| Look Out SPRING 2007
Welcome to the Horsham District North Neighbourhood Watch newsletter If you are a Neighbourhood Watch co-ordinator hopefully you should be receiving Ringmaster messages. If you are not receiving messages please inform Kathryn Hayhurst 01444 445965 or email kathryn.hayhurst@sussex.pnn.police.uk. If you used to be a co-ordinator , but are no longer doing this role or wish to change from receiving these messages via recorded telephone message to email please let Kathryn know. Passing these messages on to your neighbours can really prevent crime. At the beginning of October last year there was a spate of vans being broken into in Southwater. Co-ordinators received their Ringmaster message informing them of this problem asking them to inform their neighbours and suggesting that vans were emptied of any tools overnight . A resident who normally leaves his tools in his van decided to take this advice and although his van was broken into, nothing was stolen. If you are interested in setting up a NHW scheme please also contact Kathryn. Spring Security As we start to dust down the cobwebs that have formed in our sheds over the winter months and get out into the garden we need to:
It can not be stressed enough the importance of not leaving any tools out after you've used them. A good percentage of burglaries occur as a result of an offender using a spade or fork to gain access through a door or window . Don't let yourself become a victim. Police Community Support Officers Please find below a list of the Police Community Support Officers and the areas they cover: Tracey Bicknell Ext. 13375 Holbrook, Rusper, Colgate, Faygate , Ifield West Jenny Bond Ext. 21197 Roffey Justine Dobson Ext. 17896 Denne, Trafalgar and Southwater Jo Garner Ext. 21182 Forest, Nuthurst and Lower Beeding Jeff Grant Ext. 19135 Broadbridge Heath and Warnham Sylfan Hammond Ext. 13680 Itchingfield, Barns Green, Rudgwick , Slinfold Rick Page Ext. 19819 Denne Sue Poynter Ext. 19026 Riverside and Town Centre Neil Worth Ext. 14375 Southwater Police community support officers can now be contacted via the Sussex Police website www.sussex.police.uk. Simply type in your post code and it will take you to the police community support officers for this area. You can then click on the contact details of the relevant PCSO and you are given the opportunity to send them an email. For those of you who do not have internet access dial 0845 60 70 999 and the relevant extension number above. You may wish to contact your PCSO to discuss an existing matter or pass on some information however if you witness an incident or crime ALWAYS ring 0845 60 70 999 for non emergencies or 999 if it is an emergency. Report on Trading Standards Presentation held at the Old Town Hall, Horsham on Tuesday 6 February 2007 Around 30 NHW co-ordinators from Horsham District North attended this presentation, eager to hear how to avoid being conned and to tell others. Margaret Butler from Trading Standards stressed the importance of NOT dealing with doorstep callers and showed a short film demonstrating what can happen if you do . She also gave out some useful telephone numbers (see below). Trading Standards have available a Rapid Action Team (RAT) which comprises of two officers on standby to attend reported incidents of doorstep tradesmen at homes of vulnerable people anywhere in the County. Their role is to intervene, protect the resident financially and disrupt doorstep traders activities. They are keen to hear from anyone who is affected without delay. The law states that anyone calling at your door offering goods or services over £35 has to give you written notice of your 7 days cancellation rights in the correct format when the contract is agreed. If no written notice is given it is a criminal offence and is unenforceable under civil law. Since May 2004, West SussexTrading Standards have intervened in 103 incidents resulting in financial savings of nearly 140,000 to residents. If you have access to the internet and are a member of a NHW scheme you can receive information on incidents in your area and consumer issues from Trading Standards by signing up free of charge to the extranet. This website is not open to the general public . Register at sussex.tradingstandards.gov.uk/extranet In order to ensure that you only have dealings with reputable tradesmen you can consult Trading Standards list of traders on it's Buy with Confidence scheme (tel. no. below) or visit the website www.westsussex.gov.uk/tradingstandards. There is also a list of traders in the Horsham and Crawley area that has been compiled by recommendations from NHW members , available by contacting Kathryn Hayhurst (tel. no. below) or at kathryn .hayhurst@sussex.pnn.police.uk The dangers of mass marketing scams in the form of lotteries and competitions were also highlighted. Such scams give the impression you have already won the prize, ask for money to process your winnings, once money has been sent, more is asked for and by responding an individual can find that they are deluged with other scams. Email scams from banks or building societies asking for account details may look genuine, but are simply a means of accessing personal information. Advanced fee fraud in the form of asking money for a sick relative or offering huge returns for help to get money out of another country were emphasised as other means of scam. To avoid being a victim of a scam do not respond to:
USEFUL TELEPHONE NUMBERS 01243 642125 For Advice and Assistance on Doorstep Callers from Trading Standards 0845 60 70 999 Incident Reporting No. for Sussex Police 01243 642124 Trading Standards \u8216\'91Buy with Confidence 01444 445965 Kathryn Hayhurst, Crime Prevention Co-ordinator |
