Warning

Rogue Traders are currently cold calling on the telephone and at the doorstep in the Andover, Havant and surrounding areas of Hampshire offering to supply unsuitable mobility goods, stair lifts, adapted showers and beds at vastly inflated prices. In some cases customers have been left with the impression that the trader is from Social Services at Hampshire County Council which is certainly not the case.

Trading Standards would advise consumers never to agree to work that is instigated as a result of a cold call. Consumers should obtain at least 3 written quotes from reputable businesses or traders who belong to a recognised trade association, such as the Hampshire County Council Buy With Confidence Scheme. Details of this scheme can be obtained by telephoning 01962 833620, via email at buy.with.confidence@hants.gov.uk or via the website www.buywithconfidence.gov.uk

Traders who agree work at the home of an individual or at a place other than their usual business premises are required by law to provide consumers with a Notice of Right to Cancel, which gives consumers a 7 day cooling off period. Work should not commence until this period has ended, unless written agreement is first obtained from that consumer beforehand.

If anyone has any information about traders who are cold calling or requires any advice on doorstep crime they can contact Hampshire County Council's
Quick Response Team on 01962 833666 (Monday – Friday 0900hrs to 1700hrs)
where specially trained officers are on hand to provide assistance.
If urgent assistance is required outside of these hours please contact Hampshire Police on 0845 045 4545.

Dear All,

It has come to my attention that there is a company purporting to be working 'for' or 'with' Microsoft who are calling residents in different areas around the County, telling homeowners that they have a virus or problem with their computer and they are ringing to fix it.

They use various different guises and on the phonecall that I personally received they said that I had completed a form during a survey to say I had problems with my computer and that they were doing a follow up call - I FILLED OUT NO SUCH FORM, COMPLETED NO SUCH SURVEY. I told the man on the end of the line that he had obviously bought my telephone number from some unscrupulous company, told him not to call me again and that I would be reporting him to the Police and to Trading Standards, strangely enough he hung up after that! I would not advise anyone getting into full conversations with these callers as I did unless you are happy to do so, simply say no thanks and hang up.

These callers can be convincing so do not enage in conversation and do not automatically believe that your partner or a member of your household has called them and forgotten to tell you.

My advice to all residents if they receive this type of call is the following:

DO NOT give personal details to anyone over the phone
DO NOT give any computer information to these callers
DO NOT make any payment to these callers
DO NOT be afraid to hang up the phone

As an aside - If you feel there is a problem with your computer or IT equipment - always check with your household to see if a) they have already dealt with it, b) ensure that you use a reputable company to sort any problems out, c) check different reputable companies on pricing to see how much it will cost you to have any real problems fixed.

Regards

Sue Gibson
Force Neighbourhood Watch Co-ordinator
Partnerships & Neighbourhoods
Public Services
Hampshire Constabulary
0845 0454545
CRIMESTOPPERS: 0800 555111

For information on The Hampshire Neighbourhood Watch Association please visit their website on: www.hantsnwa.org.uk or visit the Hampshire Neighbourhood Watch Association FACEBOOK page

Summary

August has been a relatively quite month and unusually for the summer holidays Odiham has not experienced much in the way of juvenile nuisance.
Over the last month there have been a1 break in to a shed, where a number of tools were taken valuing around £400. There was also an attempt break to a yard at Rye Common however it does not appear that anything was taken.
There was a break in to premises in Tinley Gardens, entry was gained via a window and various electrical items where taken – please be sure to keep valuables out of sight when not in use.

A white Ford Transit van was stolen from outside Odiham, nothing was seen or heard and the vehicle is yet to be recovered.

Please be aware of anything or anyone suspicious, and ring it in as soon as you can. The sooner Police receive the information the more likely we can catch the offenders.

Within this area and surrounding areas there have been a number of thefts of motor bikes and cars following a particular MO. The aggrieved advertises the vehicle for sale, when the potential buyer comes to look he asks for a test drive/ride, he then makes off on/in the vehicle. This month Odiham has suffered from 2 of these type of offences. One of the stolen bikes was recovered in the Hook area. Please be aware of this if you are or you know anyone who is planning on selling there vehicle. If a test drive/ride is requested make sure you get something from the buyer such as the payment in advance in order to prevent them leaving. Please warn people you know in the area of this MO – there have been similar offences happening across North East Hampshire.

With rural breaks occurring in the area people are advised to keep valuables secure, if you own a horse and would like your tack marked you can email
hart.rural.snt@hampshire.pnn.police.co.uk and a time/date will be arranged for an Equine
Liaison Officer to attend and carry out this process for you. More details about this can be found on our Website.

