Mid Sussex Neighbourhood Watch Newsletter

The Neighbourhood Watch movement (NHW) in the United Kingdom started about 25 years ago and now embraces several million households.

It was several years later that the Mid Sussex District was formed. Three years ago a report by the Sussex Police Authority stated that in East and West Sussex together there were some 12,000 NHW road schemes each led by a co-ordinator. More recently Sussex Police, following a full update of the relevant police database, recorded about 8,000 co-ordinators of which 528 were included for Mid Sussex with their road schemes, representing 13,000 or so households which shows that there has been a decline in support over the past two or three years.

The loss of some road schemes does raise the question as to why there has been some reduction of interest and support as well as questioning what can be done to redress that loss. No-one knows how effective NHW working is in helping to reduce crime and to enhance community safety. But there can be no doubt that most households are well aware of the need to improve protection of home and family as well as their local environment. Certainly the guidance and information that NHW co-ordinators provide both encourages and reminds people about ways of reducing risk and alerts them of particular current concerns about criminal and anti-social behaviour.

Many voluntary organisations often now seem to find that the loss of someone who has taken a lead role in helping to run that body is far from easy to replace - and NHW is no exception to that experience. All of us have the pressures of

Lowland Dogs Search Team

Most of us probably think that a search dog may be an Alsatian or – if you're lucky – a St Bernard with a comforting drink attached to his collar! But the photograph (right) taken at the recent Hayward Heath 999 day shows one of the Sussex Lowland dogs in an off duty moment. Search dogs include a wide variety of breeds including just the sort of pet you may have at home. There are about seven dogs currently used by the local Sussex team and their training can take 18 months to two years or so to reach top standard. They have a remarkable ability to find a trace of a missing person at a considerable distance and lead the searcher to the right location. The Team specialises in night time searches but also works with the North Downs Search Team and the similar ones in Sussex. Volunteer helpers are welcome to assist the dog handler in search operations, etc.
Contact:

Message from Chief Inspector Edward De-La-Rue

This is my first contribution to Watch Out since arriving as District Commander in July – I can’t quite believe that was only three months ago! Following Chris Ball has certainly been a tough task, but hopefully I’m starting to get to grips with it, and to carry on with the good work the district was doing under him. Already I’ve seen the really broad range of policing in Mid Sussex.

Much of it is not related to crime but to events like the planned Beachdown Music Festival, intended to take place at Devil’s Dyke on the August Bank Holiday weekend, with an expected attendance of 10,000. When this was cancelled by the organiser it was estimated that as many as 50% of the audience would still travel to the location, with a risk of disorder or illegal parties/raves occurring. A major operation was put in place, with support from the rest of Sussex Police and in fact the weekend went very smoothly.

I’m constantly struck by how beautiful an area Mid Sussex is, and it's also a very safe area. Every so often I get Home Office information showing how crime here compares to other similar areas elsewhere in the country – places like the New Forest, Surrey Heath and Aylesbury Vale. Out of 15 similar districts Mid Sussex has the 3rd lowest level of crimes per person!

One of my challenges is to keep crime as low as possible and at the same time to encourage people to feel safe and confident in their homes and communities. For both of those tasks I need the help of local partners, and I see Neighbourhood Watch as very important partners.

I have already had really productive discussions with Geoff Coe about how to get the police and NHW working together as effectively as we can. I don’t think this is about starting from scratch, but just about looking at how we currently work and making sure both sides are clear about what we expect of each other and how we will deliver it.

I will be working with my teams to make sure we get as much as possible of the right kind of information to you, and in return I ask that you continue to let us know straight away of any suspicious activity in your area, either via CrimeStoppers or direct to Sussex Police. Also one of the things I will be looking at improving is the way in which we get back to you with the outcomes of the information you give us (although this could take a little while – there are some difficult obstacles for us to overcome).

Wishing you a safe and happy Autumn.

Ed De La Rue
Mid Sussex District Commander
Haywards Heath Police Station

Crimestoppers is a UK wide charity that has the aim of helping people to fight back against those who cast a blight on society by crime. Its formation came about following the murder of PC Keith Blakelock during the Broadwater riots in 1985. The telephone number shown is free and can be contacted night or day, 365 days per year where information about crime can be given in complete anonymity. You may be able to help one day with vital information. More than one million actionable calls have been made since its formation. Keep the telephone number handy. Much more can be learnt about Crimestoppers from their website www.crimestoppers-uk.org

Community Crime Fighters

In October a conference was held in Brighton attended by 130 or so delegates from Sussex and several neighbouring counties and led by officers of the Home Office Neighbourhood Crime and Justice Group. You may never have heard of this group, which was set up last year with the aim of developing stronger links between crime fighting agencies and the communities that they serve.

