May I wish you all a Happy New Year and welcome to 2020. I hope that you all had an enjoyable Christmas and didn't overindulge too much. With that being said, one of the first things I should be saying is to make sure that all new shiny and expensive gifts from Christmas are logged on the National Property Database (www.immobilise.com) this is a great tool for you and your loved ones as it is a searchable database and any items stolen have a better chance of being recovered from anywhere in the UK if they have been registered. This is my first newsletter as I am standing in for Sergeant Wallis. I have taken some pointers, so let's crack on with the summary over the last three months between the beginning of Octoberto the end of the year 2019. 

Dwelling Burglaries 
From the beginning of October until the 20th December there have been 34 Dwelling burglaries in Fleet and the surrounding area of South Hart. This is a significant increase and something that we are targeting as a district priority. The preferred targets seem to be vulnerable properties with rear patio doors and smashing them to gain entry. Once inside, generally it is jewellery and cash that are taken, and if a high-performance vehicle is on the driveway then this may we also be stolen. Our burglary investigation team in Basingstoke are looking into these incidents and working with other teams force wide and also working across borders in an attempt to identify offenders.
 
Theft from Motor vehicles 
Over the last three months we have experienced 38 thefts from motor vehicles. This is a slight decrease on the previous three months where 42 incidents were reported. The majority of these recent thefts involved unknown persons breaking into unattended secured vans and stealing tools. This has a significant impact on both local businesses and independent small traders. There was one theft of a catalytic converter and a few thefts from residential properties where vehicles were left insecure. Please pass on to your members the importance of making sure that their vehicles are locked, and any valuables are either out of view, or removed from the car or van overnight. 

Theft of Motor Vehicles 
Over the last three months we have had nine reports of motor vehicles being stolen. This does not include some vehicles which were stolen when a dwelling burglary had been committed. Four of the thefts related to vehicles being stolen, two related to large plant machinery being stolen. Of the nine reported, we managed to recover the vehicles in two of the reported thefts. 

Theft from Person 
We have seen a small increase in the number of thefts in Fleet and the surrounding rural areas in the last three months. There have been several incidents where money and cards have been taken from wallets and purses while residents have been shopping in the town centre. Please make sure that you keep your bag close to you and that you know where your personal possessions are at all times. Also, may I bring to your attention some incidents where a woman with a clipboard has approached members of the public pretending to be from some charitable organisation. While she is talking to the member of the public, she is either searching through their wallet or purse or her assistant is searching wallets and purses while the victim is distracted. If you are aware of a friend or family member being targeted in this manner I would urge them to report the incident to us. If you experience this kind of incident on the street, then I strongly recommend that you keep well away and make sure that you know who is around, especially behind you. If you suspect that a crime has taken place and the female or suspect is still in the immediate area, call the police on 999. If they have left the area, then call 101 to report the incident. As Sgt Wallis said in his last newsletter, if you would like any lanyards or dipping bells which jingle if your purse or wallet is moved, please visit us at the Hart District Council Offices. We are working constantly with partner agencies such as Safer North Hampshire to reduce crime and offer crime prevention advice through public engagements or community meetings.

Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) 
One of the main concerns for the local residents in Fleet and the surrounding rural areas is that of anti-social behaviour. This can be community based, environmental or personal if it is directed towards an individual. Thankfully there are few of the individual type. The majority are reports in relation to youths gathering in parks, open green spaces and car parks. They normally have vehicles with them which cause associated noise, give the perception that they must be taking drugs or that they are just there to cause a nuisance. However, they may not be committing a crime, but if the behaviour is causing you or a friend or family member distress then please do report it to us. Please be as descriptive as possible and a registration number of a motor vehicle will help us to identify the persons involved. If ASB is present then we can work with the Safer North Hampshire team to educate and advise the youths about their actions in an attempt to reduce ASB in the area. 

Crime Prevention Advice 
This is one of those areas where making small changes can have a big impact on the likelihood that you would become a victim of a crime. My advice to those who report crimes to us is that they need to consider putting barriers in place to safeguard those around them and their selves. As mentioned above, there is the national property database at: www.immobilise.com. If you have recently been a victim of crime then please do check the following website which displays items recovered by Hampshire Constabulary: https://www.flickr.com/photos/hampshireconstabulary. It might also be worth checking sites such as eBay, Gumtree or Facebook Market to see what is for sale in the local area. If you see an item that you can identify as your stolen property then please contact us on 101. 

With Christmas out of the way and the January sales started, now is a great time to consider installing CCTV. Modern systems offer excellent camera quality with good night vision. This can put offenders off approaching your property, or it can be a useful tool for us in a subsequent criminal investigation. 

As it gets dark earlier during the winter months, the use of light timers is a cheap and effect way to make your house or property look occupied while you are out. Also good external passive infrared sensor security lighting is another cheap and effect method to prevent offenders approaching your house. The cover of darkness is much sought after, and anything that can highlight movement is a valuable tool to prevent incidents occurring. 

If you use Social Media please consider signing up for Hampshire Alerts. This is the way forward because we regularly put out crime alerts, recent news, information and advice to the whole community. To register please visit: www.hampshirealert.co.uk. By using Hampshire Alerts you will be one step ahead. You will be notified of relevant information, warnings and crimes much more quickly, and you won't miss out on important updates regarding incidents that have occurred in your locality. 

You can also look for your local Police Beat Team on twitter @FleetPolice or @HartRuralPolice and they also have a Facebook page —Yateley Neighbourhood Policing Team. Fleet will be looking to get our own Facebook page in 2020. 

All that being said, I hope that you all have a safe and prosperous New Year. 

Acting Sergeant Noel Griffiths 

AUTUMN 2019

Sgt Rob Wallis explained that he was the Sgt for Hart South and he looked after the Neighbourhood Policing Team based at the District Council offices in Fleet. Our senior management team has remained stable with Chief Constable Olivia Pinkney, Sara Glen as our Deputy Chief Constable and Michael Lane as our Police and Crime Commissioner. We have seen another tough year as budgetary savings are still underway and our workload is ever increasing; however, with the announcement of 'Boris's 20,000 extra bobbies' we are likely to see an increase in police numbers across the country and in Hampshire. You will not see an immediate impact as we need to ensure we recruit the right people and, with the Government introduction of the requirement for each officer to be qualified to degree standard, it will now take three years for each officer to be fully trained. However, the longer term benefits to the constabulary will outweigh the short term pain while we wait for these officers to come through. Locally, Chief Inspector Halfacre is the district commander for Hart and Rushmoor and Had is covered by Inspector Venner until the end of October when she will retire after 32 years with the constabulary. In the interim, while we wait for a replacement, I will be covering the role in an acting capacity. In Fleet we have maintained consistency with PC Noel Griffiths and PC Dan Lehec as your neighbourhood police officers, supported by four PCSOs. They are PCSO Ben Bales, PCSO Ben Allman, PCSO Roxanne Barber and PCSO Sarah Hyde. Although Roxanne is waiting to join as a PC. We also have a further two officers who cover Had Rural South; they are PC Amy Oliver and PCSO Liz Wallace. 

Moving on to how we have performed over the last 12 months. Fleet has seen an increase of 15 in residential burglaries compared with numbers from last year. This was partly due to a cross-border series of burglaries that we experienced during a couple of days in October, November, December and April. The good news is that those responsible for some of these burglaries have been caught and are now behind bars. The most common method of entry was by forcing rear doors and smashing the glass which accounted for 20 of these offences. This was followed in decreasing numbers by entry via forcing windows, forcing the front door, open entry either via windows or unlocked doors or by using the home owners garden equipment to gain access. Two of the burglaries occurred in domestic circumstances where the offender was known to the victim. There has been a decrease in the number of the burglaries where entry was via an insecure door or window which is positive, although it is three too many which could have been prevented by taking basic security measures. Ten burglaries are classified as attempts where no entry was gained, but clear efforts had been made to enter. Good security, strong doors and locks prevented entry on these occasions which is pleasing to see. Jewellery was again by far the most common item targeted as was the case last year. 25 of the burglaries resulted in jewellery being stolen, a lot of it of sentimental value which can never be replaced. As I have said for the last couple of years, please consider hiding jewellery around the home or installing a safe which is securely fixed to the fabric of the building, rather than leaving it on display on the dressing table. Ensure it is suitably insured with any distinguishing marks recorded and it is photographed. Photographs provide police with the best opportunity to recover it and return it to you. Money was targeted on seven occasions, some in large quantities. Please only keep what you need in the home and withdraw it when required. Other items taken were electronic items such as tablets and laptops, gift cards, alcohol, sunglasses and car keys. In four of the burglaries where entry was gained, nothing was stolen which may be down to the homeowner keeping high risk items out of sight and well hidden. We have had other successes, on top of the convictions for the series I mentioned earlier, regarding catching offenders. We have arrested and charged an offender fora dwelling burglary and have arrested and bailed another male for other burglaries. 

Burglaries to sheds and garages and shared bike stores numbered 27 with bikes being the most common item stolen, accounting for 19 of the offences. Some of these bikes were worth several thousands of pounds each. Other items stolen were petrol powered garden tools, workshop tools, motor cycles, alloy wheels and an engine block. Thieves only left empty handed on one occasion and there was one attempted burglary. Burglaries of commercial premises numbered 29 with shops and schools targeted most, followed by shipping containers and compounds. Other premises targeted included pubs, hotels and restaurants, a dentist, a workshop an office and a park pavilion. Money was the most popular item sought, being take on five occasions followed by tools, used cooking oil, scrap metal, office equipment, food and catalytic converters. There have been a number of arrests and prosecutions for these offences. In seven offences nothing was stolen and on three occasions no entry was gained. Two people are currently under investigation for a number of these offences. 

Theft from motor vehicle offences have increased by 23 over the past year to 80 offences 34 of these have been to works vans where tools have been targeted which is a similar amount to last year. 20 of these offences have occurred outside the owner's own home and the other 14 have occurred in hotel car parks throughout Fleet. As I have said for a number of years, work tools have been the biggest targeted item, with thousands of pounds worth being taken on most occasions. If you are a trades person please secure your tools in the house and ensure your vehicle is fitted with a good quality alarm, ensure you know the serial numbers of high value items and that your tools are properly marked so that they can be identified. We have seen a rise in the theft of electronic items from cars, accounting for 11 of these offences, with laptops being targeted, particularly when left in vehicles in car parks. Vehicle registration plates and money were the next most favoured items targeted, accounting for six offences each, followed by clothing, mobile phones, bank and store cards, interior car parts, catalytic convertors, tyres, a handbag, a watch and petrol. There have been 17 reported thefts of vehicles over the period which is a decrease in commission rates. Three were motor cycles, and five of the vehicles have been recovered. All makes and models have been targeted equally, including the theft of dumper truck and a digger which were stolen from construction sites. 

