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CRIME PREVENTION ADVICE...

YOUR LOCAL COMMUNITY CRIME PREVENTION OFFICER AND NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH ADMINISTRATOR...

Beverley Warburton is our new Neighbourhood Watch Administrator / Crime Prevention Officer based with the MAPS (Multi-Agency Problem Solving) Team at South Ribble Civic Centre, West Paddock, Leyland. Beverley is responsible for organising and developing neighbourhood watch throughout the South Ribble area. She has been co-opted on to the Executive Committee of the South Ribble Neighbourhood Watch Association and attends all the meetings, providing regular updates and support. She can be contacted by telephone on 01772 625593 or by Email.

HOW TO GET CRIME PREVENTION ADVICE & INFORMATION...

By contacting your local Community Crime Prevention Officer.

The Community Crime Prevention Officer is happy to receive telephone calls and emails from members of neighbourhood watch schemes and the general public alike. The contact details are shown above.

Your Community Crime Prevention Officer / Neighbourhood Watch Administrator can provide you with Crime Prevention and Neighbourhood Watch leaflets/stickers etc free of charge. She can also provide you with free ultra-violet property marking kits and can loan etching kits so that more robust items can be marked.

Many crime prevention / neighbourhood watch items are available, including the following (some available to download). They are produced by the Home Office unless otherwise stated.

BE SAFE – BE SECURE

A comprehensive crime prevention advice booklet.

ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR

A leaflet about dealing with anti-social behaviour.

SHEDS, GARAGES, & OUTBUILDINGS

Advice on security for garages & sheds.

CODED FOR KEEPS

A leaflet giving advice on post coding your property.

BURGLARS BEWARE window stickers.
To advise that property has been marked.

HOW TO BEAT THE BOGUS CALLER

A booklet aimed at preventing people from becoming victims of doorstep crime.

PEACE OF MIND WHILE YOU'RE AWAY

A leaflet giving advice on the security precautions you should take when you go on holiday.

PEACE OF MIND WHILE YOU MOVE HOME

A leaflet giving advice on the security precautions you should take when you move home.

STEER CLEAR OF CAR CRIME

A general guide providing security advice for car owners.
 

STEER CLEAR OF BIKE CRIME

A general guide providing security advice for motorcycle and motor scooter users.
 

STEER CLEAR OF CARAVAN CRIME

Security advice for caravan owners.

CYCLE SECURITY FOR CYCLISTS

An advice leaflet from the National Cycling Forum.

WELCOME TO NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH

A leaflet for new members of the scheme which explains the role of neighbourhood watch.
 

INCIDENT REPORT CARD

Form to be completed when a crime or incident is witnessed, to provide useful details for the police.

NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH window stickers.
Round yellow stickers for display by neighbourhood watch scheme members.
 

A GUIDE TO HOME SECURITY

General home security advice.

The above items are available from your local Neighbourhood Watch Administrator.

By returning to this website...
This web site will also be used to provide general, together with topical and seasonal, crime prevention advice.

By visiting other websites...
There are a number of websites where crime prevention advice can also be obtained. www.crimereduction.gov.uk is a very comprehensive site covering many aspects of community safety. It includes a neighbourhood watch mini-site and advice on how to carry out a domestic security survey. It also contains links to many other sites, including neighbourhood watch websites. Please see our Links page for details of further websites.

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Card Watch is a UK banking industry initiative that aims to raise awareness of card fraud prevention. It is managed by APACS, the UK payments association. Visit the site for more information.

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PROTECT YOUR IDENTITY

You probably know that personal information can be accessed via publicly available databases, such as electoral roles and Royal Mail address files. The growth of the internet has seen an increase in the number of such online facilities. Always guard personal information.

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UNDERSTANDING CRIME PREVENTION

There are many reasons why crimes are committed and there are many ways to prevent or reduce crime. Sometimes the risk can be reduced by taking one simple measure but in other cases a possible solution may require several actions being taken.

There are Ten Principles of Crime Prevention and these are used by Crime Prevention Officers all over the country for a wide variety of scenarios, including domestic security. These are outlined below:

1 Target Hardening
Making targets more resistant to attack or difficult to remove/damage etc. (fitting better doors, windows, shutters. Window locks, door locks, burglar alarms. Screens in banks and building societies. Repairing damage to property to reduce the possibility of crime or repeat victimisation etc).

2 Target Removal
Permanent or temporary removal of vulnerable persons or property (replacing coin meters on gas and electricity systems in homes, replacing coin boxes in booths with card phones, removing radios from parked cars, jewellery from shop windows at night etc).

3 Remove the Means to Commit Crime
Trying to promote good work and management practices ensure that material capable of being used to help the criminal commit crime is not left lying around with easy access. Similar for domestic properties. (Building material such as scaffolding poles, tools, ladders, garden tools etc are secured or stored in a safe place. Restricting availability and access to means to commit crime, for example recent firearms and knife regulations. Use of plastic glasses in venues where there is a likelihood or potential for trouble or disorder).

