Category: Policing

Dear Watch Member,

We will now be providing a monthly newsletter to all those community members on OWL and across our social channels.

We hope this will give you a summary of everything we have been up to, and other local news and crime prevention tips.

Please see the attached image to view the Newsletter.  We will be posting these on OWL at the end of each month.

 

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• Newsletter October Harrow Neighbourhoods (782 KB)

If you need to reply regarding this message, tap on this email address: [email protected]

Regards,
Sophie Dunford
Communications Officer and VAWG Lead

Dear Watch Member,

We would remind residents to take care to protect their homes from burglaries as the clocks go back on Sunday 29^th October 2023.

There are some key things you can to do to keep your home secure this autumn:

• Make sure your home is secure when leaving by locking all doors and windows.
• Keep a light on if you go out especially during evening hours, or invest a plug light timer switch.
• Never leave your keys and valuables within view or reach of windows and letterboxes.
• Always lock your front door from inside – especially UPVC front doors that have handles even if you are home.
• Check your outside lighting is in good working order and replace any faulty equipment.
• Look out for your neighbours, if something doesn’t seem right, call police on 999.

 

If you need to reply regarding this message, tap on this email address: [email protected]

Regards,
Sophie Dunford
Communications Officer and VAWG Lead
Email: [email protected]

Dear Watch Member,

Autumn is here, winter is coming, the clocks will soon go back, and with it all comes increasingly longer hours of darkness.

Darkness that burglars and car thieves will use to their advantage.

And with Navratri, Diwali, Halloween and Bonfire Night celebrations over the coming weeks, it is possible there could be an increase in burglary offences.

Therefore it’s important to leave your home and its valuable contents secure whenever it’s unoccupied.

Here’s what we recommend you do before you go out:

• close and lock all your doors and windows, even if you’re only going out for a few minutes
• double-lock all doors
• make sure that any valuables are out of sight
• in the evening, shut the curtains and leave lights on
• if you’re not home by sunset, it’s advisable to use a timer device to automatically turn on lights and a radio during the dark evenings
• set your burglar alarm
• make sure the side gate is locked
• lock your shed or garage
• secure currency and jewellery inside a discreetly hidden safe anchored to the floor.

Car thieves will target keyless entry vehicles overnight when cars are on the driveway and keys are in the house.

That’s why it’s important to take the following car theft prevention measures:

• when at home keep your car key (and the spare) well away from the car.
• put the keys in a screened or signal-blocking pouch, such as a Faraday Pouch, and check if the bag or pouch is still working every few months.
• turn off wireless signals on your fob when it’s not being used.
• apply a steering-wheel lock
• install a driveway bollard
• install an Immobiliser that prevents a vehicle from starting unless the correct fob, key or activation process is used. They can be personalised so that you’re the only one who knows how to unset it via a number of dashboard controls.

For further crime prevention advice please click here.

If you need to reply regarding this message, tap on this email address: [email protected]

Regards,
Lee O’Brien
Pinner Safer Neighbourhood Team
Email: [email protected]

Dear Watch Member,

The National Fraud Intelligence Bureau has published its annual assessment covering 2022-23 and its findings include:

• Phishing emails continue to be the most common way frauds are started
• Hacking (Social media and email) is the top cyber crime type
• Online Shopping and Auction Fraud is the top fraud type, which means people are buying goods that possibly don’t exist.
• Courier Fraud reports are DOWN but losses have INCREASED by 96%.

Across London we know residents are still being conned through telephone and online frauds, and the fraudsters can be persuasive, and manipulative.

If you receive a telephone call or email to say you are entitled to compensation, or you could help with a Police situation relating to your bank account, or your broadband / energy company / phone provider is giving you money back – it’s likely to be the start of a fraud as the criminal will try to hook you with something that seems too good to be true. Any reputable company you do business with would have your postal address and would send you a letter about any money owing to you – they really wouldn’t phone, text or email you.

If you, or a family member or friend has been a victim, please report to the Metropolitan Police by ringing 101 or online via www.met.police.uk/ro/report/fo/v1/fraud/.

Please forward any suspicious texts to Action Fraud at 7726 (spells SPAM on your keypad). Please report scams and attempted scams to Action Fraud.

Please visit www.met.police.uk/advice/advice-and-information/fa/fraud/personal-fraud/ for information about how you can stay one step ahead of the scammers.

If you need to reply regarding this message, tap on this email address: [email protected]

Regards,
Lee O’Brien
Pinner Safer Neighbourhood Team

Dear Watch Member,

The National Trading Standards (NTS) Scams Team has secured funding to provide a limited number of free* call blocking units to help protect people in receipt of scam and nuisance phone calls on their landline phone.

You can apply on behalf of someone else with their consent, or you can apply for yourself.