Farm watch has also been a massive success and continues to go from strength to strength, if you wish to find out more please speak to one of us or email hart.rural.snt@hampshire.pnn.police.co.uk and mark FAO of PC Mick AMES who runs the local Farm Watch and Country Watch.

Crondall and Surrounding areas

I have expected to see a rise in Poaching this month; along with associated damage and theft. Although there have been several reports of poaching this is less than expected. PC Bolan and I have been conducting late night patrols in hotspot areas as part of Operation Thornley throughout the month. Local farmers/gamekeepers have been communicating effectively with police by updating us with times that they intend to poach legally on their land which is very much appreciated. This can save time and resources when assessing reports of suspicious activity.

I have had several burglaries throughout my patch in varying areas. Items that have been stolen are: a TV, a pedal cycle and scrap metal. Again a lower number than expected for this time of year.

I have had several reports of off-road motor bikers using fields in the Ewshot area, particularly between Naishes Lane and Ewshot Lane. I haven't bumped into the motor bikers yet but I am keen to offer them words of advice regarding their recreational activity whilst trespassing. Off-road biking is not a regular concern in my area, however I am aware that bikers may use different areas to enjoy new routes and avoid police attention. Often bikers are not sure what areas they can use; please encourage them to contact me to discuss any suitable locations, and let me know if there are any developing issues in your area.

PC Derek Morrow

Crime Prevention Advice

Please follow these simple steps below to make your home more secure.

1)Do not leave keys in view of doors or windows
2)Do not leave keys in the hallway near to the door
3)Lock the front door with the key and use extra bolts
4)Consider an alarm that fits on the letter box (known as glass minders), it will alert you if the letter box is opened – thieves may use tools to reach through and remove keys to open the door!
5)Close and lock all windows and doors if you are leaving the house
6)Do not leave the front of house open if you are at the rear of the house

Please follow these simple steps to avoid becoming a victim of Vehicle crime.

1)Don’t leave anything in your car – if it’s not there then it can’t be stolen! Thieves aren’t picky, they will often steal and item and look to see what it is later.
2)Always secure your car, lock it and do up the windows even if you are posting a letter or going into the petrol station
3)Choose a stereo that can be removed and make sure you take it with you! You should also mark it with your registration number and postcode in case it’s stolen.
4)Don’t leave you house keys, or anything with your address on it in your car, thieves could use this to get into your house.

Please follow these simple steps to help keep your neighbourhood safe.

1)Report any Anti-Social behaviour to Police even if you feel it to be quite minor – this helps Police to build a picture of problems in the area and so be able to try to deal with it.
2)Please report any suspicious vehicles in your area – often criminals will drive round an area prior to committing a crime.
3)Please report any door to door salesmen or people who come to your address who you feel are suspicious, give as much detail as possible incl. car details.

Please remain vigilant and keep your eye out for anything out of the ordinary.

Usually your gut instinct is right – if it looks out of place or suspicious there’s usually a reason for it

Community Meetings

We are still finishing off the refurbishments to Odiham Police Station I will keep you updated as to when it will be re opening, please call 08450454545 should you wish to report any crimes or speak to one of the local beat team when you see them out patrolling.

Don’t forget you can find us on the Hampshire Constabulary Web site by going to the Safer Neighbourhood link.

www.hampshire.police.uk

This month has again fortunately been Burglary free, which is excellent news. However with this comes an increase in rural thefts and attempt thefts. 3 tractors were tampered with in an attempt to start them, this was unsuccessful though. Around the same time a digger was stolen from a building site, no persons were seen and due to the remote location nothing was heard. The digger was loaded onto a trailer on the same site and both were then stolen.

Again there was a theft of scrap metal from a premises, this was left outside, if you have any scrap metal on your properties please secure it and keep it well out of site. For those of you who do have lead flashing on their buildings please bear in mind anyone who seems to be paying attention to it, and if they are with a vehicle try to get the registration details to pass to Police.

An attempt to steal a car was made in Winchfield whilst the owner was fishing.

Odiham appears dare I say it to have had a quite month compared to some areas, however, I would urge people to remain vigilant. Plant and Scrap metal seem to be the main targets for the criminals, but as we know they tend to be opportunistic, let’s not give them the opportunity to commit crime in our area.

If you see any vehicles driving around fields and are unsure whether they should be there please call Police and Quote that you may have seen a possible OP THORNLEY incident, this will ensure the correct response.

