Meads Eastbourne Neighbourhood Watch


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Meads Neighbourhood Panel The Meads Neighbourhood Panel is now three years old. It has been dealing with a range of issues affecting our Meads neighbourhood but some are the same as elsewhere in Eastbourne. The latest position for Meads is at: www.eastbournenp.org The Meads pages cover the first 19 meetings. We continue to progress issues raised in previous meetings and during the continuing program of Police Street meetings with a satisfying success rate. So, if you are aware of any neighbourhood and/or community issue(s) in the Meads Ward that you or other residents would be pleased to know were being dealt with, I encourage you to participate, contact your Neighbourhood Watch scheme Coordinator or me. The Panel cannot deal with what we do not know! The next Meads Neighbourhood Panel meeting will be held on: Wednesday, 7th December 2011, at 19:00 to 21:00, in Room G31, Brighton University, Hillbrow, Denton Road, I look forward to seeing you there intent on pursuing issues you are aware of in your Neighbourhood or elsewhere in the Meads Ward. Roy Peacock Chair, Meads Neighbourhood Panel & NW Coordinator - Meads Ward
Email the Meads Neighbourhood Watch Coordinator: roy.d.peacock@btinternet.com ************************************************
Autumn Meads Ward Report 2011
There has been an increase in the spate of burglaries, damage to cars and in thefts from cars of items such as Sat-Navs and Mobile phones. Please ensure you remove ALL items of value from your vehicles or either lock them up or put them out of sight. Cold callers are upsetting residents by their persistence even when told "NO THANK YOU". Some are asking to see receipts and/or trying to gain entry to residents' properties. Do not entertain these callers; stay alert and do not get distracted. Please report every incident no matter how trivial it may seem. Intelligence for the police does lead to arrests and prosecution; it has proved invaluable for incidents in Old Town, Ratton and Rodmill. Prepare for what may be another cold Winter by ensuring your home is secure. Check that security lights work, you have good quality door and window locks and use 24 hour Timer Switches. These are even more important in the Winter months. There is continuing growth of NHW schemes and membership in the Meads Ward. If you are not among them, please call me, Roy Peacock on 01323 647729 Update Following the AGM on November 16th 2011 Across the town we now have 371 Coordinators serving some 11,350 homes with other prospective Coordinators' DP Forms being processed. This doubling of homes involved in NW schemes over the last 6 years or so correlates well with the reduction in reported criminal incidents across the town. So if you or anyone in your NW scheme knows of anyone elsewhere in the town NOT in a scheme, please convince them that they should be. Hopefully, they or a neighbour of theirs will volunteer to become a Coordinator. This way together we can make Eastbourne an even safer place for those who live here and most importantly, for those who visit whether short or longer term. Since returning from holiday on 13th November, I have been alerted to Cold Callers knocking doors or ringing doorbells late into the evening; 2015/2030. Some are genuine others not. One genuine organisation, the St Wilfreds Hospice are to be informed of residents concerns over the late evening door calls; Hopefully in their own interests, they'll put a stop to it. As for some of the other callers, please remind members to have the door chain on or better still refrain from opening the door when a caller is not expected. Remember, remain ALERT and AWARE. Carol singers will no doubt start calling as Christmas nears. Be sure they are they genuine before opening the door. I have also been informed of detached garages being targeted again in Meads. In both cases the garage doors were NOT properly locked which meant that each could be opened with little difficulty. In this case the intruder was spotted by an alert resident who called 999. He was talking to the police rapid response officers on a mobile phone while pursuing the culprit who eventually made off on a bicycle. Remember to CHECK that your garage door(s) is secure when locked. I have heard of two separate cases of a man hanging around and seemingly focused on watching movements around and into and out of a shop in one case and a service station in the other. If you see anything that seems suspicious call the Police on 101 (the new national number) and report it. It may mean much more to them than you think, in the wider context of the collective information they have. Arrests could follow. ********************************************** Sussex Federation Neighbourhood Watch Criminals are on the web lurking to scam shoppers this Christmas With the UK's busiest online shopping day 'Mega Monday' (6th December) fast approaching , we are joining others in ringing-out the bells about the growing threat of online fraudsters. With over half the UK adult population now shopping online, forecasters predict pre-Christmas web sales will peak at £23.2m between 12-1pm on 'Mega Monday' . Police analysts advise this frenetic activity also raises the risk of buyers losing money to criminals. Shoppers should be aware that behind some flashy websites, canny criminals are looking to cash-in on the December online spree. Anonymous fraudsters can set up legitimate-looking websites to sell either counterfeit goods or no goods at all. According to figures compiled by the NFA's Action Fraud and the City of London Police's National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB), there has been a 15 per cent increase in reports of online shopping and auction fraud since July . The organisations are also warning people to take extra care when purchasing popular Christmas gifts online. Previous reports to Action Fraud and other agencies, suggest the following products are the top five to feature in online shopping and auction fraud: 1. Smart Phones 2. Digital Cameras 3. Designer goods including jewellery and branded boots 4. Laptops and notebooks 5. Video game systems. ******************************************** Sussex Police goes live with 101, the new national non-emergency number On the 1 November police forces throughout England and Wales will all switch from their various non emergency contact numbers to 101. Sussex Police have been preparing for months for the switch over and have been live testing the 101 number since July in order to monitor how well the technology works. Chief Superintendent Wayne Jones, Head of Sussex Police Communications Department said: "We are really pleased that Sussex Police was one of four forces asked to live test the new number. It has enabled us to address any problems and correct them in time for the national launch. "The introduction of 101 will provide a common, easily remembered and accessible number that will not only be simpler for residents of Sussex, but will also reduce confusion for visitors to the county. "As from 1 November, all of our contact details will be changed on our website as well as social media sites and will appear gradually on new printed information. However, any printed material with an expected shelf life of more than 12 months is already been produced with the new number. "Calls to the 101 non-emergency number will cost 15 pence for the entire call, no matter how long the call or what time of day it is. This applies to both landlines and mobile phones. In an emergency, callers should still dial 999, which is free. Those members of the public with impaired hearing or speech can still use the text phone -18001 101. "You can also report most non-emergency crime at no cost via our website at www.sussex.police.uk/contact-us/report-a-crime-or-incident. Online crime reporting was introduced back in January and has proven very popular with many of the public who prefer this method of contacting the police rather than phoning. "For the time being the 0845 number will continue to run in tandem with 101." When a member of the public calls 101, the system will determine the caller's location and connect them to the police force covering that area. They will hear a recorded message announcing which police force they are being connected to. If a caller is on a boundary between two or more forces, the recorded message will give them a choice of which force to be connected to. Police call handlers in the force control room for that area will then answer the calls and respond appropriately. The caller will not be put through to a large national call centre. Professor Gordon Bull from Sussex Police Authority said: "The introduction of the new non-emergency number is a real step forward and I am delighted that rather than having to remember different numbers depending on where you are in the country members of the public will be able to dial this simple and effective number to contact the police wherever they are." John Wright Chairman Sussex Federation Neighbourhood Watch. ( Mobile: 07917 385213 ( Business: 01444 247368 Email:john.w.wright@btinternet.com ********************************************** Visit : www.eastbournenp.org and follow the link to Neighbourhood Watch. Alternatively, contact your local Police Community Support Officer PCSO Dave Smith on : 07787 685811.