4 Reducing the Payoff
Employing means to reduce the value of loss if a crime is committed. (The use of a main safe plus a time-lock floor safe to reduce cash value in the till, property marking, post coding, use of replica for display purposes etc).

5 Access Control
Restricting access to sites, buildings or parts of sites or buildings (through the use of identity systems, proximity card readers, baggage screening, entry/exit systems etc).

6 Surveillance
a) Natural – maximising routine surveillance by residents, employees and the community. (Pruning or removal of shrubbery, improving or installing lighting, increasing usage, neighbourhood watch, business watch etc).
b) Formal – Using technology and staff to deter and identify potential and actual offenders. (Deployment of police and security staff, store detectives, caretakers, utilising alarm systems, CCTV etc).
c) Employee – Encouraging non-specialist staff to be vigilant (receptionists, counter staff, till operators, office staff, managers etc).

7 Environmental Design
Using changes in the environment of a building, a site, an estate or town, to reduce crime opportunities. (Pedestrianisation of shopping areas in towns, using planters, bollards, seating, fixtures, garden areas etc to make premises less vulnerable).

8 Rule Setting
Introduction of legislation, bylaws, codes of conduct, to attain acceptable social behaviour. (Wearing of ID badges, local rules regarding consumption of alcohol in the street or public places, internal rules within business, commerce, public services etc).

9 Increase the Chance of Being Caught
Management and use of security and technology, use of plain clothes security staff. (Monitoring, recording, system management of CCTV. Maintenance of security equipment. Training of security personnel and non-security staff etc).

10 Deflecting Offenders
Diverting offenders and potential offenders from committing crime. Working with other agencies to influence standards, thinking and attitudes. Education programmes. (Multi-agency work, schools programmes, youth groups or organisations, work experience and training etc).

When Crime Prevention Officers carry out a survey for a building they do so by applying the ten principles to four different layers:
These are:
ENVIRONMENT ..... The environment where the building is situated and relevant external factors impacting on security,
e.g. licensed premises, open fields etc.
PERIMETER ..... Walls and fences etc.
SHELL ..... The walls, doors, windows, roof of the building.
INTERIOR ..... Inside the building.

This method is known as the ‘Onion Peeling’ principle.

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CRIME PREVENTION TIPS FROM YOUR LOCAL COMMUNITY CRIME PREVENTION OFFICER...

The following tips are based on information about recorded crime and incidents in the South Ribble area.
 

• Do not be complacent about crime. South Ribble is a relatively low-crime area and domestic burglaries in particular are at a low level. However crime can occur at any time and if people are complacent it makes it easier for the offender to commit the crime. Be vigilant and report suspicious activity.

• Ensure that you lock your doors and windows, especially at night. Many burglaries are committed by opportunist thieves. Some of these crimes occur when the householders are in the premises and watching television but have not locked their doors, thereby allowing a burglar to ‘sneak in’ and steal property.

• If you have a garden shed or other outbuilding ensure that it has adequate security measures such as substantial locks and a shed alarm. Shed burglaries are not uncommon and sometimes a thief will enter a shed and then use property contained within the shed to force an entry into the house.

• Do not leave keys, purses or other small valuable items within easy reach of letter boxes, cat flaps, open windows etc.

• Criminal Damage is a problem in our area. Damaged property gives the impression of lack of ownership and that no-one cares for it. Research has shown that unrepaired damage is likely to lead to further damage occurring. You are advised to repair damaged property as soon as possible.

• Boundary walls and fences which are in poor repair may easily be damaged. Walls and fences which are well maintained offer greater protection to your home, particularly when they are designed with security in mind. The police recommend that rear boundary fencing should be at least 1.8m high. If you back on to a footpath or open land then 2m is the recommended height (you do not need planning permission for 2m rear fencing – if unsure contact your local council planning department). Fencing panels should be secured to their posts or base to prevent removal. A good alternative to fencing are decorative railings, which look attractive and are more difficult to damage.

• Many of the criminal damage offences that are committed involve motor vehicles, e.g. broken wing mirrors and windscreen wipers, scratches etc. Many of these occur on the highway but some take place on private driveways. Some of these could be avoided if vehicles were garaged overnight. If you have to park on the highway ensure that it is a well lit area which has good natural surveillance.

• Do not leave valuable items on display in your vehicle. Either put them in the boot where they will be out of sight, or better still remove them from the vehicle altogether.

• On winter mornings, do not leave your car unattended to defrost with the engine running. It is an open invitation to a thief, and many vehicles have been stolen in just this way.

• To prevent an offender from entering your car and stealing the car or its contents you should consider fitting security devices. Check out www.soldsecure.com for further information about security devices.

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Vehicle Security
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