With rural breaks occurring in the area people are advised to keep valuables secure, if you own a horse and would like your tack marked you can email
hart.rural.snt@hampshire.pnn.police.co.uk and a time/date will be arranged for an Equine Liaison Officer to attend and carry out this process for you. More details about this can be found on our Website

Farm watch has also been a massive success and continues to go from strength to strength, if you wish to find out more please speak to one of us or email hart.rural.snt@hampshire.pnn.police.co.uk and mark FAO of PC Mick AMES who runs the local Farm Watch and Country Watch.

Crondall And Surrounding Areas

August has shown a continuation from last month in regards to rural burglaries and thefts, though the number of incidents remains relatively low. There was a considerable non-dwelling burglary at the start of the month outside Crondall resulting in generators and a trailer stolen. There was a large amount of damage to the barn; offenders were seen to make off in a Silver Peugeot 406 and a Land Rover.

In the last week two motorbikes have been stolen from a dwelling on Pankridge Street in Crondall. The motorbikes can be described as scramblers, one green and one yellow. Helmets were also stolen at the time.

Anti-social behaviour in Crondall has remained low however there are still reports of occasional rowdy behaviour and shouting during the late hours. At the end of the month there has been an incident at the Ewshot Village Hall whereby damage has been caused to the notice board and roof gutters. It is believed that a group of youths were involved - if anyone has any information please contact me.

There have been many reports of suspicious vehicles and persons in the area which is good as it shows that local residents are looking out for each other. Please continue to report any suspicious activity.

Throughout August I have spent more time conducting patrols throughout the rural area with my SNT colleagues. I have patrolled with PC Vicky Bolan and PS Stacey Beale, along with PC Mike Spencer (Dog unit) and the RAF Police in order to proactively stop rural trespassers and potential criminals. We will continue to conduct these patrols in the locality. Please contact us if you feel that there are areas near you that could benefit from an increased police presence.

Crime Prevention Advice

Please follow these simple steps below to make your home more secure.

1) Do not leave keys in view of doors or windows
2) Do not leave keys in the hallway near to the door
3) Lock the front door with the key and use extra bolts
4) Consider an alarm that fits on the letter box (known as glass minders), it will alert you if the letter box is opened – thieves may use tools to reach through and remove keys to open the door!
5) Close and lock all windows and doors if you are leaving the house
6) Do not leave the front of house open if you are at the rear of the house

Please follow these simple steps to avoid becoming a victim of Vehicle crime.

1) Don’t leave anything in your car – if it’s not there then it can’t be stolen! Thieves aren’t picky, they will often steal and item and look to see what it is later.
2) Always secure your car, lock it and do up the windows even if you are posting a letter or going into the petrol station
3) Choose a stereo that can be removed and make sure you take it with you! You should also mark it with your registration number and postcode in case it’s stolen.
4) Don’t leave you house keys, or anything with your address on it in your car, thieves could use this to get into your house.

Please follow these simple steps to help keep your neighbourhood safe.

1) Report any Anti-Social behaviour to Police even if you feel it to be quite minor – this helps Police to build a picture of problems in the area and so be able to try to deal with it.
2) Please report any suspicious vehicles in your area – often criminals will drive round an area prior to committing a crime.
3) Please report any door to door salesmen or people who come to your address who you feel are suspicious, give as much detail as possible incl. car details.

Please remain vigilant and keep your eye out for anything out of the ordinary.

Usually your gut instinct is right – if it looks out of place or suspicious there’s usually a reason for it

Community Meetings

The police station at ODIHAM is of course still open weekdays from four until five. We have ourselves and volunteer support and we are able to offer help and advice (plus a wide range of leaflets and booklets)! Odiham is unusual in still having a police office in the centre of the community – please do visit us and keep it living !

Don’t forget you can find us on the Hampshire Constabulary Web site by going to the Safer Neighbourhood link. www.hampshire.police.uk

Odiham Beat

PC 24332 Victoria BOLAN
victoria.bolan@hampshire.pnn.police.uk
SC 9041 TUNSTELL
PCSO 13240 WALLACE
elizabeth.wallace@hampshire.pnn.police.uk

THE BRIDEWELL, THE BURY, ODIHAM
0845 045 4545
Fax 01256 405163

Crondall Beat

PC 22209 Derek MORROW
derek.morrow@hampshire.pnn.police.uk

Nhw Co-ord Odiham, NW and RAF Odiham.
Sally Tunstell
Sally.tunstell@btinternet.com

The next Graffiti Busting Week is due to take place from 20th - 24th September 2010.

Graffiti Busting Week is held once a year and during the week graffiti is removed across the whole district. The Community Safety Team only removes graffiti during this week as removal is not usually the responsibility of the council. Graffiti Busting Week was set up to help combat issues with graffiti on private property, which can encourage ASB and heightens the fear of crime.
To report graffiti, please click here.

