Mid Sussex Neighbourhood Watch in conjunction with Hassocks Neighbourhood Watch present:
Mid Sussex Neighbourhood Watch Newsletter |
Summer 2006 Issue No. 16 |
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| Current issue: Summer 2008 Previous issues: Spring 08 | Winter 07 | Summer 07 | Spring 07 | Winter 06 | Summer 06 | Spring 06 | |
Is your neighbourhood policed? |
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Neighbourhood Policing is a term that we increasingly hear about, but does it work in Mid Sussex and does it work for you? When the police re-organisation in Sussex took place in 2003, police districts were arranged so that they covered the same geographical areas that were covered by each local authority. Within each police district Neighbourhood Police Teams (NPT) were established and in Mid Sussex we have three NPTs based in Haywards Heath, East Grinstead and Burgess Hill. Each NPT is led by an Inspector and each covers its main town and a number of surrounding villages. The previous system where your local area was looked after by a 'community beat officer' was changed to give each village or town ward area a 'lead officer'. That lead role would be backed up by other officers in the NP Team so as to give the assurance that in the absence of the local lead officer. there would always be someone from the NP Team readily available right up to the Inspector. The intention behind this change was to ensure that your 'neighbourhood' would have better support and contact than may have existed in the past. The 'Neighbourhood' that is embraced in the NPT is quite large with some 60,000 or so households in Mid Sussex District being covered by just three teams. Better support It is perhaps a bit misleading as the term 'neighbourhood' is one that most of us regard as relating to a more limited local environment. The work of each team of police officers has to be arranged so as to allow for shift working, district or divisional priorities, sickness, leave, training and the considerable time requirements that are needed to deal with crime. |
To some extent the linkage with the local community by an officer of the NPT has been aided by the introduction of Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) who are now more frequently seen as their work is largely related to patrolling, thus helping to respond to the often voiced public concern "we never see a policeman..." Visible presence In some parts of our district, PCSOs are a very visible presence, though not in all, and it seems that police officers themselves are less perceived as offering 'policing in your neighbourhood' and this is very often due to the need for such officers to be involved in response work arising from the day to day demand of the whole of their NPT. To meet this problem a new scheme has now been initiated by Mid Sussex Police to make further improvements in the contacts with local communities and their representatives. This introduces 'Neighbourhood Specialist Teams' (NSTs) for each of the NPT areas, whose role will be to work closely with partners and communities to overcome problems of crime, disorder and antisocial behaviour. This helps to nurture a society where people feel safer with local police support. A Neighbourhood Specialist Sergeant will lead a small team of officers
with the aim, to quote Chief Inspector Chris Ball's words "the NST
will be identifiable, accessible and visible". This scheme is a
specific response to the Government's White Paper, 'Building Communities,
Beating Crime'. We welcome its introduction and look forward to working
with the Teams in support of their aims. |
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NHW co-ordinators receive national awards Daily speed monitoring by a dedicated group in Sharpthorne and West Hoathly has not only affected driver behaviour but also provided reassurance to local residents. Their success has encouraged other communities to form speed-watch groups. 'Friends Together' was formed in the Bentswood Ward of Haywards Heath in response to the need for three disparate residents groups in working together to tackle anti-social behaviour. 'Young Pilgrims' provide sporting and social opportunities for youngsters who would, for a variety of reasons, not engage in positive leisure activities. Their constitution and Child Protection policy confirms their commitment to equality - be that in terms of race, faith, ability or socio- economic background. The club has grown to |
over 100 in two years with adult volunteers and coaches embarking on a specialist training course to extend the provision of activities. The community group have built a new club house which will house a variety of activities. Both groups will receive a cheque for £1000 in August this year. |
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Shopping on the Internet - hints for ebayers |