Anti-social behaviour incidents have increased slightly over the last year. I have broken down the anti-social behaviour into ASB personal and ASB Community. ASB personal is an anti-social behaviour occurrence when a person targets a specific individual or group. We have had 38 incidents in Church Crookham, 31 in Fleet, seven in Ancells Farm and four in Elvetham Heath. ASB community is when a person causes annoyance or trouble for the local community in general rather than to individual victims. In Fleet Central the hot spot is Fleet Road where we have recorded 38 incidents, a lot of these are related to the night time economy. In Ancells Farm the hotspot is the Falkners Close area, with 24 incidents. In Church Crookham the hotspot area is Crookham Park with 19 incidents. In Elvetham Heath the hotspot area is around the Key with 14 incidents. We continue to patrol these hot spot areas and we have worked hard to effectively deal with areas identified as a problem through engagement, education and enforcement where appropriate, and we rely on your eyes and ears to tell us about them. We work closely with Safer North Hampshire to address quality of life issues. Since last year we have obtained a number criminal behaviour orders to control the behaviour of various individuals through sanctions and positive obligations for them to engage with support services. If you are affected by any of these issues please do tell us as this directs where we patrol. 

We continue to carry out speed enforcement throughout Fleet in partnership with the Roads Policing Unit and Community Speedwatch to keep the roads and its drivers safe. Only recently, in a very short space of time, three drivers were caught in excess of 20 mph over the speed limit by my officers and they will being going to court. Please do stick to the speed limits and obey all traffic signage. 

Please sign up to Hampshire Alerts online and you will receive up-to-date crime information and advice in your area. One last thing, may I ask any of you keen knitters out there to turn your hand to helping us by knitting some bobby buddies. This is a force-wide initiative which will allow police to share your lovingly knitted bear with a child going through a distressing experience. You can find a knitting pattern online if you search 'bobby buddies'. Please drop any bears into the council offices for my attention. If you provide your name, then the child will be able to know who knitted their buddy. 

It just leaves me to thank all members of the Fleet NHW, especially the committee for their continued hard work throughout the year helping to make Fleet a safer place in which to live. 

PS 2063 Rob Wallis 

SUMMER 2019

I usually start my report by mentioning the weather and as I write this it is the hottest day of the year so far. With regards to the commission rates for the offence types I report on, there have been nine house burglaries recorded, which is a similar number to this period last year. Four of the burglaries were recorded as attempts where no entry was gained and in one of these cases two men have been charged and sent to court. Both are from out of our area and they have been charged with burglaries committed in other counties, so we will not be seeing them for some time, which is great news. Of concern was that three of the burglaries were of a walk-in type where the offender had entered an insecure property and been disturbed by the occupant before fleeing. Two of the burglaries involved smashed rear windows and jewellery, coins and a clock being stolen from inside the house. There have been ten burglaries to sheds, garages and out-buildings since the last report, which is similar to the last period and the same as this time last year. Three were to commercial premises, including a shop, school and a dentist where tools and cash were stolen. Seven were to garages and sheds, where high-end motor bikes, motor cross bikes and expensive pedal cycles were taken along with power tools and alloy wheels. The police managed to recover two of the motor bikes and return them to the owner shortly before the bikes were due to be shipped abroad. There is an ongoing investigation into this latter offence. Please follow the advice listed below to secure your property in your shed or garage: 

• Fit an alarm — most DIY stores stock battery-operated alarms suitable for this purpose. 
• Always mark the property you keep in your garage with your postcode — this will help identification if they are stolen and then recovered. 
• Keep a list of property with photographs. • Register your property on www.immobilise.com . 
• Make sure your garage is fitted with a good strong lock, padlock, door hinges or other security device such as a Garage Defender. 
• Make sure items inside the garage are secure — large items can be padlocked together or you could sink a post into the floor of the garage and padlock items to the post. 
• Always remember to lock your garage after use. 
• Do not store large quantities of valuables in your garage. 
• Keep property and fencing in good repair and ensure that foliage and trees are kept trimmed. 
• Check with your insurance company that you are covered for items stored in your garage. 

There have been 15 thefts from motor vehicles. Five of these thefts were to work vans where tools were stolen, two occurring in hotel car parks. Nine were to cars with three involving theft of interior items, including seats, steering wheels and built-in sat nays. Other items stolen included a bag of expensive clothing, a laptop, mobile phone, a spare wheel, number plates, a catalytic convertor and fuel. Since the last report there have been two thefts of motor vehicles, one was taken using the keys in domestic circumstances and one was stolen from a beauty spot car park and has since been found and recovered by the police. During Summer we normally sees an increase in anti-social behaviour which is often associated with school age children. Please can I remind parents to ensure that they know where their children are at all times for their safety and what they are doing. Large groups of children can often appear intimidating, especially to the older section of the community. The Neighbourhood Policing Team at Fleet will continue to patrol areas where young people gather in order to engage with them, ensure that they feel safe and to provide reassurance to the wider community. If you experience incidents of anti-social behaviour, see what you believe to be drug dealing or see suspicious vehicles, please report it via 101 to help us focus our patrols in the right areas. Please obtain as much information as possible, including full descriptions of those involved, make, model, colour and registration numbers of any vehicles involved plus as much detail as you can give regarding what you have actually witnessed. Could I also take this opportunity to invite you to one of our beat surgeries which are listed below where you will be able to meet one of the PCSOs who cover Fleet to discuss any police related issues you may have. These surgeries are also advertised on the main Hampshire Constabulary website. 

Hart Shopping Centre (outside Boots) Fleet 
Thursday 18 July 12.00 -14.00 
Saturday 24 August 11.00 -13.00 
Saturday 21 September 11.00 -13.00 
Saturday 19 October 11.00 -13.00 
Saturday 16 November 11.00 -13.00 

Coffee Shop, Church on the Heath, Elvetham Heath 
Monday 15 July 10.00 -12.00 
Monday 12 August 10.00 -12.00 
Monday 09 September 10.00 -12.00 
Monday 07 October 10.00 -12.00 
Monday 18 November 10.00 -12.00 
Monday 16 December 10.00 -12.00 

My officers continue to ensure that the roads of Fleet are as safe as possible and that speed limits and other traffic regulations are obeyed. Four motorists have received fixed penalty notices for a number of offences and they have been given a fine and points on their licences, two of whom were local residents. Three vehicles have been seized as they were being used without insurance. Please ensure you observe the speed limits and do not use a mobile phone while driving. If you would like to assist in making the roads of Fleet a safer place, I would urge you to please respond to the following advert.
 
Community Speedwatch - Vacancies for Fleet 
The Community Speedwatch is coordinated by the Hampshire Police in partnership with your local council and other agencies. We are looking for volunteers aged over 17 to join the team to help deal with the local issues of speeding in the Community. If you are interested and you could spare just a few hours a month, please send an email to: holly.neale@hampshire.pnn.police.uk  or for more information please visit the Hampshire Constabulary website at: www.hampshire.police.uk 
  
Lastly, may I request that anyone who has not done so to date to please register with Hampshire Alerts as this is the way forward. We will put out crime alerts, recent news, information and advice to the whole community. Please visit: www.hampshirealert.co.uk. By using Hampshire Alert you will be one step ahead. You will be notified of relevant information, warnings and crime much more quickly, and you will not miss out on important updates on incidents occurring in your locality. 

I wish you all an enjoyable and peaceful summer. 

Sgt Rob Wallis 

SPRING 2019

Welcome to the Spring 2019 police report. I hope the weather has now turned and we will be in for some good gardening weather. There have been six house burglaries since my last report, which is almost a 75% reduction, when compared to the last reporting period and very good news. Four of the burglaries were committed with the point of entry to the rear of the premises. Three of these resulted in jewellery and cash being stolen. A pair of trainers was also stolen from another address and in two cases nothing was stolen. I am hoping that this dramatic reduction in commission rate is down to you all following my advice contained in the last report. There have been ten break-ins to sheds, garages and other commercial premises, which is also a reduction of six offences when compared to the last reporting period. Five offences were to garages and bike stores where expensive cycles were targeted. The other five offences were to commercial premises where money from tills and a safe, a printer and tools were stolen. 

Can I bring to your attention the following advice regarding securing your garage or bike store: 

♦ Fit an alarm — most DIY stores stock battery-operated alarms suitable for this purpose. 

♦ Always mark the property you keep in your garage with your postcode — this will help identification if they are stolen and then recovered. 

♦ Keep a list of property with photographs. 

♦ Register your property on www.immobilise.com. 

♦ Make sure your garage is fitted with a good strong lock, padlock, door hinges or other security device such as a Garage Defender. 

♦ Make sure items inside the garage are secure—large items can be padlocked together or you could sink a post into the floor of the garage and padlock items to the post. 

♦ Always remember to lock your garage after use. 

♦ Do not store large quantities of valuables in your garage. ♦ Keep property and fencing in good repair and ensure that foliage and trees are kept trimmed. 

♦ Check with your insurance company that you are covered for items stored in your garage. 

There have been twenty thefts from vehicles over the reporting period which is a slight increase compared to the last reporting period. Nine have been thefts of work tools from vans, with three of the thefts occurring in hotel car parks. Two thefts were from lorries parked in a service area. We have seen an increase in thefts (Police 8 Crime Report continued on Page 4) from cars with nine over the reporting period, with a significant number of these occurring on the same night. Money was stolen on four occasions, three offences involved thefts of coats, one was the theft of sun glasses, in one case nothing was stolen and the other was a theft of a catalytic converter. 

Can I bring the following advice to your attention regarding vehicle security: 

♦ When leaving your car, close all windows and lock your car. 

♦ Upon locking your vehicle try your car door to ensure it is actually locked. 

♦ Park your car in an attended car park. 

♦ Look for public car parks approved by the Park Mark scheme. ♦ When parking at home, use your garage. If you don't have a garage, park in a well-lit area. 

♦ Don't leave anything on display in your vehicle. 

♦ Take all your personal possessions with you. 

♦ Remove sat-nay and mobile phone holders and visible suction ring marks from windscreens. ♦ Leave the glove box open to show there's nothing inside. 

♦ Fit an alarm or immobiliser to your car. 

♦ Record the details of your property on the Immobilise website. 

♦ Do not store your car's documents in the car. 

♦ Secure your wheels using locking wheel nuts. 

There have been five reported thefts of vehicles over the reporting period. Two were thefts of plant machinery from residential building sites, two involved thefts of a car, one of which was taken in domestic circumstances and the other was the theft of a van. My officers continue to ensure that the roads around Fleet remain as safe as possible and they carry out speed enforcement along with Community Speedwatch. Please be warned and adhere to the speed limits as recently they have issued eight fixed penalty notices for a number of offences and drivers have been given a fine and points on their licence, three of whom were local residents. Police and the Safer North Hants recently ran a successful drop-in session in the Hart shopping centre where crime prevention advice was given to the public with regards to burglary and vehicle crime. Further sessions will take place later in the year. Please look out for an invitation with the date and times on twitter@fleetpolice. 

