NORTH SHROPSHIRE NEIGHBOURHOOD
& FARM WATCH ASSOCIATION
DIFFERENT WAYS TO CONTACT THE POLICE
a presentation given by the Secretary based in part upon
information provided by Mandy Laight, Assistant Force Contact Manager for West Mercia Police.
There are three main ways of contacting the Police – which route is chosen depends on the urgency, type of message and who you need to contact.
Dial 999.This number should be used to report serious crime in progress such as a serious road accident, anti-social behaviour especially street violence actually taking place or a burglary in progress. It should not be used to pass on routine information or to report minor crime that has already occurred.
Dial 0800 555 111. This is the Crimestoppers telephone number and can be used to provide information about crime and criminal activity anonymously. For example it is a means of passing information to the Police concerning crime that you have witnessed or have suspicions about but without your name being used. It should not be used to report crime about which you expect a Police response directly back to you.
Dial 0300 333 3000. This number can be used for a variety of purposes and is the one most likely to be used by Co-ordinators and members:
To contact or leave a message for a particular Police Officer/CSO. Leaving messages on voicemail, especially if it is urgent, is less reliable as the message may not be received by the Officer for some time if it coincides with days off or annual leave. It is much safer to leave a message for the Local Policing Team who will aim to respond within 24 hours.
To speak to the front desk clerk at a particular Police Station.
To report less serious crime.
To provide information about criminal activity or suspected criminal activity.
To seek advice, for example from specialist Officers about home security or advice about how to deal with a particular situation that has arisen.
The West Mercia Force Contact service – call taking on 0300 333 3000.
Some facts about 2008:
999 calls – some 150,000 were made. This equates to over 400 per day or 1 every 4 minutes.
0300 333 3000 – some 1,500,000 calls were made. This equates to over 4000 per day or 3 calls every minute.
About one third of these calls require the production of an incident log, about one every minute, each of which has to be handled by a Police Officer.
Of course, calls do not come evenly spread throughout the day but tend to occur in peaks and troughs. To cope with this a sophisticated system is needed. Three call centres have been established to handle this volume of calls; one serves the northern part of the Force area and is based in Shrewsbury; a second serves the southern part of the area and is based in Worcester. The third centre is at Police Headquarters at Hindlip Hall and comes into action at busy times or if one of the other centres has technical problems with the computerised systems.
The call centres employ about 350 people, most of whom are trained civilian staff, consisting of switchboard staff, call takers, onwards communications staff, supervisors and Police Officers including a duty Inspector who evaluate the importance and urgency of calls received. There is an automated call distribution system which aims to route the call geographically to either Shrewsbury or Worcester to reduce waiting times. The system presents calls in order of priority to the next available operator when multiple calls are received simultaneously.
999 calls are routed directly to call takers whilst 0300 333 3000 are presented to the switchboard. The Force pledges to answer 999 calls within 10 seconds and non-emergency calls promptly. Messages and incidents are recorded on to the Command and Control system. Call takers are trained to obtain quality information about the incident, including the correct location, with a focus on both the needs of the Police and the wishes of the calling customer. This allows the calls to be graded on a 1 – 4 scale in terms of the response required:
Grade 1 – immediate response required. This is an incident where there is a risk or potential risk to life such as serious crime in progress or a traffic incident that involves serious injury or has the potential to cause dangerous or excessive traffic build up. The duty Police make an initial assessment and the communications staff deploy an appropriate mobile Police response and ensure that there has been liaison with other agencies such as the Ambulance service or Fire Brigade. The call taker should give an indication of when the response is likely to arrive. The aim is to arrive safely and as quickly as possible, generally within 15 minutes in urban areas and 20 minutes in rural areas.
Grade 2 – priority response. A Police response is required but it is not an emergency. If the caller is upset or vulnerable, or if the incident relates to a critical PACT priority, the aim is to deploy a Police presence within 60 minutes.
