.uk/ safety_advice/
1. Anti Social Behaviour - There have been neighbourhood issues in Eastwood Close, Hayling Island. These properties are owned and rented out by Guinness Hermitage. The problems arising appear to be mainly ASB - noise. 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. Eastwood Close - ASB The last public update indicated that the number of reports that we had received had increased. We have continued to work with the housing provider and have conducted targeted patrols in an attempt to reduce this demand. We recently held a very productive meeting and have developed a short and long-term strategy on how we will work together with the residents in an attempt to solve the problems experienced. You Said. ASB Creek Road. Increased reports of anti social behaviour and drug related incidents in the area. We did. When assessing local priorities the Neighbourhood Policing Team identified Creek Road as a high demand area for ASB and Crime, in line with your views as a community that ASB and tackling crime is of high importance. PC Sarah Reeves has led on this priority working closely with the housing provider and residents to manage any issues. The police have engaged with specific individuals which has resulted in one occupant leaving the area and another being closely managed to modify their behaviour and provide them with support through partnership working. This work has led to a significant reduction in demand in this area of Hayling Island. This priority will now be closed but we will continue to monitor to ensure the problems do not escalate. If you see anything that concerns you within your neighbourhood please report this to Police on 101. 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: https://www.neighbourhoodalert.co.uk/6b6282e7-2c67-47e9-a8b4-112b70b0e33d/quickregister
We ve held quite a few beat surgeries at various places across the island, with many more planned for the coming months. We are also actively pushing for more people to sign up to Hants Alerts. We post weekly reports and often use it alongside our team twitter account, so it would be great to see more people following us. We re trying to keep people reminded about keeping their vehicles secured. We ve had quite a few reports of vehicles being accessed and items taken. With the weather warming up everyone is rushing for the beach, as they should, but leaving valuables in their cars which often end up going missing! We re keeping up patrols around the beach and car parks, but we can t be everywhere at once (especially with large doughnuts around, as pictured). A few days ago Princess Anne made a visit to the Island in her helicopter. 3 of the team were asked to look after her helicopter while she was at the Sailing Club and lots of people enjoyed coming up and taking pictures with us. (Picture attached of Sarah and Selina in front of the helicopter. Posted on Twitter with the tag PC Sarah Reeves and Selina making sure Princess Anne s helicopter stays safe!. Permission to share picture was given by mum.)
Beware of Tax Checking Fee In February s NHW bulletin, we posted about how readers can check whether any vehicle is taxed using the online DVLA service. We posted a link to the Government s tax checking website and this service is free to use. However, we received a complaint from a member of the public that they had been charged 10 to check a vehicle s tax by using a text service. There are some websites online which provide a tax checking service, however these are not always free. An example of a website offering a tax checking service for a 10 fee is pictured below. This website makes it clear that Service is charged at 10 for 12 months access and that by pressing enter (after confirming your number) you agree to the price, terms below and that the charges will be added to your mobile phone bill. If you type DVLA Tax Checker in Google, you will get many other websites apart from the officer Government s one which is https://www.gov.uk/check-vehicle-tax The Government website does not offer a text service for checking tax, it only does this online. Make sure you have the Government DVLA website and do not use your mobile number or a text service as you may well be charged. Charges are made clear on some websites such as the one above, but this may not always be the case.
Scrap Metal Thefts We have recently had a few scrap metal thefts, particularly around Stakes and Widley. The price of metal has increased dramatically over recent years. Coupled with its huge availability and lack of identifiable features, it can make a high reward for thieves. Metal theft affects all elements of the community from domestic dwellings and churches to schools and commercial premises. Metal theft costs the UK economy around 220 million a year. Please be wary of leaving metal on display outside the front or back of your home. Even larger and heavy amounts for work purposes Advice to protect your metal We have some intelligence from members of the public and some vehicles we are keeping an eye out for, however, please report any suspicious vehicles or activity via 101 or 999 if you believe a theft is occurring. The Scrap Metal Dealers Act Ensure that any CCTV on the premises is working properly, has been recently serviced and is perhaps focusing on large quantities of vulnerable metal. Make sure that any loose pipe / boilers etc are secured in an adequately locked room. Ensure that the locks to all external doors and windows are suitable and are kept locked. Any vulnerable metal, especially any outside, can be coated with anti-climb paint or products containing unique DNA, such as Selecta DNA or Smartwater. When taking lead or copper to your property, try not to make it obvious. Think about covering or disguising it. Consider installing an alarm. If you have lead on the roof, check it regularly to make sure it hasn t been From December 3, 2012 scrap metal dealers can no longer pay cash out for scrap metal The Legal Aid, Sentencing & Punishment of Offenders (LASPO) Act 2012 amended the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 1964, introducing new offences and powers. This legislation is intended to remove cash from the scrap metal industry, and in so doing closing one of the weaknesses that helps fuel metal theft I.e. transaction traceability. The Act prohibits cash payments for scrap metal (only payment by cheque or an electronic transfer of funds will be acceptable), thereby providing an audit process of a readily identifiable account, for both the payee and the payer. Magistrates will be able to issue fines of up to 5,000 to scrap metal dealers who trade in cash. As well as having the power to issue licences, councils will be able to refuse or revoke licences if a dealer is deemed unsuitable.
Hayling Island
Shed and Garage Breaks It is around this time of year that our rate of garage and shed breaks tend to increase with the warmer weather. We have already had some breaks with expensive bikes and tools being stolen around the Waterlooville area. Widley is an area where we have had spates of shed and garage break-ins, but everyone needs to be wary of this crime. Many people take a great deal of trouble securing their home and property while at the same time leaving valuable garden tools and cycles in a shed that is either unlocked or not maintained. Nationally, garden crime is becoming more and more common. Tools such as lawn mowers, strimmers, hedge cutters, power tools and bikes are expensive items to replace and may incur the victim extra insurance premiums. This can also be an open invitation for thieves to use garden implements to break into their house or car. High burglary rates from sheds indicate that they are not only easy to break into but there is a large market for the stolen contents. With this in mind, consider if the property kept inside would be better stored elsewhere. Sheducation: Do not leave a garage or garden shed unlocked, especially if it has a connecting door to the house. Fit strong padlocks and hardware to shed and garage doors. Make sure that the doors are solid enough not to be kicked in. Fit locks or bars to windows. Keep the structure in good repair. Take photographs of items such as statues and garden furniture if they are unusual, for easy identification at a later date. Lock ladders inside your garage or shed. Consider lockable steel boxes or anchor posts fitted to the floor to secure tools and equipment. Garden tools and machinery should be permanently marked with your postcode. Install a battery or mains-powered shed alarm, available from all good DIY stores at a reasonable price.