Please continue to remain vigilant and report suspicious activity, remember Fleet is a low crime area, not a no crime area. 

Kind regards. Sgt Rob Walls

WINTER 2018

Happy New Year to you all, I hope you have all had an enjoyable Christmas. With Christmas now in the past, can I ask you to turn your attention, if you have not already done so, to recording the serial numbers of the new electrical items you received as gifts or bought in the sales. Please log your items on the Immobilise National Property Register, website www.immobilise.com. Should you become a victim of crime this will help make identification of your property and its subsequent return far easier. Also please make sure you have sufficient insurance cover for any of your new high value items.

Please sign up to Hampshire Alert as this is the way forward. We will put out the latest crime alerts, recent news, information and advice to the whole community. Please sign up at: www.hampshirealertco.uk. By using HampshireAlert you will be one step ahead. You will be notified of relevant information, warnings and crime much more quickly, and you won't miss out on important updates regarding incidents occurring in your locality. 

If you have had property stolen following a crime, please have a look on the following link for items that have been recovered by Hampshire Constabulary: Flickrhttps://www.flickr.com/photos/hampshireconstabulary. 

The following is a summary of some of the main types of offences in our area with some practical advice to help prevent you becoming a victim of crime. 

Dwelling burglary: There were 23 dwelling burglaries since the last report, with only one being an attempted burglary. This is a significant increase for the period. The most common method of entry used was smashing the rear doors and windows to both the kitchen and lounge area. Once inside, offenders have been targeting jewellery and money in almost every case. Our burglary investigation team at Basingstoke is looking into all of these offences with assistance from my officers here in Fleet. Hampshire Alerts were put out at the time of all these offences to appeal for witnesses and for private CCTV to be checked, but if you believe you have any further information regarding any of these offences then do please get in contact with us. 

I would urge you all to take a serious look at your home security and think about what you can do to make your property less likely to be targeted by following some of the steps listed below: 

♦ Use timer switches (available from most DIY stores) to switch on lights, radios while you are away from the home to make it look and sound occupied. 

♦ Ensure you shut and lock windows and doors when you return home and settle down for the evening. 

♦ Ensure you have used padlocks on the side gates to deny access to the rear of the property. 

♦ Secure your garden tools and garden equipment in a locked and alarmed shed or garage for the winter so that they cannot be used to gain entry to your home. 

♦ Fit CCTV to your home, this acts as both a visible deterrent and captures evidence of offences and will make your home less likely to be targeted. Please consider securing the property inside your home too. 

♦ Keep expensive and sentimental jewellery in a safe fixed to the fabric of the building. Take photographs of it to make it easier to identify. 

♦ Do not keep large amounts of money in the home unless you need it for a specific purpose. If you do have it in the house, minimise the time it is there and preferably put it in the safe with your jewellery. 

Burglary to buildings other than dwellings: There have been 14 crimes since the last report. Ten of these were to commercial premises such as pubs, schools, shops and garages where money, gardening equipment and used cooking oil were the targets. Of the other four, three were to garages and one to a shed. Items taken included gardening equipment, a motor cycle, an engine block and two bikes. 

Theft from vehicles: There have been 16 thefts from vehicles over the period. Ten of these offences targeted vans and six targeted cars. Those which targeted vans resulted in work tools or catalytic converters being stolen, with five of these crimes taking place outside the owner's home address. Of the crimes directed towards cars, two involved theft of number plates, two involved theft of other vehicle parts and two involved theft of items from inside the cars. 

Theft of motor vehicles: There have been no thefts of motor vehicles reported in Fleet since the last newsletter. Theft from person There has been an increase in theft from person over the reporting period, typically referred to as 'pick-pocketing', although often these thefts are from unattended bags where wallets or purses have been stolen and subsequently the credit or debit cards have been used. A significant number of these thefts have occurred in charity shops in the town centre. Please be on your guard when you are out and about and do not leave your bags unattended. The Fleet Neighbourhood Team in partnership with Safer North Hampshire has been out in the town centre raising awareness of this type of crime. We have been handing out lanyards to attach the purse or wallet to the bag and purse dipping bells which will jingle if the purse or wallet is moved, thus alerting the owner to a potential theft. If anyone would like one, please come into Hart District Council and we will be happy to provide them. 

Can I take this opportunity to raise another issue which has been seen to be on the increase recently. That is one of cold callers trying to sell goods door to door and doorstep criminals offering gardening, cleaning and general property maintenance work. They call at your home unannounced, often claiming to be from a utility company (water-board etc) or claiming to be working in the area and to have noticed a problem with your house that needs fixing. They may offer to do work for you or say that they need to check something in your home, so will ask to come in and to look around. They may search your home looking for items to steal, or they may pressure you into paying them in cash for work you haven't requested or agreed to. Sometimes doorstep criminals pose as police officers or even say that they are looking for a lost child or pet and need to look around your house. These criminals are convincing and seem plausible and they target people in their own homes. Hampshire Constabulary is working closely with Trading Standards to tackle these offenders, and there are simple steps you can take to protect yourself from this kind of crime. 

Please take note of this advice to ensure that you stay safe and do not become a victim of crime: 

• Do not open the door to someone you don't recognise or are not expecting. 

• If you do feel you need to answer your door, remember to: Lock the back door before you open the front door. Doorstep criminals often work in pairs with one person distracting you at the front door while an accomplice enters your home through the back door. Put the door chain or door bar on before opening the door and look to see who it is before you fully open your door. Ask to seethe callers identification. A genuine caller will not mind showing you their ID. Close and lock your door and call the number of the company they claim to be from to check if they have sent someone to your home. Remember to use a number from a bill or the telephone book so that you know that it is a genuine one. 

• Remember, even if the caller is genuine you do not need to allow them into your home. Politely ask them to arrange a future appointment; that way you can arrange for a friend or family member to be present. 

• You can arrange to have passwords set up with your utility companies. When a representative calls they will then repeat this confidential password to you. 

• If a suspicious caller knocks at your door, call 999 if they are on your property or if they have just left. Call 101 if it is after the event. As a result of your calls, the police in Fleet have recently summoned a male to appear in court for peddling without a licence. 

I wish you all a safe and prosperous New Year. 

Sgt Rob Wallis 

AUTUMN 2018

Sgt Rob Wallis explained that he was the Sgt for Hart South and he looked after the Neighbourhood Policing Team based at the District Council offices in Fleet. As stated last year, from a force perspective our structure at the top has remained stable with Chief Constable Olivia Pinkney as our Chief Constable, Sara Glen as Deputy Chief Constable and Michael Lane as our Police and Crime Commissioner. All three have been in post for over two years and are well established in the organisation. I mentioned last year that we faced a budgetary shortfall of £23 million between 2018 and 2021. The force has been putting plans in place as to how we will soak up this loss in budget. This comes on top of the restructuring which took place three years ago as a result of the spending review. It has been a tough year, but we are committed to neighbourhood policing and will continue to focus on the priorities that are important to you. In command of the Hart District is still Inspector Venner who was here last year. Here in Fleet we have maintained consistency with PC Noel Griffiths and PC Dan Lehec as your neighbourhood bobbies, supported by four PCSOs. They are PCSO Ben Bales, PCSO Ben Allman, PCSO Roxanne Barber and PCSO Sarah Hyde. We also have a further two officers who cover Hart Rural South who are PC Paul Franks and PCSO Liz Wallace. 


Moving on to how we have performed over the last year. Fleet has seen a stabilisation in residential burglaries compared with the numbers from last year. The most common method of entry was by forcing rear doors which accounted for 13 of the offences, this was followed in decreasing numbers by entry via forcing the front door, windows, insecure entry and via integral garage doors. Three burglaries occurred in domestic circumstances where the offender was known to the victim. It is unfortunate that in seven of the burglaries entry was via an insecure door. These were clearly preventable through basic security measures. Two others could have easily been prevented if keys had been removed from the inside of the door. Seven of the burglaries were classified as attempts where no entry was gained, but clear efforts had been made to enter. Good security, strong doors and locks prevented entry on those occasions which was pleasing to see. Jewellery was the most common item targeted. 18 of the burglaries suffered jewellery being stolen, much of it of sentimental value which can never be replaced. As I said last year, please consider hiding jewellery around the home or installing a safe securely fixed to the fabric of the building, rather than leaving it on display on the dressing table. Ensure it is suitably insured with any distinguishing marks recorded and it is photographed. These photographs do provide police with the best opportunity to recover it and retum it to you. Money was targeted on nine occasions, some in large quantities. Please only keep what you need in the home and withdraw cash when required. Other items taken were electronic-such as games consoles, laptops, mobile phones, purses, wallets and handbags: In six of the burglaries, where entry was gained, nothing was stolen which perhaps was down to the homeowner keeping high risk items out of sight and well hidden. We have had a few successes and have charged a male 
with one of the burglaries and he is currently awaiting trial. Another male has been sentenced to four years in prison for his part in a number of burglaries in Fleet and throughout the county. Burglaries to premises, other than dwellings, including sheds, garages and commercial premises reached 51. This was an increase on last year's figures. 32 of the offences were to commercial premises such as office buildings, vehicle workshops, schools, shops, cafes, restaurants, pubs, building sites and sports clubs.

The good news was that there was a reduction in burglaries to sheds and garages: there were eight to garages and seven to sheds. Communal cycle stores and stairwells in flats and garden offices were also targeted. Property stolen included cycles, tools, a motor cycle and fishing equipment. In seven offences nothing was stolen and on three occasions no entry was gained. Two people are under investigation for a number of these offences. Theft from motor vehicles increased by 10 to 57 offences. 31 of these were to works vans where tools were the target with approximately half occurring outside the owner's own home and the other half in hotel car parks. Like last year, work tools have been the biggest targeted item, with thousands of pounds worth being taken on some occasions. If you are a trades-person please secure your tools in the house, ensure that your vehicle is fitted with a good quality alarm, that you know the serial numbers of high value items and that your tools are properly marked so that they can be identified. Vehicle registration plates were the next biggest item targeted (17 offences). The rest were clothing, cash, laptops, iPads, wallets, handbags, a disabled badge and fuel. There were 23 reported thefts of vehicles over the period which was a significant increase in the commission rate. Five of these were taken in circumstances where the owner knew the offender, three were motor cycles, and seven of the vehicles have been recovered. There was no identified pattern to these offences with all makes and models being equally targeted. Two of the vehicles (dumper truck and a digger) were stolen from building sites. A word of warning to those selling their vehicle privately: be careful on the test drive, as a vehicle was stolen when the owner was swopping seats with the potential purchaser who then drove off in the vehicle. 