During the Saturday of the Odiham Fire Show, the 7th August, an electric scooter, often called a "go-ped", was taken from a trade stand. Whilst a similar shape to a child's scooter, this example has a small electric motor to propel the rider along, and a bicycle style saddle. The missing scooter is mainly yellow with some flame decals front and rear. The motor requires charging via a separate charger, which was not taken with the scooter, so the vehicle may well be useless and end up being abandoned somewhere. I would be grateful for any information that would help me to locate the vehicle and restore it to it's rightful owner. Iain TUNSTELL Odiham Beat Special Constable If you know anything then please email the Odiham Neighbourhood Watch - click here to send a message.

Dear All

In June of this year, Thames Valley Police raided a second hand shop reasonable close to the Hampshire border, and recovered a large amount of property, believed to be stolen. Some of the second hand items include garden equipment such as lawn mowers, strimmers, hedgecutters and tools. A number of victims of non-dwelling burglaries and thefts from vehicles found their stolen items listed on eBay being sold by the shop.

The attached document lists items still to be identified, which has been edited to remove some identifying marks. Although there are approx 500 items, it is worth scanning through to see if you think any of the items could be identified by you. Apologies for the quality of the description of some of the entries - it's not my work, and has purely been copied from the list provided!

The Thames Valley officer dealing with this matter will be holding an 'open day' in due course, for victims of crime to look at the property to see if they can identify it. In the meantime, please contact me in the first instance, and I will advise if there is any more information against the item in question, to positively match it against any reported stolen property. Before items are returned, we will need supporting documentation to confirm ownership. For example, I have kept IMEI numbers of mobile phones on the list, which can then be checked against any remaining paperwork a victim may have.

Please e-mail me your contact details, and full details of your stolen items (including the police reference number when you made your report, if available). I will then contact you if we believe there may be a chance the item is yours, with further information about what to do next.

Please feel free to forward to anyone who you know has been a victim of crime where such items have been stolen.

Andy

PC Andy Reid

andrew.reid@hampshire.pnn.police.uk

It has come to the attention of Hampshire Trading Standards Service that a security company are currently telephoning residents offering to come out and survey properties for security purposes, i.e. burglar and smoke alarms.

It has been suggested that this company use high pressure sales and may offer the equipment for £1 but only if customers sign up to a costly monitoring agreement.

Please be on your guard about these types of cold callers either over the telephone or on your doorstep. If you have already arranged for a visit by a salesman and/or require any assistance concerning this or similar cold calling matters please do not hesitate to contact our Quick Response Team on 01962 833666

Hampshire Trading Standards Service operates an approved trader scheme called Buy With Confidence which includes security companies. Information about this scheme is available online at www.buywithconfidence.gov.uk or by telephoning Consumer Direct on 08454 04 05 06.

Over the last month we have seen an increase in Poaching activity in the rural areas, this is a hard offence for us to police due to the area covered and vehicles used. I would ask that any persons please call in any suspicious vehicles they see, particularly during the hours of darkness, and if they are acting suspiciously near any fields etc.

In the Odiham area we have only had 1 Non Dwelling break reported, this appears to be linked to a Dwelling break in the Derbyfields area of North Warnborough, it would appear that 2 males were trying to gain access to a house by putting a tool through the cat flap, it is believed from previous convictions of the males that they were actually after the car on the driveway. The males were disturbed when the home owner heard the noise and they ran off. Police attended with Dog Support Units and tracked the offenders who it would appear tried to hide in the garage of the address where the non dwelling break was reported, the males then ran again when they heard the dog unit approaching however were apprehended soon after near the M3, which was an excellent result.

Unfortunately Mayhill School has again suffered at the hands of vandals, on 2 separate occasions they have had windows broken, this is mindless vandalism. If you live near this area of Odiham or find yourself walking through here please keep your eye out for any persons acting suspiciously and call Police immediately, although we caught the persons responsible for the damage in November, it would appear others have decided to follow this example and we would be very keen to bring them to justice.

Again there have been a couple of incidents of Criminal damage/Theft from motor vehicles in North Warnborough with some people being repeat victims of this crime.

With regards to rural crimes there have been 2 Thefts, from the Roke area, of wood and fencing, again if anyone sees anything suspicious please call it in. On a positive note 2 males were brought to justice after being found in possession of some digger buckets that had been stolen from Bowsaw Lakes.