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In a previous issue of Watch Out, Geoff Coe pointed out that the nature of crime is changing, from the more traditional view of car crime and house burglary to a more anti-social type of behaviour. The card carrying burglar has not really gone away though and is no longer the masked man wearing striped pyjamas with a bag over his shoulder marked 'Swag'. He is much more likely to sidle up to you in stealth mode and extract your money by deception. The criminal has moved on and so must the Neighbourhood Watchers. The increasing use of the Internet has opened up unrivalled opportunities for criminals to help themselves to your hard earned and heavily taxed money. No one is more likely to look after your own money better than you are, so it is vital to watch out for nefarious transactions on the web. As someone who uses e-bay a good deal perhaps I could be permitted to offer some general tips on bidding on e-bay, which may just prevent someone making a silly mistake. Undoubtedly the MOST important confidence booster in a particular trader (either commercial or private) is the trader's Feedback Rating. This is described in percentage terms, and it's possible to read all the feedback left by individuals after each transaction has been completed. Time it takes The major problem in doing this is the large amount of time it takes to wade through sometimes hundreds of entries just to get to the neutral and negative feedback so that you can make a judgement on the seller's character. Fortunately there is a website to help do this at www.toolhaus.org Enter the traders e-bay name and you can read all the neutral and negative feedback of your prospective seller in one easy list. It can be very illuminating. |
My own personal guideline is not to trade with anyone with less than 99% unless there is some very good reason. It's a judgement call that only YOU can make. As a matter of principle I always e-mail the seller and ask a question, usually to ask if I can collect the item personally, even if the seller lives in Scotland. The reply will usually tell you a lot about the seller. No reply means no bid. Genuine seller? Having decided to buy from say a 100% seller - how do you know the seller is genuine and hasn't had his account compromised by someone stealing his password? Here we have to use some detective work and as usual a large dollop of common sense. The first rule of any transaction is this:- if the deals looks too good to be true then it probably is! Next have a look at the item description. Scammers usually do a very good one (after all, they are trying to con you). Very often the description will include an e-mail address with an invitation to contact the seller for a 'Buy It Now' price. This is outside the e-bay terms and conditions so it's a dead give away that it is a scam. No doubt there will be some plausible excuse for using this e-mail
address rather that the normal e-bay method of contacting sellers due to
being at work / e-mail address is spammed / time wasters etc, etc. Ignore
this address and contact the seller via the normal e-bay system anyway.
You may be the first to alert the real owner that there is a problem. |
North Downs Division - Neighbourhood Watch Conference |
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The spring conference of Neighbourhood Watch Co-ordinators from Mid Sussex, Crawley and Horsham took place at the Maidenbower Centre, Crawley on 29th April and was attended by some 130 members. Guests included the High Sheriff of West Sussex, Charles Fraser, Sussex Police Authority Members Ann Swain and Margaret Collins and West Sussex County Council Leader, Henry Smith. The main presentation was given by Chief Superintendent Wayne Jones and covered a range of matters, reviewing policing of the Division in the past year, neighbourhood policing, the proposed merger of Sussex and Surrey Police forces (Ed: now put on hold by the new Home Secretary) and priorities for the year ahead. He said that although total crime was up by 1% it was matched by increased detection rates. Overall there was least than one burglary per day over the whole district. Violent crime had increased by 5% but many were very minor. Outside our area There was a particular problem about criminals coming into the local districts from outside our area. There have been many instances of Satellite Navigation systems being stolen from cars. Care needed to be taken to avoid leaving obvious signs that these are installed when cars are left unattended. During 2005 there were 30 road deaths in the North Downs Division and this is a real concern. New licensing laws have come into force and are expected to have an impact on public place violent crime. |
He reported on the new Neighbourhood Specialist Teams that are now being introduced in Mid Sussex (see also article on page 1) and also said that there would be a further significant increase in the number of Police Community Support Officers during 2007/8 to add to the number already in the plans for the current financial year. For the year ahead he listed a number of priorities including:
In conclusion he provided re-assurance that he fully supported the work of our Crime Prevention Co-ordinators and that the current budget provided sufficient funds for their work to continue. Practical experience Apresentation upon the role and practical experience of PCSOs was led
by Elaine Anscomb who has a fine record of work with the communities in
Copthorne and Crawley Down and she gave examples of how this... |
Protecting
vulnerable children
from page 2 The final presentation was given jointly by Christine Hatcher, Anti Social Behaviour Co-ordinator for Horsham and Louise Sunderland, a Neighbourhood Warden based in Steyning. They gave a talk on aspects of dealing with A-SBs in both urban and rural communities.