There were 23 reported thefts of vehicles over the period which was a significant increase in the commission rate. Five of these were taken in circumstances where the owner knew the offender, three were motor cycles, and seven of the vehicles have been recovered. There was no identified pattern to these offences with all makes and models being equally targeted. Two of the vehicles (dumper truck and a digger) were stolen from building sites. A word of warning to those selling their vehicle privately: be careful on the test drive, as a vehicle was stolen when the owner was swopping seats with the potential purchaser who then drove off in the vehicle. Anti-social behaviour incidents were on par with last year. I expected the hot summer and world cup to affect our commission rate, but happily it did not. We continue to patrol hot spots and have worked hard to effectively deal with areas identified as a problem through engagement, education and enforcement where appropriate. We work closely with Safer North Hampshire to address quality of life issues. We have several cases going forward where we are looking at obtaining criminal behaviour orders to effectively control individual's behaviour through sanctions and positive obligations for them to engage with support services. Please encourage friends and family to sign up to Hampshire Alerts via the Hampshire Constabulary website, whereby you can receive your choice of emails, text messages, and voice mails on your home phone about incidents happening in your area. You can choose what information you receive by setting your preferences. We send out alerts regularly following certain crime types, so you can be on your guard and protect yourself from what is happening in the area when it is happening, not several days later when you read about it in the paper. You can also check where crime is happening in your area by going to www.police.uk  and calling up Fleet. Thank you to all members of Fleet NHW especially the coordinators, senior coordinators and the committee for their continued hard work throughout the year helping to make Fleet a safer place in which to live. 

PS 2063 Rob Wallis 

SUMMER 2018

W e have had another good start to the summer weather which at the time of writing looks set to continue. I was concerned that the warmer weather may have given an increased opportunity for burglars; however, it appears that my previous advice has been well heeded with only one burglary being down to entry through an open door, which is positive news. There have been eight house burglaries recorded, which is a similar number to the last period. Four were attempted burglaries where no entry was gained. Of these, two were found with tool marks on window and door frames and the other two involved the of fenders being disturbed by home owners. Of the other four burglaries, three involved doors being forced and the other was open entry . Property stolen consisted of jewellery , bank cards, medals, clothing and an iPad. Investigations are ongoing into a number of these and I hope to be able to bring you positive news in the next police report. 

There have been nine burglaries to sheds, garages and out-buildings since the last report, which is lower than the previous period. Six have been to commercial premises including shops, restaurants and cafes in the town centre and building sites and sports clubs. T wo were attempts to sheds where no entry was gained and one involved a bike being taken from a communal hallway in a block of flats. 

There have been five reports of thefts of vehicles over the period, three were taken in domestic circumstances; the other two were works-vans with one being taken and the other being an attempted theft. 

I wrote about this last year but I would like to bring it to your attention again. I am concerned about the number of unexplained fires which have occurred in residential areas where wheelie-bins or similar have been set on fire. I would urge anyone with information to call 101 or report it anonymously via crimestoppers. 

Sadly , the summer period normally sees an increase in anti-social behaviour , often associated with school aged children.Can I remind parents to ensure that they know where their children are at all times for their safety and what they are doing.Large groups of children can often appear intimidating, especially to the older section of the community . The Neighbourhood Policing Team at Fleet will continue to patrol areas where young people gather in order to engage with them, ensure they feel safe and provide reassurance to the wider community .If you experience incidents of anti-social behaviour , see what you believe to be drug dealing or see suspicious vehicles, please report it via 101 to help us focus our local patrols in the right areas. Please obtain as much information as possible of what you have actually witnessed, including full descriptions of those involved, make, model, colour and registration numbers of any vehicles.

Can I take this opportunity to of fer some seasonal advice as with the warmer weather there is often an increase in cold-callers and doorstep criminals of fering gardening, cleaning and general property maintenance work at your door . They call at your home unannounced, often claiming to be from a utility company (water board etc) or claiming to be working in the area and to have noticed a problem with your house that needs fixing. They may of fer to do work for you or say they need to check something in your home so will ask to come in and to look around. They may search your home for items to steal, or may pressure you into paying them cash for work you haven't requested or agreed to. Sometimes doorstep criminals pose as police of ficers or even say that they are looking for a lost child or pet and need to look around your house. These criminals are convincing and seem plausible and they target people in their own homes. Hampshire Constabulary works closely with T rading Standards to tackle these of fenders, and there are simple steps you can take to protect yourself from this kind of crime. Please take note of this advice to ensure you stay safe and do not become a victim of crime: 

Do not open the door to someone you do not recognise or are not expecting. If you do feel you need to answer your door , remember to: 

* Lock the back door before you open the front door . Doorstep criminals often work in pairs with one of them distracting you at the front door while an accomplice enters your home through the back door . 

* Put the door chain or door bar on before opening the door – see who it is before you fully open your door . 

* Ask to see the caller's identification – a genuine caller will not mind showing you their ID. 

* Close and lock your door and call the number of the company they claim to be from to check if they have sent someone to your home. Remember to use a number from a bill or the telephone book so you know that it is a genuine one. 

Remember , even if the caller is genuine you do not need to allow them into your home. Ask them to arrange a future appointment; that way you can arrange for a friend or family member to be present. Y ou can arrange to have passwords set up with your utility companies. When a representative calls they will repeat this confidential word to you. If a suspicious caller knocks at your door , call 999 if they are on your property or if they have just left. Call 101 if it is after the event. 

My of officers continue to ensure the roads of Fleet are as safe as possible and speed limits are obeyed. Six motorists have received fixed penalty notices for a number of of fences and have been given a fine and points on their licences, three of whom were local residents. Please ensure you observe the speed limits and do not use a mobile phone while driving. 

I wish you all an enjoyable and peaceful summer - Sgt Rob W

SPRING 2018

Welcome to the Spring 2018 police report - I hope the weather has turned for the better and that we will now be in
for a warmer period after what has seemed to be a long cold winter, especially after the recent snow.

There have been nine house burglaries since my last report, four of which involved jewellery being taken. I fully
understand that some jewellery has sentimental value and that it could never be replaced. So please consider
hiding your jewellery around the home or installing a safe securely fixed to the fabric of the building, rather than
leaving it on display on the dressing table. Ensure it is suitably insured with any distinguishing marks recorded
and that it is photographed. Three of the burglaries occurred in multi-occupancy premises and the others were
committed through a variety of means; for example, entry gained by removing keys, that had been left on the
inside lock, via the cat flap; forcing patio doors, side doors and smashing windows. Other property taken was a
designer handbag, a mobile phone, a TV and a passport.

There have been 16 break-ins to sheds, garages and other commercial premises which is similar to the number
during the last reporting period. Broken down, these equate to five burglaries to business premises, three of
which occurred on the same night very close to each other. Three involved burglaries at school premises where
mobile phones were taken, and two occurred at pubs. The remaining six were to sheds and garages where tools
and a bike were targeted.

There have been seven thefts from vehicles over the reporting period. Six have been thefts of work tools from
vans, with five of the thefts occurring on the same night. The other crime was a theft of number plates from a car.
There has been one reported theft of a motor vehicle over the period. It was taken in domestic circumstances.

Overall crime has fallen across the area, but I have noticed an increase in incidents reported involving door to door
sellers. They are often referred to as Nottingham Knockers and they usually involve young men who go door to
door selling household products. They are dropped off in the morning in a particular location by a large van and
are then transported around that area throughout the day until approximately 2100hrs. They will offer to show you
an ID which will likely be ‘Hawkers Work Creation’ and they will say that they have recently been released from
prison. This company does not exist and their ID is simply a laminated piece of card with their picture on it. They
will be carrying a large holdall style bag containing various household items at high prices and they will try and
hard sell these items to make more money. They will also tell you how they are trying to make a better life. When
house-holders decline to purchase the products, they have been subjected to verbal abuse from the sellers.

There has been an increase in the number of calls from you notifying us of the presence of these sellers, and I
encourage you to continue to report these incidents. I also ask that you take note of the following advice:

* Always use the door chain when answering the door, if you are not sure do not open the door.
* Always check the credentials of unknown callers. Do not telephone the number on the ID card shown, use a
telephone book or a bill to check the number.
* Never employ cold-calling doorstep traders or engage with cold-callers on the telephone.
* Do not keep substantial sums of money in the home.
* Always keep front and back doors locked.
* LOCK, STOP, CHAIN and CHECK - if unsure do not open the door.
* Consider joining or setting up a No Cold-Calling Zone or a Neighbourhood Watch Scheme.
* Report any suspicious callers or activity to the police immediately.
* Keep an eye on elderly or vulnerable neighbours, friends and family.
* Please call 101 to advise us of any unexpected callers - this gives the Police a better chance to build a picture of where
the potential criminals are operating.
* Please remember that if the cold-caller sales are unsuccessful, the sellers are unlikely to return in future.
Can I take this opportunity to remind you all that now that the warmer and lighter evenings have arrived and more of us will be
venturing outside to enjoy our gardens, it is likely that more of your garden furniture and equipment will be left outside. Please
be mindful of the following to protect your property in the garden:
* Is your garden perimeter as secure as it can be?
* Is the side gate locked and high enough to prevent anyone climbing over it?
* Have you left anything by the gate which makes it easier for someone to climb over it, such as a wheelie bin?
* Have you left tools in the garden which could be used by a burglar to break into your house, garage or shed?
Please continue to remain vigilant and report suspicious activity, remember Fleet is a low crime area, not a no crime area.

Kind Regards
Sgt Rob Wallis

WINTER 2017

Happy New Year to you all, I hope you all had an enjoyable Christmas. With Christmas now in the past, it is time to turn your attention, if you have not already done so, to recording the serial numbers of the new electrical items you received as gifts or bought in the sales. Please log them onto Immobilise - the National Property Register, website: www.immobilise.com  Should you become a victim of crime this will make identification of your property and its subsequent return far easier. Also, make sure you have sufficient insurance cover for any of your new high value items.
 
I hope by now you will have all signed up to Hampshire Alert. If not, please visit: www.hampshirealert.co.uk and register online. Hampshire Alert will keep you one step ahead by advising you of all relevant information, warnings and crimes much more quickly, and you won't miss out on important updates on incidents occurring in your locality. 

If you have had property stolen following a crime, please look on the link below for items recovered by the Hampshire Constabulary: https://www.flickr.com/photos/hampshireconstabulary  

The following is a summary of some of the main types of offence that have occurred in our area plus some practical advice to help prevent you becoming a victim of crime. 

