Here is the October up-date from Police Community Support Officer Alastair Willcocks for Owlsmoor & College Town.
Your neighbourhood policing team, Neighbourhood Specialist Officer PC Alex Hillan, PCSO Alastair Willcocks and PCSO Katherine Bullen, have been busy working with local people and partners identifying and tackling local crime issues, anti-social behaviour (ASB) and on-going concerns.
I would remind residents of the importance of double locking your front door particularly at night to prevent “letter box” break ins. This is where the door can be opened from the outside by putting an implement through the letter box to open the door handle on the inside. Double locking your front door will prevent this, but keep the key handy where it can easily be found by any person living in the house.
I would also like to remind residents to ensure that windows are securely locked at night or when the property is left empty following a report of burglaries at dwellings where windows have been left insecure.
You can take some simple and cost-effective steps to tighten your home security and reduce your chances of being a victim of burglary.
Some facts: at least 80 per cent of burglaries are committed by amateur opportunists who take advantage of open or vulnerable doors and windows, keys left in insecure “hiding places”, and unlocked side gates, for example. In around 25 per cent of break-ins, particularly those that take place in the spring and summer, entry is gained through insecure doors and windows, especially at the rear of the property. More information is on the Thames Valley Police’s Safer Homes Campaign which aims to raise awareness among householders about what you can do to prevent and reduce burglary.
Please remember to lock your sheds to protect lawn mowers and garden equipment including fishing gear which are a favourite to be stolen during the summer months. Garages have also been targeted and officers are patrolling in the area. Please report any suspicious behaviour and pass details to the Police.
Police have been carrying out targeted patrols in the day time and at night in the Sandhurst area following a slight increase from theft of tools from work vehicles. Please secure your vehicle and think about where you are parking i.e. ideally on your driveway with the rear of vehicle parked close to the wall or garage or where there is good lighting. Make sure your property is marked up and not on display. Myself and colleagues have been carrying out Clear Car Campaign and advising members of the public not to leave valuables in their vehicles.
On 19 September tools were recovered from a stolen vehicle in Moray Avenue.
Please report any suspicious behaviour right away or think about joining a Neighbourhood Watch Scheme in your area.
If you have any information which might assist the Police with their enquiries, please telephone 0845 8 505 505 or if you wish to remain anonymous, contact Crimestoppers Charity on 0800 555 111.
Operation Lion Cub is proving to be successful over Friday and Saturday nights helping to reduce anti-social behaviour and providing faster response times to incidents and providing reassurance and confidence to the public.
During the holiday period and summer months officers have been patrolling hotspots on Op Lion Cub 2 extended during these times.
We are also patrolling parks and heath land to deter ASB as well as deterring any youths from starting fires at this time of the year. We are visiting local shops asking them to restrict the sales of lighters and matches to any underage persons.If you see anything suspicious please let us know.
If you are affected by ASB please contact your local neighbourhood team or go through the Thames Valley Police Non-emergency number at the bottom of the page.
Reassuring Facts
The crime figures for the period April to July 2011 continue to show a downward trend in Bracknell Forest. There have been 161 reported crimes of violence in this period compared with 238 in the same period last year; a reduction of -32%. There has also been a reduction of Serious Acquisitive Crime (burglary, vehicle crime & robbery) from 319 offences to 231 a reduction of -27% . Reports of criminal damage to property fell from 405 to 231, a reduction of 12%. Reports of anti-social behaviour are down by 13% over the same period.
All these reductions follow substantial reductions last year and numbers aside, mean fewer people have suffered at the hands of criminals and become victims.
Further information on local crime figures is available on the Governments website www.police.uk
Offenders brought to justice
Two 17 year old brothers were arrested following a robbery of personal property from a man in Shepherds Meadow Car-park in College Town Sandhurst on 19 September.
A 25 year old man was arrested for shoplifting for stealing 16 bottles of alcohol, which were taken from the shelf and placed in a bag, from Waitrose store in College Town.
A 27 year old man was arrested for stealing £62 of vodka bottles which were attempted to conceal in the man’s trousers.
A 40 year old woman was charged with stealing £420 worth of alcohol cases at Tesco store at The Meadows in College Town. A 52 year old woman was also charged with shoplifting of CDs & DVDs worth £344 on another separate occasion.
A 40 year old woman was charged with stealing £70 worth of cash from a handbag left on the back of a trolley at Marks and Spencers at The Meadows.
An 18 year old man was charged with Theft and Unauthorised use of a motor vehicle from Silver Hill in College Town. An 18 year old man was also charged with the same offence in Millins Close in Owlsmoor.
Three 14 year old youths were detained at the Cricket Club Pavilion after breaking in and drinking some of the alcohol from the bar area in Sandhurst.
Myself and other officers have been working from The Police Office at Tesco, The Meadows. This is not open to the public. It allows officers to conduct more visible targeted patrols on site as well as using the office to detain shoplifters and hold meetings. A number of shopliftings have occurred this month from The Meadows Retail Park, and some have been dealt with by way of fixed penalty or an adult caution.
On 20 – 21 September from 20:30 – 07:00 an attempt was made to steal a motorcycle from a garage on Yeovil Road. Access was gained to the garage by offenders smashing the padlock. They broke the steering lock on the motorcycle in an attempt to steal the property.
My colleagues and myself have been patrolling the local schools i.e. College Town schools and making sure people park correctly. One of the concerns for residents is vehicles obstructing the pathway, the rule of thumb, if a person pushing a pram for example has to divert into the road the vehicle would be considered to be causing an obstruction. Obstruction also includes blocking dropped kerbs in front of residents’ houses where they need access to their property and parking inappropriately at junctions. This kind of parking can not only cause accidents with other cars but may cause injury to members of the public, yourselves and your children.
Please ensure you do not mark on any of the Zig Zag markings outside the school as you could incur a £60 fixed penalty. A letter has gone out to all parents, I ask you
to please be aware of where and how you are parking so as not to cause problems for other residents as well as the pedestrians.
I will be monitoring the parking situation, and if you are obstructing the pavement, dropped kerb or junction, I will be issuing £30 Fixed penalty tickets if necessary.
We have an agreement with Sandhurst Sports Centre, off Owlsmoor Road, to park in their car park at school times to pick and drop off. You can walk down the Greenways to Branksome Hill Road to College Town Schools.
Special Constable Paul Cave has been giving talks at College Town Infants and Nursery in College Town. This has been well received by the children and school.
You can contact your local neighbourhood policing team through a number of methods:
The next Have Your Say Meeting is held by PCSO Willcocks:
Date: Saturday 1 October 12:30-13:30
Venue: Beat Surgery in Waitrose Foyer, Yorktown Road, College Town
Contact: PCSO Alastair Willcocks
There will be another Have Your Say Meeting on Sunday 6 November. This is a street surgery at Yeovil Road Shops and will be from 11:00 – 12:00, again the contact is PCSO Alastair Willcocks.
These meetings are an ideal opportunity for local residents to speak to their local police officers and PCSO’s about any local issues, no appointment is necessary just turn up and speak to your local officers.
If you want any advice or would like to contact the neighbourhood team you can call us on the police non emergency number 0845 8 505505 or email Owlsmoor &CollegeTownNHPT@thamesvalley.pnn.police.uk. Please note this email address cannot be used to contact Thames Valley Police to report crimes or for any urgent matters.
Thames Valley Police ~ Owlsmoor