It’s that time of year when everybody is getting all excited for Christmas. Out comes the lights and the decorations, up goes the tree, and the kiddies excitement levels go through the roof. Sadly, it’s a time where great care is also needed – the nights are dark, weather isn’t at its’ best with fog patches settling in making the conditions ideal for the opportunistic criminal looking to ruin the festive season for someone/s! I would therefore like to take the opportunity to deliver some straight forward crime prevention/awareness messages that – hopefully, will have everyone taking some extra precautions.
Doors and windows – I’m starting with the obvious one. Well, I say obvious but it’s one of the primary factors in house burglary – where the criminal simply walks into your home because the front or back door is unlocked, or the windows are unlocked. Even when at home it’s vital that everyone locks their doors and windows.
Property on display – don’t keep valuables on display on windowsills for the undesirables to see. Opportunists are out there – don’t dangle that carrot!
Burglar alarms – always ensure that – where present, you set your alarms whenever leaving your homes. This one might seem obvious but it’s one of the most common omissions made.
Car keys – always keep these hidden somewhere safe. Do not keep them near to front/back doors. ‘2-in-1’ burglaries are where suspects enter your home and in the process take vehicle keys, helping themselves to the family motor while they’re at it – keeping keys tucked away will reduce the likelihood of your car getting stolen should some undesirables gain entry into your property.
Vehicle security – when parking your vehicle up always check that it is securely locked. You may think that it’s locked because you pressed your central locking button on your key fob and heard the ‘click’ however a couple of extra seconds to double check that’s the case will reduce a lot of potential heartache later on. The vast majority of the crimes within the Newton Aycliffe where we take reports of thefts from vehicles involve unlocked and insecure cars – some criminals (I say some) are opportunistic and will try your door handles to identify whether your car is locked or not. If unlocked…well we know how that story ends. If locked many (not all) will move on rather than risk exposure by forcing entry. And on that note..
Property in vehicles – this is another thing that we see time and time again. It doesn’t matter how long you’re leaving your car for – whether it’s to nip into the shop, to pay for parking, etcetera etcetera, do not leave valuables on display on car seats, in foot-wells and the like. Some criminals will strike without you ever realising they were ever there.
By embracing crime prevention together we can make it more difficult for those who don’t understand the meaning of Christmas!
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Many of you may have seen a recent post on the Neighbourhood Police Team’s Facebook page (dated 18 November) where we stated that changes were coming in the way in which we engaged daily with the public and one of those changes concerned the way in which PACT meetings were conducted. The post also invited suggestions from local residents as to how the process could be adapted for the better. Unfortunately the post seems to have created something of a landslide with assumptions seemingly made that PACT was ‘on its’ way out’.
I would like to take this opportunity to highlight that PACT is not going anywhere however the harsh reality of the current climate – and I refer naturally to austerity measures, means that for reasons beyond our control we have to be more creative at how we deliver our engagement. There are a large number of PACT meetings held across the Newton Aycliffe area – some monthly, some less frequent, and some of these forums are very well attended with a mix of residents, representatives from partner agencies, and local councillors present. There are some meetings however where attendance levels are very low – very low indeed, and with all of the calls for service that Police and partners receive it is these fixtures where we are suggesting making changes to maximise the opportunities for community engagement. It is here where we invite suggestions from those who would normally attend such events and to work with us at reshaping the process to maximum benefit. Many thanks.
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Newton Aycliffe Neighbourhood Police Team would like to thank everyone who attended their community engagement event in the Town Centre on 5th December 2015. There were Operation: Spoke bike marking sessions that took place, general crime prevention advice given out by those Team members in attendance, and property marking kits (SelectaDNA) that were distributed to attendees. We still have supplies of the latter in stock and will be announcing some further events very soon. Please monitor our Facebook page (Newton Aycliffe Police) or our Inspector’s Twitter feed (@Aycliffe_FiveO) for details.