Dwelling burglary 

There have been 15 dwelling burglaries since the last report. The most common method of entry has been by forcing rear patio doors and door panels, which accounted for nine of the offences. I have written previously to advise NHW members that they should fit additional locks to patio doors. The most common type of property stolen was jewellery taken in six of the offences, followed by cash and electronic items. Nothing was stolen in three of the offences and no entry was gained on two occasions. 

The lighter evenings are still a few months away, so please follow this simple general security advice which will go a long way to making your home less attractive to a burglar: 

♦ Use timer switches (available from most DIY stores) to switch on lights, radios while you are away from the home to make it look and sound occupied. 

♦ Ensure you shut and lock windows and doors when you return home and settle down for the evening. 

♦ Ensure you have used padlocks on the side gates to deny access to the rear of the property. 

♦ Ensure your outside lighting is in working order (consider using low-level ambient light on a dusk to dawn sensor) this will activate even when you are not at home. 

♦ Secure your garden tools and garden equipment in a locked and alarmed shed or garage so that they cannot be used to gain entry to your home. 

♦ Fit CCTV to your home. This acts as both a visible deterrent and it captures evidence of offences. It will also make your home less likely to be targeted. 

Burglary to buildings other than dwellings 

There have been 15 crimes since the last report. Six of these were to shops and two to commercial garages. Of the other seven burglaries, three were to garages, three to sheds and one to a caravan. In four of the cases nothing was stolen, two involved perfume and there were two attempts where no entry was gained. Other items stolen were bikes, telephones, cash, men's clothing and a vehicle.

Theft from vehicles 

There were 16 thefts from vehicles over the period. Eight of these offences targeted vans and eight targeted cars. Those which targeted vans resulted in work tools being stolen, with five of these thefts occurring outside the owner's home address. Of the crimes directed towards cars, four involved the theft of number plates, two involved theft of other vehicle parts and only two involved the theft of items from inside the vehicle, which is pleasing to see.
 
Theft of motor vehicles 

There have been three thefts of motor vehicles over the period. All were taken in domestic circumstances where the vehicle owner knew the person who took the vehicle and they were stolen using the keys. 

My officers continue to ensure that the roads of Fleet are as safe as possible and that speed limits are obeyed. Five motorists have received fixed penalty notices for a number of offences and have been given a fine and points on their licences, three of whom were local residents. Please ensure you observe the speed limits and that your vehicles have the correct documentation.
 
If you would like to assist in making the roads of Fleet a safer place, may I encourage you to respond to the following advert. 

Community Speedwatch -Vacancies for Fleet 

Community Speedwatch is coordinated by Hampshire Police in partnership with your local council and other agencies. We are looking for volunteers aged over 17 to join the team to help deal with the local issues of speeding in the community. 

If you are interested and can spare just a few hours a month please send an email to: holly.neale@hampshire.pon.police.uk  

or if you would like more information please visit the Hampshire Constabulary website: https://www.hampshire.police.uk 

I wish you all a safe and prosperous New Year. 

Kind Regards Sgt Rob Wallis 

AUTUMN 2017

From a force perspective the structure at the top has remained stable with Chief Constable Olivia Pinkney as the Chief Constable, Sara Glen as the Deputy Chief Constable and Michael Lane as the Police and Crime Commissioner. All three are now well bedded into the organisation and they have set clear guidelines on the areas of focus. At the 2016 AGM I mentioned that our budget did not receive any further cuts; however, due to how the funding formula is applied to Hampshire Police by the Government, we face a budgetary shortfall of £23 million between 2018 and 2021. This comes on top of the restructuring which took place two years ago due to the spending review. So it will be tough going forward, but please be reassured that at the grass roots level we are still here as your neighbourhood policing team and we will continue to focus on the priorities that are important to you. In Fleet we still have PC Noel Griffiths and PC Dan Lehec as your local neighbourhood bobbies, supported by four PCSOs. They are: PCSO Ben Bales, PCSO Ben Allman, PCSO Roxanne Barber and PCSO Sarah Hyde. We also have a further three officers who cover Hart Rural South. They are: PC Paul Franks, PCSO Liz Wallace and PCSO Jack Whitear who are all able to assist. 

Turning to the crime figures over the past 12 months, there has been an increase of 11 residential burglaries compared to last year. However, some of these increases are down to a change in categorisation because when we look at burglaries to sheds and garages we see that they have reduced by a similar amount. The most common method of entry was by smashing a window which accounted for about a quarter of all offences. Open entry accounted for a fifth of all entry methods which is disappointing. Others were made up of attempted break-ins where no entry was gained, entry through an integral garage to the main house, and through conning the occupant into letting the offender in. Property taken ranged from jewellery, cash, handbags, electronic equipment, golf clubs and fishing equipment. The method of entry which was prevalent last year involving lock snapping has reduced. This may be due to the arrests and prison sentences for three offenders. Do please ensure that all your windows and doors are locked even when you are in the home, and if you have an integral garage door ensure that it is locked too. Please consider hiding jewellery around the home or installing a safe securely fixed to the fabric of the building rather than leaving your jewellery on display on the dressing table. If you are uncertain who is at the door, use a door chain and do not let anyone in who you are not expecting or are unsure about. If it is important they will come back. 

Burglaries to premises other than dwellings, including sheds and garages in Fleet, fell by 24 offences this year. This was very pleasing to see and I am hoping it was down to my previous advice. The breakdown of offences was split fairly equally between garages, sheds and commercial premises. In over half of the cases nothing was stolen. In the other instances the most common items stolen were bikes and tools, both garden equipment and DIY tools. Other items taken were golf clubs and pedal cycles, some of which were extremely valuable. Two people have been arrested and dealt with for a number of these offences. 

Thefts from motor vehicles have reduced over the past year from 64 to 47 offences. 25 of these have been to works vans where tools have been targeted with half occurring outside the owner’s own home and the other half in hotel car parks. Work tools have been the biggest targeted item, with thousands of pounds worth being taken on some occasions. If you are a trades person please secure your tools in the house, ensure that your vehicle is fitted with a good quality alarm; also that you know the serial numbers of high value items, and your tools are properly marked so that they can be identified. Vehicle registration plates was the next biggest item targeted, followed by cash, phones, wallets, handbags, aerials, clothing, a disabled badge and hand cream.

There have been seven reported thefts of vehicles over the period. Four were taken in domestic circumstances, two were motor cycles which were recovered nearby and one was stolen from a finance company. 

Anti-social behaviour has remained fairly steady in comparison to last year. There have been a number of hotspots identified which we have regularly patrolled to address the issues with positive action being taken against those found. These have ranged from the offenders being taken home to parents, ASB warning letters being sent to parents from Safer North Hampshire, cannabis warnings and community resolutions being issued. 

I would like to remind those who haven’t done so already to sign up to Hampshire Alerts via the Hampshire Constabulary website. It is free, and once registered you can receive your choice of e-mails, text messages, and voice mails on your home telephone about incidents happening in your area. You can choose what information you receive by setting your preferences. We send out alerts regularly following certain crime types, so you can be on your guard and protect yourself from what is happening in the area when it is happening, not several days later when you read about it in the newspaper. You can also check where crime is happening in your area by going to www.police.uk  and calling up Fleet 

It just remains for me to thank all the members of the Fleet and District Neighbourhood Watch, especially the coordinators, senior coordinators and the committee for their continued hard work throughout the year which has helped make Fleet a safer place in which to live. 

Kind Regards 
Sgt Rob Wallis

BACK

SUMMER 2017

We have been in our new offices at Hart District Council for a year now and it’s starting to feel a lot like home for the team and me. It is great being in the same building as many of our partners as it allows us to work much more closely with them and to tackle and solve issues together. There is no news on the old police station. Your nearest police station with an enquiry office is at Aldershot if you need to speak to an officer face to face, hand in some found property or return paperwork. Or you can contact us using the non-emergency number 101 which has undergone improvements and waiting times have been reduced significantly. Please do call us using 999 for the reasons listed on the front of the newsletter. I am pleased to see that lots of you do call us to report suspicious activity and I would encourage this, as you are our eyes and ears on the ground. I would ask that you don’t leave it until the next day, but do it straight away. You live in your neighbourhood and know when someone or a vehicle looks out of place; no one will criticise you for calling when perhaps you didn’t need to, but your neighbours and the police may be disappointed if you saw something and didn’t report it, resulting in another victim of crime.

Over the last quarter, and across all areas, crime has fallen when compared to the previous period and with the same quarter last year. This is great news all round but please don’t become complacent. You are obviously implementing the right security advice and I would urge you to continue to do so, particularly now that we are into summer time and the lighter evenings.

There have been seven house burglaries since my last report, two of which involved jewellery being taken. Some jewellery of course has sentimental value and could never be replaced. So do please consider hiding it around the home or installing a safe securely fixed to the fabric of the building rather than leaving jewellery on display on the dressing table. Ensure that it is suitably insured with any distinguishing marks recorded and it is photographed. Five of the burglaries occurred by entry through rear patio doors. I mentioned this in previous newsletters, please ensure additional locks are fitted and replace the cylinder locks with the anti-snap variety.
There have been 11 break-ins to sheds, garages and other outbuildings over the period. Broken down these were three thefts from garages, where nothing was taken, eight to commercial premises which included office buildings, shops and containers. Items stolen consisted of garden power tools, a mountain bike, cigarettes and money. I am pleased to see that there have been no reports of any break-ins to sheds. I hope this is because you have followed my previous advice and that your sheds are now well secured to deter any would be thief.
There have been seven thefts from vehicles over the reporting period. Three have been thefts of work tools from vans, one of which was parked at a hotel and it occurred overnight. Of the remaining thefts, items stolen consisted of clothing in a bag, a wallet, cash and warning lights fitted to a truck.

There has only been one reported theft of a motor vehicle over this period where a BMW car was taken from a driveway.

While we have seen a fall in the more traditional crime types, you will have seen in the news recently that there has been an increase nationally in scams and fraud. Criminals will contact thousands of people by phone, post or email in the hope that one will respond. So do please continue to remain vigilant to avoid becoming a victim, and don’t hesitate to report suspicious activity to the police. A description and warning from Action Fraud (the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau) concerning one of the latest phishing email scams is given on page 4 of this newsletter. For further and more detailed advice on this and other common types of fraud please visit the Hampshire Constabulary website at: https://www.hampshire.police.uk 
Remember Fleet is a low crime area, not a no crime area.