What Is A Call Blocker?

The call blocking units available are trueCall Secure+. A call blocker is a unit that filters unwanted scam and nuisance phone calls from a landline phone (this unit does not work with mobile phones).

In previous call blocker projects run by the NTS Scams Team, these units have blocked 91% of scam and nuisance calls.

The unit plugs into an existing landline phone and phone line, it can work alongside broadband and/or lifeline/pendant devices that are already installed.

You can find out more about call blocking units, how they work and watch some short animations on how the unit works here.

For further information, please click on the below link:

www.friendsagainstscams.org.uk/callblocker

Please note there are a very limited number of units available, which will be allocated on a first come first served basis.

If you need to reply regarding this message, tap on this email address: [email protected]

Regards,
Lee O’Brien
Pinner Safer Neighbourhood Team
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 020 8721 2775

Dear Watch Member,

Our next Cuppa with a Copper contact point will be held on Wednesday 16th August at Cafe Amici.

You can have an informal discussion with a local officer regarding any concerns you have about anti-social behaviour and criminal activity in Pinner.

We will have plenty of crime prevention advice to give you, and maybe even some freebies too.

So come and join us, and support a local independent business at the same time.

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Documents accompanying this message are linked below. Click to download and open a file which use the popular PDF format. If you experience problems downloading or viewing a file please visit this help page.

• Cuppa with a Copper – Cafe Amici (661 KB)

If you need to reply regarding this message, tap on this email address: [email protected]

Regards,
Lee O’Brien
Pinner Safer Neighbourhood Team
Email: [email protected]

Dear Watch Member,

Action Fraud, the national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime, has published new data showing that in the last financial year, it received 6,457 reports of holiday fraud, amounting to over £15m lost.

Victims reported losing a total of £15,319,057, a 41 per cent increase on last year’s results, which amounts to an average loss of £2,372 per victim. From May – August alone, more than £4.6m was lost.  Their news story can be found at:

Don’t get burnt before you’re on the beach: Action Fraud reports over £15m lost to holiday fraud in the past year | Action Fraud

With the summer months seeing the highest levels for holiday fraud reports, Action Fraud has launched a national awareness campaign to urge the public to think twice before booking a holiday, so consumers don’t get burnt before they are on the beach.

Interestingly, people in their 20s and 40s who reported losses accounted for 44 per cent of all reports, further dispelling the myth that only older people are targeted by fraudsters.

Holiday fraud encompasses many different tactics employed by criminals to dupe unsuspecting members of the public. The most frequent frauds are clone comparison websites, airline websites and holiday websites.

An emerging trend is fraudsters using counterfeit Air Travel Organisers’ Licensing (ATOL) protect numbers on their fake webpage. All credible and trusted companies are provided with a number that shows the company has passed the regulatory checks by ATOL, with this number being unique to the website. Recently, fake websites have used duplicate or fabricated numbers which have been edited onto an ATOL logo.

ATOL recommends double checking all numbers on websites and with travel operators before handing over any money. If you do pay, use a credit card as this can offer greater protection should you lose your money.

If you need to reply regarding this message, tap on this email address: [email protected]

Regards,
Lee O’Brien
Pinner Safer Neighbourhood Team
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 020 8721 2775

The next Cuppa with a Copper will be at Cafe Amici on Wednesday 10 May btween 2pm and 3pm.

It’s your chance to come and talk about policing issues that you might be concerned about.

Dear Watch Member,

To paraphrase Michael Caine, “Not a lot of people might know this”, but this week is National Gardening Week. Which seems an appropriate time for me to remind you of how important it is to secure the outside of your property this summer.

Doing so not only keeps your valuables safe in your shed and garage, but is often the first line of defence against burglars trying to enter your home via rear access points.

Keep them out with the following tips:

• At the front of your house, hedges and walls should be kept low to increase natural surveillance and give burglars nowhere to hide;
• Side and rear hedges, walls and fences should be higher and topped with trellis, thorny plants or other suitable anti-climb topping;
• Ensure side gates are locked at all times; open gates are an open invitation for burglars to easily access the rear of your home;
• Keep power tools and bicycles inside a locked and secured shed.

If you are green-fingered, planting particular shrubs along walls and fences can create a natural defence against burglars and make it harder for them to access your property or even deter them completely.

View the attached document for ideas of what to plant. For further burglary prevention advice, please click here.

Download Associated Documents
Documents accompanying this message are linked below. Click to download and open a file which use the popular PDF format. If you experience problems downloading or viewing a file please visit this help page.

• Create a Natural Defence Against Burglary (240 KB)

If you need to reply regarding this message, tap on this email address: [email protected]

Regards,
Lee O’Brien
Pinner Safer Neighbourhood Team
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 020 8721 2775