Dogmersfield and Winchfield remain a very quiet and peaceful area with only a handful of suspicious incidents called in and no crimes of note. The was a attempt Non Dwelling break in Dogmersfield on Chalky Lane, however offenders were disturbed and made off in a vehicle before Police arrived. There was also a property in Winchfield which suffered with a break to a shed and some gardening equipment was taken. It would appear on both these occasions that properties had been checked out by the offenders prior to the breaks actually taking place. If you see anyone looking at properties or have any persons knock on your door which seem suspicious asking for directions etc please get as much details as possible and call it in, it could be they are researching the property for future criminal activity.

Thanks to a member of the public calling in a stolen car was recovered from Angel Meadows, this was a good spot by that person who thought it was odd due to it having been parked in the same place for so long.

We now have a new Beat Officer covering the Crondall area, including villages surrounding Odiham and N.Warnborough. And so we welcome PC Derek MORROW his details are at the top of the page should you wish to contact him.

With rural breaks occurring in the area people are advised to keep valuables secure, if you own a horse and would like your tack marked PC BEALE is holding a tack marking day on Saturday 3rd April between 1 and 3 pm, at Hook Police Station, or you can email
hart.rural.snt@hampshire.pnn.police.co.uk and a time/date will be arranged for an Equine Liaison Officer to attend and carry out this process for you. More details about this can be found on our Website.

Farm watch has also been a massive success and continues to go from strength to strength, if you wish to find out more please speak to one of us or email hart.rural.snt@hampshire.pnn.police.co.uk and mark FAO of PC Mick AMES who runs the local Farm Watch and Country Watch.

From PC MORROW

The last few weeks have seen a couple of non dwelling breaks in the Crondall area, which is an improvement from the beginning of the year. However there is still an issue with criminal damage, with vehicles particularly being targeted.

Rural areas as per PC BOLAN’S updates have also been the victim of Theft from and Theft of motor vehicles, again patrols will be increased to try to reduce this problem.

Crime Prevention Advice

Please follow these simple steps below to make your home more secure.

1) Do not leave keys in view of doors or windows
2) Do not leave keys in the hallway near to the door
3) Lock the front door with the key and use extra bolts
4) Consider an alarm that fits on the letter box (known as glass minders), it will alert you if the letter box is opened – thieves may use tools to reach through and remove keys to open the door!
5) Close and lock all windows and doors if you are leaving the house
6) Do not leave the front of house open if you are at the rear of the house

Please follow these simple steps to avoid becoming a victim of Vehicle crime.

1) Don’t leave anything in your car – if it’s not there then it can’t be stolen! Thieves aren’t picky, they will often steal and item and look to see what it is later.
2) Always secure your car, lock it and do up the windows even if you are posting a letter or going into the petrol station
3) Choose a stereo that can be removed and make sure you take it with you! You should also mark it with your registration number and postcode in case it’s stolen.
4) Don’t leave you house keys, or anything with your address on it in your car, thieves could use this to get into your house.

Please follow these simple steps to help keep your neighbourhood safe.

1) Report any Anti-Social behaviour to Police even if you feel it to be quite minor – this helps Police to build a picture of problems in the area and so be able to try to deal with it.
2) Please report any suspicious vehicles in your area – often criminals will drive round an area prior to committing a crime.
3) Please report any door to door salesmen or people who come to your address who you feel are suspicious, give as much detail as possible incl. car details.

Please remain vigilant and keep your eye out for anything out of the ordinary.

Usually your gut instinct is right – if it looks out of place or suspicious there’s usually a reason for it

Community Meetings

The police station at ODIHAM is of course still open weekdays from four until five. We have ourselves and volunteer support and we are able to offer help and advice (plus a wide range of leaflets and booklets) ! Odiham is unusual in still having a police office in the centre of the community – please do visit us and keep it living !

Don’t forget you can find us on the Hampshire Constabulary Web site by going to the Safer Neighbourhood link www.hampshire.police.uk

Contacts

Odiham Beat Including:- North Warnborough, Dogmersfield, RAF Odiham

PC 24332 Victoria BOLAN victoria.bolan@hampshire.pnn.police.uk

SC 9041 TUNSTELL

PCSO 13240 WALLACE
elizabeth.wallace@hampshire.pnn.police.uk

THE BRIDEWELL, THE BURY, ODIHAM
0845 045 4545 Fax 01256 405163

Crondall Beat Including:- Crookham Village, Ewshot,
South Warnborough, Long Sutton & Well, Greywell
PC 22209 Derek MORROW
derek.morrow@hampshire.pnn.police.uk

Sally Tunstell
NHW Area Coordinator
Sally.tunstell@btinternet.com