BACK

SRING 2017

We have been in our new offices at Hart District Council for a year now and it’s starting to feel a lot like home for the team and me. It is great being in the same building as many of our partners as it allows us to work much more closely with them and to tackle and solve issues together. There is no news on the old police station. Your nearest police station with an enquiry office is at Aldershot if you need to speak to an officer face to face, hand in some found property or return paperwork. Or you can contact us using the non-emergency number 101 which has undergone improvements and waiting times have been reduced significantly. Please do call us using 999 for the reasons listed on the front of the newsletter. I am pleased to see that lots of you do call us to report suspicious activity and I would encourage this, as you are our eyes and ears on the ground. I would ask that you don’t leave it until the next day, but do it straight away. You live in your neighbourhood and know when someone or a vehicle looks out of place; no one will criticise you for calling when perhaps you didn’t need to, but your neighbours and the police may be disappointed if you saw something and didn’t report it, resulting in another victim of crime. 

Over the last quarter, and across all areas, crime has fallen when compared to the previous period and with the same quarter last year. This is great news all round but please don’t become complacent. You are obviously implementing the right security advice and I would urge you to continue to do so, particularly now that we are into summer time and the lighter evenings. 

There have been seven house burglaries since my last report, two of which involved jewellery being taken. Some jewellery of course has sentimental value and could never be replaced. So do please consider hiding it around the home or installing a safe securely fixed to the fabric of the building rather than leaving jewellery on display on the dressing table. Ensure that it is suitably insured with any distinguishing marks recorded and it is photographed. Five of the burglaries occurred by entry through rear patio doors. I mentioned this in previous newsletters, please ensure additional locks are fitted and replace the cylinder locks with the anti-snap variety.

There have been 11 break-ins to sheds, garages and other outbuildings over the period. Broken down these were three thefts from garages, where nothing was taken, eight to commercial premises which included office buildings, shops and containers. Items stolen consisted of garden power tools, a mountain bike, cigarettes and money. I am pleased to see that there have been no reports of any break-ins to sheds. I hope this is because you have followed my previous advice and that your sheds are now well secured to deter any would be thief.

There have been seven thefts from vehicles over the reporting period. Three have been thefts of work tools from vans, one of which was parked at a hotel and it occurred overnight. Of the remaining thefts, items stolen consisted of clothing in a bag, a wallet, cash and warning lights fitted to a truck. 

There has only been one reported theft of a motor vehicle over this period where a BMW car was taken from a driveway. 

While we have seen a fall in the more traditional crime types, you will have seen in the news recently that there has been an increase nationally in scams and fraud. Criminals will contact thousands of people by phone, post or email in the hope that one will respond. So do please continue to remain vigilant to avoid becoming a victim, and don’t hesitate to report suspicious activity to the police. A description and warning from Action Fraud (the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau) concerning one of the latest phishing email scams is given on page 4 of this newsletter. For further and more detailed advice on this and other common types of fraud please visit the Hampshire Constabulary website at: https://www.hampshire.police.uk 

Remember Fleet is a low crime area, not a no crime area. 

Kind Regards Sgt Rob Wallis

BACK

WINTER 2016

Happy New Year to you all, I hope you all had an enjoyable Christmas. With the festive period over, it is time to turn your attention, if you have not already done so, to recording all the serial numbers of the new electrical items you received as gifts or bought in the sales. Please log them onto Immobilise - the National Property Register, website www.immobilise.com. Should you become a victim of crime, this will make identification of your property and its subsequent return far easier. Also please make sure you have listed your high value items separately on your home insurance policies so that they are adequately covered. 

I hope by now that you have all signed up to Hampshire Alert, if not please visit www.hampshirealert.co.uk to register free of charge. By using Hampshire Alert you will be one step ahead. You will be notified of relevant information, warnings and crime much more quickly, and you won't miss out on important updates regarding incidents occurring in your locality. 

Below is a summary of some of the main types of offence in our area plus some practical advice to help prevent you becoming a victim of crime. 

Dwelling burglary - Since the last report there have been eight dwelling burglaries across the area. In two of the burglaries entry was gained via the rear door and three targeted jewellery, laptops and tablet computers. The other three burglaries resulted in no entry being gained which is great news for the home owner; this was achieved through good secure windows and doors which had been properly locked. It is still some time until the lighter evenings are upon us, so please follow this simple general security advice which will go a long way to making your home less attractive to a burglar. 

♦ Use timer switches (available from most DIY stores) to switch on lights and radios while you are away from the home to make it look and sound occupied. 
♦ Ensure you shut and lock windows and doors when you return home and settle down for the evening. 
♦ Ensure you have used padlocks on the side gates to deny access to the rear of the property. 
♦ Ensure your outside lighting is in good working order (consider low level ambient light on a dusk to dawn sensor) this will activate even when you are not at home. 
♦ Secure your garden tools and garden equipment in a locked and alarmed shed or garage for the winter so that they cannot be used to gain entry to your home. 

Thefts from garages, sheds and other outbuildings - There has been a big reduction in the number of this type of theft across the area. There have been five burglaries to garages and one burglary to a commercial premise. The garage burglaries all occurred on the same night and targeted two garages blocks. Nothing was stolen and it appeared to be opportunistic as it was the less secure garages which were entered. This was good news as it meant that there were fewer victims of crime. I am hoping that the reason for the reduction in this type of offence was due to the increased security you are all putting in place to deter would-be thieves. Please keep up the good practice and ensure you continue to lock all outbuildings securely. 

Thefts from vehicles - There have been 17 thefts from motor vehicles across the area. Twelve targeted vans and the tools inside. The majority occurred while the vans were parked in hotel car parks overnight. However, tools have also been stolen from vans while they have been parked outside their owners' home addresses. If possible, please either remove your tools from the van overnight and store them in a more secure location or fit additional locks to your vehicle. The other items stolen included wiper blades, number plates, aerials and a wallet. 

Theft of motor vehicles (TOMV) - There have been five recorded TOMV across the area. Two involved motor cycles being stolen, one of which was recovered a short distance away by the owner. A works van was also stolen. Two further reports have been made of thefts of scrap vehicles. 

My officers continue to ensure that the roads of Fleet are as safe as possible and that speed limits are obeyed. We have seen in the media recently the disastrous effects of taking your eyes off the road for only a brief period to answer a call, text someone or update Facebook. Five more motorists have received fixed penalty notices for speeding and use of a mobile phone while driving and they have all been given a fine and points on their licences. Four of these motorists were local residents. Please ensure you do not use your phone while driving unless you have an approved hands-free kit and observe the speed limits. Police and the Safer North Hants team ran a drop-in session in the Hart shopping centre recently where crime prevention advice was given to the public with regards to burglary and vehicle crime. Further sessions will take place in 2017. Please look out for an invitation with the date and times on twitter@fleetpolice . 

Over recent years we have seen an increase in the different types of scams reported to us. Below are a few reminders of how to protect yourself to ensure you do not become a victim. Please visit our website for further crime prevention advice at www.hampshire.police.uk

 Email 

♦ Ensure your computer is protected by a personal firewall and anti-virus software and keep them updated. 
♦ Report any abuse to your Internet Service Provider (ISP). 
♦ Never reply to any email you are unsure of. ♦ Visit Bank Safe Online to report all suspicious banking emails. 

BACK

AUTUMN 2016

Police Sgt Rob Wallis introduced himself and explained that he was the Sgt for Hart South and that he looked aver me Neighbourhood Policing Team based at the District Council offices in Fleet. He gave an overview of the organisation as there had been significant changes since the 2015 AGM. Firstly there was a new Chief Constable, Olivia Pinkney, who had come from Sussex. There was also a new deputy Chief Constable, Sara Glen, and a newly elected Police and Crime Commissioner, Michael Lane. All three newcomers were currently settling into the organisation and formulating their plans as to where they wanted to take the organisation and what their priorities would be. These changes came on top of the restructuring which took place last year due to the spending review. The good news was that we did not receive any further cuts to our budgets earlier this year. Please be reassured however that at grass roots level we were still here as your neighbourhood policing team and would continue to focus on the priorities that were important to you. There had also been changes to the team across Hart, the first was the introduction of lnsp Karen McManus who previously had been the district commander for Rushmoor. Chief Inspector Matt Reeves had moved to Basingstoke. Fleet had PC Noel Griffiths, PC Dan Lehec and they had been joined by PC Nick Lees from Basingstoke. We had four PCSOs who covered Fleet: PCSO Max Clayton, PCSO Sarah Owen, PCSO Ben Bales and PCSO Ben Allman. We also had a further three officers who covered Hart Rural South and they were able to come into the town when required to assist in dealing with issues. 

Sgt Wallis outlined how his team had performed over the last 12 months. Fleet had suffered 35 residential Burglaries which were similar to last year's numbers. Of those 35, 11 were via rear patio doors where locks were snapped. The good news is that three people were arrested for this crime series and remanded to prison. However, you should ensure that additional security was added to patio doors in the form of anti-snap cylinder locks and additional bolts and that your back garden was as secure as possible by bolting and locking side and rear gates. Five were attempts where no entry had been gained. Seven involved jewellery being stolen, some of which was of a sentimental value and could not be replaced. Please do consider hiding jewellery around the home, or installing a safe securely fixed to the fabric of the building rather than leaving the jewellery on display on the dressing table. Ensure that it was suitably insured with any distinguishing marks recorded and that it was photographed. There were two burglaries which involved cars being stolen from driveways where keys had been left near to the front door enabling the burglar to fish the keys off the table using an implement poked through the letter box. Please consider fitting a letter box deflector or post collector on the inside of door. Burglaries to premises other than dwellings, including sheds and garages, fell from 61 last year to 42 this year. There had been 22 thefts from garages, 10 thefts from sheds and 10 thefts from commercial premises. The most common items stolen were bikes and tools, plus garden equipment and DIY tools. Other items taken were golf clubs and off-road motor cycles. We had a spike in offences between the New Year and Spring, after which commission rates had fallen considerably. He had given crime prevention advice previously for garage and shed security so he did_not intend to repeat it at this meeting; however, if anyone wanted further advice they should look on the Hampshire Constabulary website under crime prevention or the Fleet NHW website at some of the previous newsletters. 

Theft from motor vehicles had increased over the past year to 64 offences. Twenty-seven of these had been to works vans where tools had been targeted. The majority of these occurred in local hotel car parks. Work was ongoing to tackle this series of offences. The next biggest item stolen had been wing mirrors which accounted for eight of the offences. This was followed by number plates, bags and telephones. Over the summer there had been a series of offences at Fleet Pond car parks where vehicles were targeted. Most of the vehicles which had been broken into had items on display. Following an increase in police patrols at relevant times, Hampshire Alerts being sent out and additional signage being erected, these offences tailed off. Of the 64 offences it appeared that only three were as a result of the vehicle being left insecure which was very pleasing to see There had been seven thefts of vehicles over the period, four of these were motor cycles, one had been taken in domestic circumstances, one involved the theft of a vehicle with the key which had been mistakenly left in the ignition and the other theft was a van. 