Grade 3 – scheduled response. This is where an agreement is made with the caller about the nature and timing of the Police response. The emphasis is on reaching a mutual agreement about the response and is often executed by the Local Policing Team, including CSOs. Appointments to visit the caller are usually within 48 hours
Grade 4 – telephone response. This is where the needs of the caller can be adequately met through telephone advice from the Local Policing Team or specialist Officers.
Once the call has been graded, decisions can be made about dispatching Officers or delegating incidents to the Local Policing Team to manage resources effectively and handle the incident.
The Police pledge to keep callers/victims informed of the progress and outcomes of their investigations although it is sometimes not possible to disclose certain types of information that might prejudice further action such as prosecution of suspected offenders. If you are reporting an incident, ensure that you obtain an incident log reference number and agree with the call taker about the nature and timing of the feedback you require. If you have been the victim of crime, you have the right to be kept informed of progress at least every month and for as long as is reasonable.
A distraction burglary is a crime where entry is gained to premises by an offender, who pretends to be a person who would normally be allowed entry to those premises, with the intention of stealing. This includes bogus officials and rogue traders. A number of identities can be used eg, Water, Gas and Electricity Board Personnel, Council Worker, Police Officers, Door-to-Door Sales and Bogus Property Repairers or Gardeners.
2.KEY PROBLEMS
(a)Over 18,000 reported offences in England and Wales, annually.
(b)Massive under-reporting due to embarrassment of victims, ignorance that an offence has been committed or perception of aggrieved as to the potential interest by the Police.
(c)Devastating impact on victims.
(d)Levels of criminality – Financial Rewards, Networking by offenders.
3.VICTIM PROFILE
Research shows that Nationally the average age of a victim is 79 years. It has been found that 70% of victims are females and 62% live alone. There are of course younger victims but in the main these are vulnerable people by virtue of mental health or physical considerations.
4.THINGS THAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT OFFENDERS
(a)Although the victim only sees one offender it is normal for distraction burglars to work in team of between 2-4 persons.
(b)The offender will rarely drive a vehicle to the scene of an intended burglary. In most cases they will use a vehicle. However, this vehicle will be parked a short distance away, probably near to a main traffic route.
(c)There will invariably be elements of preparation eg, listening at the door/window. Only one offender will talk to the intended victim whilst other offenders hide out of the way until entry is gained. In some cases earlier visits have been made to homes in varying guises of builders, tarmacers, gardeners and UPVC workers.
(d)When questioned about identity cards in depth, offenders will often make excuses and leave. However offenders have been known to produce and allow inspection of ID cards. Violence is very rare.
(e)Offenders are known to travel large distances in any one day to commit crime.
5.WHAT CAN YOU DO TO ASSIST
(a)Identify possible target victims in your area.
(b)Attempt to educate potential victims not to keep large sums of money in the home.
(c)Educate potential victims to keep premises secure whilst they are in their home.
(d)Impress upon such persons of the need to ask for identity and examining thoroughly any form of identification card before allowing access. Try to verify the callers’ identity by phoning their organisation. If in any doubt do not let them in.
(e)A door chain which is fitted and used forms a barrier and prevents the elderly from becoming quite so flustered. Encourage the fitting and use of such a chain.
(f)Pay special attention in respect of visitors to the premises of the vulnerable or elderly. Educate potential Victims not to purchase goods or services at the door.
(g)If circumstances are obviously suspicious ring 999 and request Police assistance.
(h)A neighbour enquiring at an elderly person’s house will often cause the offenders to move on. I would not advocate members of the public to have a go but just the sight of a neighbour will deter offenders.
(i)Write down details of vehicles and any description of offenders as soon as possible after any incident. Retain the paper and hand to the Police.
(j)If it becomes obvious that a crime has been committed, prevent the householder from tidying up or otherwise disturbing any forensic evidence. Well-wishers can be well meaning but they also contaminate crime scenes.
