NEWSLETTER

Reporting Crime - would you?

You will have seen many and varying reports on the level of ‘Reported Crime’ across the country. The figures are published by the Home Office and reflect the crime reports the Police have received and not the level of real crime, which is probably much higher.

Many people take the attitude ‘why report it, the Police never seem to catch anyone’. That attitude causes two problems:

· Police will never be able to catch the criminals if they do not know that a crime has been committed.

· Police budgets are influenced by the amount of reported crime in the district, so if reported crime is low the Police budget may be suppressed and therefore fewer officers deployed in the area.

If you are the victim of a crime or see a crime in progress - do not hesitate to report it. You can telephone 01277 631212 or in person at the Police Station front desk.

Its nearly time to do the garden again

Remember all those lovely garden tools you had so much fun with last year - well it’s time to get them out again!

Give a thought to security as you scrape the rust off (and if yours are not rusty, then come and scrape the rust off mine). A quick count-up will reveal you have a large amount of cash tied up in your tools (even that spade with the broken handle that you are really going to fix this year), so please look after them.

· Check your insurance policy, ensure it covers your tools and your shed.

· Check the locks on your shed or garage, think about an alarm if your have a lot of valuable tools.

· Property mark your expensive tools. We can help with the loan of marking kits.

· Record the serial numbers and models of power tools and mowers.

· Consider some additional security for cycles, mowers and ladders - a sturdy chain and pad lock fixed to a wall or floor will help secure them.

· Don’t leave your tools laying about over night. Besides the risk of theft, they can be used as house breaking implements.

Information on Drugs

Unfortunately drug abuse is on the increase; there are lots of reasons why, too many to go into here.

If you are a parent and you need more information we have some excellent information booklets at the Police Station. If you would like some information please call us on 01277 631212 and we will be happy to send some to you. You do not need to leave a name, just your address and we will send you some information.

Change of Sponsor

Key Locksmiths regret that they are no longer able to jointly sponsor the newsletter along with Crystal Print.

Our thanks go to Key Locksmiths for their support over the past year and of course to Crystal Print for their continued support.

Message in a Bottle is still going

This is a initiative organised by Neighbourhood Watch and supported by many organisations, including Essex County Council and Essex Community Foundation. It was launched in Billericay sometime ago and we thought it would be good time to remind those who have not yet taken advantage of the scheme.

This voluntary scheme is intended for use by any person whilst living at home.

The scheme provides the Emergency Services with vital details of any illness or allergy you may suffer from, medication you may be taking and the name of a person to be contacted in the event of you suffering a sudden illness or accident.

How it works: The kit comprises a plastic bottle, details form and location stickers.

You record your details on the form and place the form in the plastic bottle and store the bottle in the fridge. Why the fridge? Two reasons, the fridge is easy to recognise and usually in the same place in any house, and in a fire the contents of the fridge are usually preserved .

One sticker is placed on the plastic bottle to make it instantly recognisable, one sticker is placed on the fridge door to show the bottle is inside and the last sticker is placed on the inside of the front door.

If the emergency services are called to your home they will look for the sticker on the inside of the front door and then search out the bottle. They will they have a good idea of who they are dealing with and be aware of any medical conditions.

The emergency services do struggle when called to the home of an unconscious person and they have no idea of who they are dealing with, who to contact or when medical conditions may be prevailing.

This simple scheme could save your life.

If you would like a bottle kit please call at the Police Station and collect one at reception.

The bottles are free of charge, the cost is entirely funded by local councils and other organisations.

We have a supply of bottles and more are on the way, so if they are not available when you call, please leave your name, address, phone number and the number of bottles you require and we will tell you when they are ready for collection.

Crime Figures

Sorry, but due to clashing holidays and work schedules I could not get the crime figures for March into this edition. I will catch up next month.

Garage Burglaries

Have a look around your garage and add up the replacement value of the contents; you’ll be amazed.

Ensure you lock the up when the garage is not in use; both the car door and the personal door. Be especially vigilant if you have an access door from your house into the garage; once inside the garage a burglar has plenty of time to work on the door into your home.

Mark your property with your postcode and house number (or first two letters of your house name). If you need advice or marking kits, give us a call at the Police Station.

If you keep ladders in the garage, keep them chained to the wall to stop them being used in a break-in.

So what happens to the stolen goods? They usually end up in boot sales, so watch what you buy! It is another good reason for marking your property, when boot sales get raided by the Police and Trading Standards they can trace the source of goods if they are post coded, which may identify the goods as stolen and the sellers as handling stolen goods.

Phone Scams

People are still falling for them. If you are asked to call any number being ‘09’ be aware it is premium rate number and may cost £5 per minute.