Anti-social behaviour had remained fairly steady in comparison to last year, even with the better summer we have had this year. There had been no specific hotspots identified, other than the usual parks and open spaces which were patrolled throughout the summer and we continued to do so. Again this year the team would be working late shifts on Halloween and Bonfire Night to deal with any ASB. As always, please call us to report issues before they get out of hand. Sgt Wallis continued with some crime prevention advice focused on the types of crime and incidents the Police had seen increase in Fleet. At last year's AGM Trading Standards gave a presentation. This covered areas such as doorstep crime and rogue traders and I would like to take this opportunity to ask you to be on the lookout for these types of offences and remind you of some basic advice to prevent you or a neighbour from becoming a victim of crime. 

• Always use the door chain when answering the door, if you are not sure do not open the door. 

• Always check the credentials of unknown callers. Do not phone the number on the ID card, use a phone book or a bill. 

• Never employ cold-calling doorstep traders or engage with cold callers on the phone. 

• Do not keep substantial sums of money in the home. 

• Always keep front and back doors locked. 

• LOCK STOP CHAIN and CHECK- if unsure do not open the door. 

• Consider joining or setting up a No Cold Calling Zone. 

• Report any suspicious callers or activity to the police immediately. 

• Keep an eye on elderly or vulnerable neighbours, friends and family. 

Please call 101 to advise of any unexpected callers - this would give the Police a better chance of building a picture of where potential criminals were operating. Sgt Wallis said that recently they had been called to a report of doorstep sellers in Fleet who had become abusive to a resident when they refused to buy goods at the door. This allowed the Police to respond immediately and deter the seller from being abusive to further Fleet residents. Criminals had become much more sophisticated in the way they committed crime and other types of crime we had seen occur in Fleet over the last year had been what we call courier fraud. Some of the most common encountered were as follows: 

• Purporting to be the Police either investigating fraudulent transactions or indicating that someone had been arrested after fraudulent use of the victim's bank card or a cloned card and they therefore required the victim's assistance to help investigate the matter. 

• Purporting to be a bank employee and suggesting there had been unusual activity on their account. 

• Purporting to be a bank fraud investigator (investigating the bank) and suggesting to the individual that their money was at risk and in order to secure it they needed to immediately transfer it to a "safe account" (mule account). 

• Purporting to be a bank employee and suggesting to the victim that some fraudulent deposits had been made into their accounts and they needed to withdraw this money in order to secure it for the investigation.

Fraudsters generally arranged the collection of the victim's bank card through a "courier" having obtained the PIN number through a very convincing earlier phone conversation. The victim was requested to place the card in an envelope and seal it. This courier was often a taxi driver, although on occasions it had been known for the courier to be an associate. Please be on your guard for this type of offence and remember police or bank staff will never ask you to divulge your PIN number directly to them. 

Sgt Wallis recommended that members signed up for Hampshire Alerts via the Hampshire Constabulary website, whereby you can receive your choice of emails, text messages, and voice mails on your home phone about incidents happening in your area. You can choose what information you receive by setting your preferences. The Police send out alerts regularly following certain crime types, so you can be on your guard and protect yourself from what is happening in the area where it is happening, not a few days later when you read about it in the paper. You can also check where crime is happening on www.crimereports.co.uk. Lastly, he thanked all the members of the NHW especially the coordinators, senior coordinators and the committee for their continued hard work throughout the year, making Fleet a safer place in which to live. 

SUMMER 2016

The great British Summer is here again and we have had one of the wettest Junes on record to accompany Royal Ascot, the Glastonbury Festival, Henley and Wimbledon. This has probably been welcomed by the keen gardeners amongst you and it may also have had a positive impact on our crime figures, although I would rather put that down to your increased vigilance. Since my last report, house burglary offences have fallen along with those to sheds and garages. This is good news as the seasonal trend is usually for these types of offences to increase. The reporting period is April to June for all the crime statistics mentioned in this report. 

There have been six house burglaries recorded which is a fall of one third from the last period. Only one of these showed signs of forced entry, which demonstrates that if you secure your property the would-be burglar will usually look for an easier target. Two of the burglaries involved the same victim, so consequently they have received support from my team and other agencies to help them to improve the security of their property. Two of the burglaries were suspected of being linked, where laptops, tablets and jewellery were stolen. The items stolen were left on display within the house. My advice would be to put expensive items out of sight or consider locking them in a safe bolted to the floor. 

There have only been five burglaries to sheds, garages and out buildings since the last report, which is a fall of 17 crimes. This is a huge reduction, although I wish there had been none at all. Two of the burglaries were to garages where tools and a case of wine were taken, and one was to a shed where a mountain bike was stolen. The other two were to commercial premises where four chain saws were taken and cash was taken from an office. 

There have been 14 thefts from vehicles reported over the period. Five of these were thefts or attempted thefts of tools from works' vans, four of which occurred overnight while the vans were parked in hotel car parks. Six of the others involved thefts of wing mirror glass while the vehicles were parked in Linkway. The others were a theft of a set of number plates, theft of clothing and fuel siphoned from a vehicle. 

Over the period there has been one report of a theft of a motorcycle which was taken from a car park. 

I am delighted to welcome and introduce to you a new member of staff to our team here in Fleet. PC Nick Lees has joined us from Basingstoke and his presence increases the number of PCs we have working in the town to four. PC Lees comes to us with 11 years experience in a neighbourhood policing role. So please stop and speak to him when you see him out and about and I am sure that he will do all he can to assist you. 

Summer time and the holidays normally sees an increase in anti-social behaviour which is often associated with school age children. Can I please remind parents to ensure that they know where their children are at all times for their safety and what they are doing. Large groups of children can often appear intimidating, especially to the older section of the community. The Neighbourhood Policing Team at Fleet will continue to patrol areas where young people gather in order to engage with them, ensure they feel safe and provide reassurance to the wider community. If you experience any incidents of anti-social behaviour please report it via 101 which will help us to focus our patrols in the right areas. 

May I take this opportunity to offer members some seasonal advice because during the warmer weather there is often an increase in cold callers and doorstep criminals offering gardening and general property maintenance work at your door. They tend to call at your home unannounced, often claiming to be from a utility company (water board, etc), or claiming to be working in the area and to have noticed a problem with your house that supposedly needs fixing. They may offer to do work for you or say that they need to check something in your home, so they will ask to come in to have a look around. They may search your home for items to steal, or theymay pressure you into paying them cash for work which you have not requested or agreed to. Sometimes doorstep criminals pose as police officers, or they may even say that they are looking for a lost child or pet and that they need to look around your house. These criminals are very convincing and they may, and often do, seem plausible and they prefer to target people in their own homes. Hampshire Constabulary works closely with Trading Standards to tackle these offenders, and there are several simple steps you can take to protect yourself from this kind of crime. 

Please take note of the following advice to ensure that you stay safe: 

• Don't open the door to someone you don't recognise or someone you are not expecting. 

• If you do feel you need to answer your door, remember to: 

• Lock the back door before you open the front door. Doorstep criminals often work in pairs with one of them distracting you at the front door while an accomplice enters your home through the back door. 

• Put the door chain or door-bar on before opening the door so that you can see who it is before you fully open your door. 

• Ask to see the caller's identification. Agenuine caller will not mind showing you their I.D. 

• Close and lock your door and call the number of the company they claim to be from to check if they have sent someone to your home. Remember to use a number from a bill or the telephone book so that you know that it is a genuine telephone number. 

• Remember, even if the caller is genuine you do not need to allow them into your home. Politely ask them to arrange a future appointment. You can then ask a friend or family member to be present. 

• You can arrange to have passwords set up with your various utility companies. So that subsequently when a representative calls they should then be able to repeat the agreed confidential word to you. 

• If a suspicious caller knocks at your door, call 999 if they are on your property or if they have just left. Call 101 if it is after the event. 
  
We recently ran an online survey to seek the views from the residents in our area on what you would like to see us spend our time dealing with from a community perspective. We received an excellent response and we are currently reviewing your replies. Once this is complete I will let you know the priorities and where our areas of focus will lie. 

May I wish you all a great, long, hot and safe summer. 

Kind regards 
Sergeant Rob Wallis

BEWARE THE FOLLOWING SCAMS

CLICK HERE FOR HELP WHEN CONFRONTED BY COLD CALLERS

WARNING FROM HM REVENUE & CUSTOMS

There are a number of fraudulent emails currently circulating across the world encouraging customers to visit a website where personal security and/or credit card details are then requested. Some of these websites have the ability to capture your personal details and you should therefore treat them as suspicious. HMRC are working with other law enforcement agencies to close down sites and to investigate those that are behind the scam. In the meantime the use of robust spam filters and other online protection technology is recommended.

Up to date details of H M RC web security and scams can be found at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/security/spoofs.htm Below is an example of one of these fraudulent emails:

`After the last annual calculations of your fiscal activity we have determined that you are eligible to receive a tax refund of 98.50 GBP. Please submit the tax refund request and allow us 3-5 days in order to process it A refund can be delayed for a variety of reasons. For example submitting invalid records or applying after the deadline. To access the form for your tax refund, please

https:/lonline.hmrc.gov.uk/login?GAREASONCODE=­2&GARESOURCEID=Common&GAURI Regards, HM Revenue & Customs"

If you receive an email similar to this you should forward it to a special email address phishing@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk  which HMRC have set up to deal with this and similar scams. HMRC recommends that you then delete the email immediately without responding to it. It is important that you do not visit any website detailed within the email

PARCEL SCAM

A scam involving phony parcel delivery notices could still be operating in this area. It starts when a card is delivered to your home claiming that a package is awaiting you. There is a number on the card that you are asked to ring to arrange delivery at a convenient time, at the premium rate of £1.50 per minute. When the number is rung a recording on the other end keeps talking................and talking running up a large telephone bill you will have to pay. And, of course, there is no parcel at all.

TELEPHONE SCAM

Please be aware of the following telephone scam relating to home and or work phones including mobiles:

Your phone rings and you receive a recorded message:
"Congratulations, We are calling to advise you that you have won an all expenses paid trip to ....... Please press 9 now to hear further details".

If you press 9, you'll be connected to a premium line that bills in the region of £20 per minute! If you press 9 and connect, even if you disconnect immediately, the other end will stay connected for a minimum of 5 minutes - at a cost to you of £100 - the message lasts for 11 minutes.

The final part of the call asks you to key in your postcode and house number (which has other security issues!!) and then after a wait of a further 2 minutes responds with the message:

"Sorry, you are not one of the lucky winners" and disconnects adding a whopping £260.00 to your bill!!!
BT advise that these calls originate form outside the UK and as such, they are powerless to act.

This has been passed on from a friend within the communications industry.