NORTH SHROPSHIRE NEIGHBOURHOOD & FARM WATCH ASSOCIATION
SHED AND OUTBUILDING SECURITY
Summary of talk given by Pc Steve Loveridge (Ellesmere Beat Manager and Crime Reduction Officer) at the Association’s meeting on 26.01.06.
Some 400 break-ins to sheds and outbuildings were reported in 2005 in North Shropshire. Nevertheless, in comparison to many other areas, North Shropshire is a very safe place to live.
Pc Loveridge made the following recommendations:
·Plant as many thorny bushes as possible around the edge of the property to deter intruders. Prune to a maximum of 1 metre in height so that intruders are not screened from view. Likewise, do not surround sheds with large bushes.
·Gravel paths deter the opportunist burglar because of the noise made when walking on them
·Keep your house well lit – not just when you are out. Use dusk to dawn sensors, automatic timers and movement sensors outside. Intruders do not like being visible.
·Keep ladders out of sight and chained and padlocked to wall, concrete floor or garage roof. Don’t leave the thief a means of access to your upstairs windows.
·Do not leave spades, forks or other tools lying about outside for the opportunist thief to use to break into your house or shed. Likewise don’t leave lawnmowers, barbeques etc outside as an invitation to the thief.
·Garden gates should be at least 6 feet high and fitted with a good padlock and hasp and staple with concealed screws
·Wheelie bins should be kept out of sight if possible – they can be used to climb over fences or gain access to windows.
·Timber panel fences should be fitted so that the horizontal timber cannot be used as a toehold for climbing up to gain entry to your property – the horizontal bar should be on your side of the fence.
·Shed security is only as strong as the thickness of the wood. When fitting locks, strengthen the shed door frame by adding timber to the inside to drive the screws into. Again, use quality padlocks, hasps and staples with concealed screws or security screws. Ensure that the door hinges are on the inside of the shed to avoid the door being removed, and that opening windows are fitted with locks.
·It is preferable to keep expensive tools inside locked, brick – built buildings, especially such items as sit-on lawnmowers (the stripes on your lawn will tell the thief that you have one). Quad bikes and sit-on lawnmowers should be chained down.
·Keep a list of valuable items stored in your garage/shed, with details such as make, model, serial number, colour etc. Take photographs of the most valuable. Use Police approved security-marking systems such as Smart Water to mark items with your postcode – this will help the Police return stolen goods to their rightful owner as well as provide evidence that the items have actually been stolen. Choose approved security products – details can be found at www.securedbydesign.co.uk. Products can also be purchased from the Association and the District Council handyman service may be able to assist with fitting.
·Inexpensive personal attack alarms that emit a loud noise can be fitted to the inside of shed doors so that when they are opened the alarm is activated. This may frighten off the intruder before anything is taken.
·Garages fitted with up and over doors are easy to break into. Fit extra security such as locking sliding bolts or locking hasp and staples that conceal the screw heads.
Precaution:
Check, and revise if necessary, your house contents insurance policy to ensure that
Your garage, shed, outbuildings are covered.
The sum assured is sufficient to cover your needs
The nature of the cover is appropriate, for example present value allowing for wear and tear or “new for old”
You have complied with any security requirements specified in the Policy, for example if you leave your shed unlocked you may not be covered.
You have read the small print
If you suffer a break- in:
·Contact the Police – always. (This may also be an insurance requirement)
·Do not disturb the crime scene in any way until the Police have collected any evidence. For example footprints may be found outside your shed, in the surrounding garden, as well as inside the building.
·Provide the Police, and your insurance company, with an inventory of goods stolen. Keep a copy for reference.
·Consider what other security measures you might be able to take to reduce the chance of the thief returning to steal the items you have replaced.
Further advice can be obtained from the Crime Reduction Officer, PC Steve Loveridge at Ellesmere Police Station or by email