A Community Crime Fighter will be a member of the public who is active in their local community perhaps through a body such as Neighbourhood Watch, or a tenant’s or residents association or other similar body and who play a part in aiding crime prevention. They will seek to have increased information and training to help the work of the public bodies that are involved in tackling criminal activity and encouraging communities to enhance community safety.

The recently published Sussex Police Pledge sets out what you can expect from your local police and much of this links with what Community Crime Fighters aim to achieve. For example this may include giving police information about local crime, participating in setting priorities for policing in your local area, playing an active part in relevant community bodies and helping to allay the fear of crime especially on the part of those who may be the more vulnerable members of your local area.

More information can be found by checking relevant websites. Search: “Community Crime Fighters” on Google.

Alternatively there is an ‘Action Line’ that can be contacted by dialling 0808 000 2030 and also by joining the Community Crime Fighters Club which provides e-mail updates, newsletters and some training opportunities, etc. There are no fees or specific responsibilities in being a Community Crime Fighter. Indeed you may already be one! But it might help you to know more about what you can do.

Personal Safety When Out and About
The time is quickly arriving when the shops will start to get busier and we will all be joining the crowds to do our Christmas shopping. It is a time when our minds are concentrating on other things and we don’t take much notice of being bumped or jostled around in busy shops, or even getting on a bus. Putting bags down at the side of a seat whilst we have a rest or some refreshments or in a shop examining potential purchases.

However, for the thief, Christmas and the New Year sales are a good time to be out and about and there could be rich pickings if people do not take care of their belongings.

An open shopping bag carried across a ladies shoulder and behind her is a common target for purse thieves. Even when the bag is zipped, the thieves are skilled and well practised at opening the zip and taking a purse. We often put a shopping bag or purchased goods on a shopping trolley or on the floor of a shop whilst examining other items.

It only takes a moment for a thief to pick the bag up and disappear into the crowd whilst you are looking away, often passing the ill-gotten gains to other members of a gang to avoid being caught with the goods.

Most ladies' bags contain many valuable items, personal details and documents which are often difficult to get cancelled and replaced.

Driving licences, cheque books, bank cards, keys and cash are all there for the thief to make use of.

Men too have cash and bank cards, etc, in their wallets which are another real bonus for the villain to obtain and in a moment can be taken from a back or inside pocket.

Update from East Grinstead NPT

It has been a busy few months in East Grinstead. We had a hugely successful 999 Emergency Services open day at the Fire Station on 12th September. The weather was fantastic and the day drew in a large number of people who were able to speak with Officers from the local Fire, Police and Ambulance stations as well as take part in the events on the day.

We ran Operation Beatsweep during the week commencing 14th September in Herontye Ward. We responded to fliers requesting feedback from local residents about the issues that affect them. We investigated reports of dog fouling but found no trace and several vehicles were clamped by DVLA for having no tax. Extra police patrols conducted high visibility patrols with the local Youth Service to look at anti-social behaviour but were pleased to report that there were no problems. We will continue to work on the feedback received from local residents.

If you have any issues you wish to discuss, please do not hesitate to contact your local PCSO or NPT Police Constable either via the Sussex Police website www.sussex.police.uk or via telephone on 0845 60 70 999.
Sergeant Victoria Tomlinson

News from Burgess Hill NPT

August saw the 4th Annual Burgess Hill Emergency Services Open Day. Over 1500 people visited The Brow in Burgess Hill to see displays and demonstrations by representatives from Sussex Police, West Sussex Fire and Rescue and South East Coast Ambulance Service. The displays were accompanied by a host of activities for people of all ages to take part in, coupled with advice and information on how to stay safe.

Sergeant Simon Alexander who co-ordinated the event said: “This is the fourth year that we have organized this event. I was a little worried that moving it to August would cause problems with attendance but the great weather ensured that we probably had our biggest attendance so far. We had some new partner agencies join us this year including the Blood Runner Motorcyclists and the Probation service. Everybody that I spoke to found the day informative as well