For further info click here

ATM SCAM

The latest  ATM  scam  involves thieves putting a thin, clear, rigid plastic 'sleeve' into the ATM  card slot. When you insert your card, the machine can't read the strip, so  it keeps asking you to re-enter your PIN number. Meanwhile, someone behind you  watches as you tap in your number. Eventually you give up, thinking the  machine has swallowed your card and you walk away. The thieves then remove the plastic sleeve complete with your card, and empty your account. The way to avoid this is to run your finger along the card aperture before you put your card  in. The sleeve has a couple of tiny prongs that the thieves need to get the sleeve out of the slot, and you'll be able to feel them.

The police would like as many people as  possible to be aware of this scam, so pass this on.


As received from Hampshire County Council:

 We have been informed of the following scam, which is targeting females in  particular. They receive a phone call from the Post Office asking them to confirm their postcode. When this is given, they are told that they have become eligible for some gift vouchers for their co-operation and are asked  to provide their home address and postcode in order to receive the vouchers.
So far 90% of the women who have provided this information have been burgled, as it is assumed that their homes are empty during office working hours. The police are aware of this scam and the Post Office have confirmed that they are NOT conducting any postcode surveys.

Also, it has been reported if you receive a telephone call from an individual who identifies him/herself as being an AT & T service Technician who is conducting a test on that line, or if anyone else asks you to do the following  DON'T. They will state that to complete the test the recipient should dial nine, zero (90) then the hash key and then hang up. This will give them full access to your phone line, which allows them to place long distance, international or chat-line calls. These are then billed to your account. The information which the police have suggested that many of these calls are emanating from local prisons.

The information has been checked out by the police and is correct   DO NOT PRESS 90 FOR ANYONE.

Would anyone reading this please pass it on to friends and colleagues etc...   You could save someone a lot of money.

Below are details of a scam currently going the rounds. 
The police have requested that as many people are alerted as possible.
Unfortunately it is a genuine scam.

Police Report :

The reason this is working so well is it plays on your good will!
Picture the scene:-

You are sitting at home and there is a knock at the door. On answering it you are confronted by a respectable looking woman in a suit, who is lightly distressed. She explains that her car has broken down further down the road and she needs to contact her husband to come to her aid. Is it at all possible to use your phone to call him?

You allow her to use the phone, but being the suspicious type you stand with her as she makes the call. She dials the number, and asks to be put through to Mr Smith/ Brown / Stevens (Whatever). She holds the line for about thirty seconds. She continues, "In that case can you ask him to leave the meeting for a minute I need to speak to him quite urgently." She apologies again and explains they are getting him out of a meeting. A couple of minutes goes by and she starts to speak to her husband. She explains the situation to him, tells him what has happened to the car, is annoyed because she now can't get to her meeting, and asks what she should do now. She listens for a few seconds and then says, "Well as soon as the meeting finishes can you come to Cardiff Road / Leicester Road / Surrey Street (Whatever), where the car has broken down. Another few seconds go by, "OK, I'll see you in about twenty minutes then."

She put the phone down, and thanks you ever so much for your kind assistance, even offering you a pound for your trouble, but ofcourse you decline, it's no trouble. She leaves and everything is fine. Or is it? The day or week before knocking on your door she set up her own premium rate line with a telephone company at the cost of about £150, and she has dictated that calls to that number should be charged at £50 per minute. She has dialled that number. The conversation she has had with her "husband" is entirely fictitious, there is a pre- recorded voice message on the other end to give you the impression she is talking to someone. She has been on the phone for about five minutes, that call just cost you £250, the majority of which goes into her pocket, and the first you know about it is when you get your bill a month later. To rub a bit of salt into the wound, she hasn't even committed a criminal offence. You've given her permission to use your phone.

There are 5 occasions in Luton where this has been reported in the last couple of weeks . 

Would anyone reading this please pass it on to friends and colleagues etc. otherwise it could cost someone a lot of money.

PC Paul Toseland Corby Business Anti-Crime Network Administrator

For further info click here

Visa and MasterCard scam

My husband was called on Wednesday from "VISA" and I was called on Thursday From "MasterCard". It worked like this:
Person calling says, "This is Carl Patterson (any name) and I'm calling
from the Security and Fraud   Department at VISA. My Badge number is 12460.
Your card has been flagged for an unusual purchase pattern, and I'm calling to verify.
This would be on Your VISA card Did you purchase an Anti-Telemarketing Device ( / Any expensive  Item  )  for ? 497.99 from a marketing company based in  " Anywhere? "
When you  say  "No".
The caller continues with,  " Then we will be issuing a credit to your account .  This is a company we have been watching and the charges range from ?297 to ?497, just under the ?500 purchase pattern that flags
most cards. Before your next statement, the credit will be sent to  (gives you your address), is that correct? "
You say, "Yes".
The caller continues . . . "I will be starting a fraud investigation. If you have any questions, you should call the 0800 number listed on your card 1-800-VISA and ask for Security. you will  need to refer to this
Control # Then gives you a 6 digit number. "Do you need me to read it again?"
Caller then says he "needs to verify you are in possession of your card. Turn the card over. There are 7 numbers; first 4 are 1234 whatever) the next 3 are the security  numbers that verify you are in possession of the card. These are the  numbers you use to make internet purchases to prove you have
the card.  Read me the 3 numbers."
Then he says "That is correct. I just needed to verify that the card has not been lost or stolen, and that you still have your card. Do you have any other questions? Don't hesitate to call back if you do."
You actually say very little, and they never ask for or tell you the Card number. But after we were called on Wednesday, we called back within 20
minutes to ask a question.
Are we glad we did! The REAL VISA security dept.   HE told us it was a scam
 and in the last 15 minutes a new purchase of ?497.99 WAS put on our card.
 Long story made short .  We made a real fraud report and closed the VISA card and they are reissuing as a new number.
What the scam wants  is the 3 digit number and that once the charge goes through, they keep  Charging every few days. By the time you get your statement, you think  the credit is coming, and then it's harder to
actually file a fraud  report.
REMEMBER: THE REAL VISA REINFORCED THAT THEY WILL NEVER ASK FOR
ANYTHING ON THE CARD (THEY ALREADY KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT US)!!!!.
What makes this More remarkable is that on Thursday, I got a call from "Jason Richardson of MasterCard" with a word for word repeat of the VISA Scam. This time I didn't let him finish. I hung up.
We filed a police report (as instructed by VISA), and they said they are taking several of these reports daily and to tell friends, relatives And co-workers.

If you want to know more about scams go to http://www.fraudwatchinternational.com/ 

YOU MAY BE INTERESTED IN THE FOLLOWING EMAIL RECEIVED WHICH REFERS TO TWO OF THE ABOVE SCAMS

Dear Alan,

I came across your site this evening and found a wealth of great information on it.
There are however 2 articles in the telephone scams section that are in fact hoaxes, not scams.

The first one entitled: Telephone Scam

Please be aware of the following telephone scam relating to home and or work phones including mobiles:

Your phone rings and you receive a recorded message:

"Congratulations, We are calling to advise you that you have won an all expenses paid trip to ....... Please press 9 now to hear further details".

If you press 9, you'll be connected to a premium line that bills in the region of £20 per minute! If you press 9 and connect, even if you disconnect immediately, the other end will stay connected for a minimum of 5 minutes - at a cost to you of £100 - the message lasts for 11 minutes.

The final part of the call asks you to key in your postcode and house number (which has other security issues!!) and then after a wait of a further 2 minutes responds with the message:

"Sorry, you are not one of the lucky winners" and disconnects adding a whopping £260.00 to your bill!!!

BT advise that these calls originate form outside the UK and as such, they are powerless to act.

This has been passed on from a friend within the communications industry.

This is totally fictitious. In fact in the UK premium rate industry (which as you may know is under the spotlight in the media at the moment) the highest tariff that can be applied to a call is £1.50 a minute.

In fact every detail is incorrect in the above piece in fact.

Firstly if you are called from an automated system, no matter what you press you cannot incur a charge.

If you did have the ability to press 9 and be transferred to a premium rate number, the person who originate the call (ie the automated system) would be billed.

It then says you are kept on the line for 5 minutes and get a bill of £100 and then it mentions a £260 bill – again this is not possible.

It doesn’t matter where the calls originate – these rates are just not possible.

The second one entitled: Police Report :

The reason this is working so well is it plays on your good will!

Picture the scene:-

You are sitting at home and there is a knock at the door. On answering it you are confronted by a respectable looking woman in a suit, who is lightly distressed. She explains that her car has broken down further down the road and she needs to contact her husband to come to her aid. Is it at all possible to use your phone to call him?

You allow her to use the phone, but being the suspicious type you stand with her as she makes the call. She dials the number, and asks to be put through to Mr Smith/ Brown / Stevens (Whatever). She holds the line for about thirty seconds. She continues, "In that case can you ask him to leave the meeting for a minute I need to speak to him quite urgently." She apologies again and explains they are getting him out of a meeting. A couple of minutes goes by and she starts to speak to her husband. She explains the situation to him, tells him what has happened to the car, is annoyed because she now can't get to her meeting, and asks what she should do now. She listens for a few seconds and then says, "Well as soon as the meeting finishes can you come to Cardiff Road / Leicester Road / Surrey Street (Whatever), where the car has broken down. Another few seconds go by, "OK, I'll see you in about twenty minutes then."

She put the phone down, and thanks you ever so much for your kind assistance, even offering you a pound for your trouble, but of course you decline, it's no trouble. She leaves and everything is fine. Or is it? The day or week before knocking on your door she set up her own premium rate line with a telephone company at the cost of about £150, and she has dictated that calls to that number should be charged at £50 per minute. She has dialled that number. The conversation she has had with her "husband" is entirely fictitious, there is a pre- recorded voice message on the other end to give you the impression she is talking to someone. She has been on the phone for about five minutes, that call just cost you £250, the majority of which goes into her pocket, and the first you know about it is when you get your bill a month later. To rub a bit of salt into the wound, she hasn't even committed a criminal offence. You've given her permission to use your phone.

There are 5 occasions in Luton where this has been reported in the last couple of weeks .

Would anyone reading this please pass it on to friends and colleagues etc. otherwise it could cost someone a lot of money.

PC Paul Toseland Corby Business Anti-Crime Network Administrator

Again this is totally fictitious. There is no number that you can call that could possibly incur such charges in the UK or abroad.
There is no £50 per minute tariff anywhere in the world.
I have seen these type of hoaxes sent round by email for years, and even mentioned in the Neighbourhood watch newsletter once – quite rightly it scares people, but unfortunately none of them are true.

www.snopes.com is a great site for debunking hoaxes like this, and in fact if you look here: http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/scams/phone.htm you will see the exact same story as above but in the US .

I hope you will be able to remove these as I am sure they do cause a great deal of concern to people who are not familiar with the telecoms industry.

Best Regards

Andy

I contacted the Hart District Commander Norman Mellors who sent the following