The darker nights enable criminals to identify if a house is occupied. If your house is not going to be occupied remember to get some automatic timers for a lamp or two. An occupied house will have the curtains drawn and lights on by between 5 and 7pm. Darker nights can also mean that someone can walk around your house without being seen, and there are less people walking around to notice anything suspicious happening.
We were recently notified of some burglaries along Faversham Road and I am pleased to say that the culprits have since been apprehended.
The Eyes Have It
Country Eye Ltd has launched a free iPhone ’app’ for people living and working in the rural community. The app allows users to record and share information on crime, suspicious behaviour and damage in their home community or whilst out and about. The Crime Rural Advisory Group (CRAG) has commissioned the design and build of the Country Eye app to help combat rural crime, the cost of which in Kent stands at £1.8 million.
The app has been built to help residents and farmers in Kent report information quickly and efficiently. This information is securely stored in a central database and accessed by the voluntary Country Eye team who are fully trained by Kent Police. The team analyse and disseminate the information and then broadcast it out to other local app users. The app has been supported by Kent Police, The Police & Crime Commissioner, Safer Kent, National Farmers Union and BTF Partnership. Signing up for the app is simple – the system requires a contact number, email address and postcode. It records and disseminates information using the phone’s camera and GPS location settings. The app can be downloaded from the Apple App Store and Google Play by searching Country Eye.
No Hiding in Patent Place
Householders have been urged to hide their valuables in unusual places after a scientific study revealed how experienced burglars choose predictable routes when raiding homes. Recent research found that career crooks targeted high-value areas, such as bedrooms, studies and living rooms, but were suspicious of unusual rooms and rarely entered bathrooms. The University of Portsmouth ran the study on the methods used by burglars and non-burglars after seeing their actions first-hand during mock burglaries. In the tests, all the experienced burglars entered houses by the back door, while the novices went through the front door. All the burglars navigated the house in a systematic way, with half heading straight for bedrooms and avoiding bathrooms. Serial burglars and novices took a similar number of goods, but the burglars’ hauls were worth about £1,000 more and included designer handbags, wallets, cash, phones and leather jackets, most of which had been ignored by novices. The burglars were much more efficient, systematic and persistent than the novices. Through deliberate practice and repeated exposure to the layout of houses, burglars automatically recognise the high-value areas. The study has provided important information to aid crime prevention and will assist development of simulations to safely observe offending behaviour, which can be used with large populations of convicted offenders to try out various crime prevention techniques that might be capable of stop them in their tracks and shocking them out of tried and tested habits. This, it is hoped, will increase their anxiety and the likelihood of the crime being abandoned.
Clean Sweep Alert
Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) is launching a new free, email alert system to help keep you, your home and business safe from chimney fires. Between 2010 and 2014, KFRS tackled almost 1,350 chimney fires around the county – including 123 in the Canterbury district. From KFRS research carried out earlier this summer, one in three people who responded to a KFRS online survey said that they hadn’t had their chimney swept in over a year, if at all. Head of Community Safety, Lee Rose, said: “Chimneys can turn into blazing furnaces when they catch fire, causing thousands of pounds worth of damage and putting your home, family and business at risk. “We’re launching the clean sweep alert – it’s safe and easy-to-use and you can sign up in seconds. It will send you a message to remind you to get your chimney cleaned and inspected if you haven’t already had it done. That way you can make sure it’s free from debris and in good working order before you light a fire when the weather cools down. This will help to prevent fires and structural damage to your property.” If you have a chimney, open fire, wood burner, Aga or other ‘real flame’ appliance, it’s vital that you ensure it is properly installed and serviced by competent engineers, so you can safely curl up next to a warm, cosy fire throughout the colder winter months. Lee added: “The risk of carbon monoxide poisoning can occur at any time, in any home or enclosed space. Blocked flues and chimneys can prevent carbon monoxide escaping, allowing it to reach dangerous levels. Make sure you don’t get caught out by this silent killer. Proper care and maintenance will allow you to enjoy the benefits of using your fireplace safely and, as it will run more efficiently, it could save you money too! Don’t take chances with safety, sign up for the free clean sweep alert and get your chimney and flues inspected and swept annually. Follow our common sense chimney fire safety advice and keep your home and business fires burning safely this winter.” To sign up for the clean sweep alert visit www.kent.fire-uk.org/cleansweepalert
No Tricks – Just A Treat
With October fast approaching some parents will probably already have started preparing the face paint and costumes for this year’s Trick Or Treat season. No doubt their children will enjoy the prospect of dressing up, not to mention the anticipated rewards that might await them on some doorsteps, but there are many elderly and vulnerable residents who don’t share their enthusiasm for that particular aspect of Halloween. In fact they dread it and would rather not have the attention thrust upon them, or their door bells! For them we have a treat – our own NHW window poster that can be downloaded, printed off and used politely to advise would-be revellers that they are welcome to have their fun – but somewhere else. To get your copy of the poster please visit the NHW website at www.ucanpreventcrime.co.uk/NHW/index.html and click on the Halloween poster link in the ‘Useful Links’ section. Please share this with, or print the poster for, any elderly, nervous or vulnerable neighbours in your scheme.
Action Fraud
Fraudsters are targeting online advertising platforms where items are acquired for free. The fraudsters will list items on the website and advise any purchasers that they have recently moved from the area they were originally living in and can arrange a courier to dispatch the items for a fee.
The payment requested for this service is usually via Money Transfer such as MoneyGram or Western Union, or an e-money voucher. The items they were promised are not received and any attempts to contact the individual to gain a refund are unsuccessful.
Protect Yourself:
- Stay within the auction guidelines stipulated on the website.
- Ask to view the item in person.
- Be cautions of making advance payments to a stranger via Money Transfer or e-money products.
- If the item advertised seems too good to be true, it probably is.
If you believe that you have been a victim of fraud you can report it online http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/report_fraud
or by telephone 0300 123 2040.