Changed your service provider? Calls barred or changed your service provider? You will not receive calls from Sussex Police if you have registered your phone to stop calls from barred numbers. That means if you are a Neighbourhood Watch co-ordinator you will not get automatic messages. Similarly you may have stopped receiving emails from Sussex Police if you have changed your service provider. The computer that sends messages out, which is called Ringmaster, does not receive incoming mail, so all of those auto-messages showing your new address have not been picked up! Make sure that the Crime Prevention Officers have your details by calling on 0845 60 70 999 or emailing |
Useful
numbers |
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Vehicle Alarm
Name...................................................... |
Door Alarm Cost: £12 each If you wish to purchase any of the above items please contact Hilary
Winfield, Crime Prevention Co-ordinator, on 01293 583952 or email: |
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Shed
Alarm
Driveway
Alarm
Personal
Attack Alarms Two silver alarms shown are supplied with a key ring.
Choose from the new louder and larger (10cm) style or the compact version.
Cost:
£5 each either large or compact
Personal
Attack Alarm
Window
Alarm
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Out and about Summer Crimes - new publications Sussex Police have just produced the 'Op Sunshine' leaflets to alert householders to summer crimes including walk-in burglaries. For instance Sussex Police have leaflets describing the 2006/07 Policing Plan - Contacting Sussex Police , a new and most useful leaflet describing all the contact methods and the handling of your calls. Theft of Satellite Navigation Systems & Tools It takes seconds to break your vehicle window or force the door. Thieves can easily spot Sat Navs or power tools left on display. These are highly desirable items for thieves. Fixing brackets and power cables left in vehicles also draw the thieves
attention. Remove these and all items of value from display, leave the
glove compartment open to show nothing is stored within. Mid Sussex NHW are selling simple movement detectors and other security
devices. See page 3 for further details. Problems with neighbours - Can they help? Noisy or inconsiderate neighbours? Boundary or hedge disputes? Problems
with pets, vehicles, ball games in the road, rubbish or bonfires? Dispute
over use of common areas e.g. shared gardens? These types of disputes can
escalate over time and often lead to the involvement of the local council,
police, solicitors, landlords and even the courts. Operation Holster launched in Sussex The police are launching a new campaign to try and cut down on the use of imitation firearms. In the past two years in Sussex there has been a noticeable increase in the number of offences involving imitation firearms, from 29 in 2003 to 98 in 2004. These offences range from violent crime to simple unlawful possession. These incidents could involve air weapons, BB guns, replicas or even toy guns but they all have one thing in common - to the passer by or observer they may appear to be a genuine firearm. Any such calls from members of the public are taken seriously and in the absence of any information, Police will respond to each and every 'firearm' incident as if it is the real thing. |
Sussex Police is leading a series of initiatives to crack down on the use of imitation firearms under the banner of Operation Holster. These include educating children in schools about their dangers using specially designed lessons, a DVD and other resources, a wider awareness campaign for the general public and restricting the ease with which people - particularly youngsters - can buy imitation firearms. To do this the Force is seeking the co-operation of local traders to sign up to a voluntary code of practice aimed at restricting the sale of replica firearms, soft air weapons, BB guns or even toy guns. Trading Standards and Sussex Police have written to traders across
Sussex to introduce the voluntary code of practice and invite them to
freely enter into an agreement not to sell imitation firearms. Where
retailers are not able to withdraw such items for commercial reasons, the
code recommends a Proof of Age scheme so the retailer is satisfied that
the purchaser is over 18. Whilst it is not an offence to sell these items,
it is hoped that by restricting their sale there will be a drop in the
number of incidents involving their use or possession in a public place. Nuisance motorcycles, scooters etc. There have been accidents involving the illegal use of these vehicles,
and parents and users need to be aware of the possible implications of
using or allowing or encouraging others to use these vehicles. |
hassocks
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