Keep your home secure as the darker nights draw in

Winter officially begins on Sunday 27 October when the clocks go back an hour; this is the perfect reason to check your house is not vulnerable to opportunist thieves.
 
Thames Valley Police is working in partnership with Community Safety Partnerships across the Thames Valley to keep you safe as the darker nights draw in.

People across the Thames Valley can pick up security advice from the Thames Valley Police website; about the importance of not leaving your house in darkness, as well as via our social media sites.

Ch Supt Tim De Meyer, head of Neighbourhood Policing & Partnerships said: “People who work full time, and usually leave and return from work in the dark, are more likely to fall victim of opportunist burglars.
“It is vital that we engage with those at risk of burglary and this year we will be encouraging people to look at our Twitter sites and website for crime prevention information.

“Officers will be patrolling neighbourhoods and burglary hot spot areas identifying houses that could benefit from improved home security and posting a postcard size leaflet through the door advising people to contact them for further crime reduction advice.
“We will also be using businesses in the area to ensure our message gets out to their staff.”
If no light is on in your home, curtains are not drawn, and no car is in the drive, it’s an obvious sign to an opportunist burglar that no-one is in. At this time of the year more than any other it pays to secure your home.
 
There are a number of simple and low-cost or free ways to do this, all of which will help reduce the chance of your home becoming the next target.

• Visit a local retailer to pick up a 24 hour segment timer for under £5. The timer can be used with a lamp, radio or TV to give the impression that someone’s home. Remember to use an energy efficient light bulb
• Register your valuables on www.immobilise.com - its free and takes just a few minutes and if your valuables are stolen, will allow you to tell the police, your insurer, and the second-hand trade to assist in recovering your property and catch the thief
• Keep valuables out of sight
• Look your doors and windows, if you have a UPVC door make sure you have double locked it

You can also follow us on Twitter @_ThamesVP (opens new window) (localise this if there is one) alternatively you can give us a ‘like’ on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/thamesvp (opens new window)

Fraud Offences

Thames Valley Police is appealing for information regarding incidents of fraud in Oxfordshire.

During the following incidents, a man pretending to be a Metropolitan Police officer from Paddington Green police station has called victims to say their personal details have been obtained by criminals.

The offender then advises the victim to hang up and call their bank, but unknown to victims the offender does not disconnect the call meaning the victim continues to speak to the offender.
Believing they are speaking to their bank, the victims then provide their bank details to the suspect.
The caller then persuades the victims to put their bank cards in an envelope, which is collected by another offender.

The first offence occurred at an address in Henley during the day on Saturday (28/9).
The victim, an 89-year-old man, gave two bank cards to an Asian man, aged about 25, of large build, approximately 5ft 8ins tall, with black hair. He was wearing a high-visibility jacket and dark trousers.

The second incident also happened during the day on Saturday (28/9) at an address in central Oxford.
No bank details or bank cards were taken from the elderly victim.

The third incident occurred at about 10pm on Monday (30/9) at an address in Summertown, Oxford.
The victim, an 86-year-old woman, had two bank cards taken. Unsuccessful attempts were later made to withdraw money with the bank cards in central Oxford.

The offender is an Asian man, about 25-years-old, of slim build. He was wearing dark clothing.

These incidents are being linked to another offence in Hambleden area, Buckinghamshire, near Henley, on 15 September.

The victim, an 89-year-old woman, had jewellery and three bank cards stolen during the incident.
The bank cards were then used the same day in the Henley area (15/9).

The offender, who collected the bank cards and jewellery, was a white man, of slim build, about 5ft 8ins tall, in his mid-twenties, with short dark hair. He was dressed in a dark suit.

If you any other information about these offences please contact Sgt Phil Bennett via the Thames Valley Police Enquiry Centre on 101.

If you believe you have been a victim of a similar offence, please contact the police.
If you do receive a call which you suspect is not genuine and they ask you to call your bank, make sure that after you hang up, that you hear a dialling tone before contacting the police, or use a mobile phone if appropriate.

If you don't want to speak directly to the police you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at www.crimestoppers-uk.org. No personal details are taken, information is not traced or recorded and you will not go to court.

Harvest time thefts

1. Land Rover Thefts

A Green Land Rover Defender 110 TDI Reg: N489 BJO registered 1995 was stolen from a farm in Aylesbury on the night of 17th August after 5.30pm. A Green Land Rover Defender hard top was stolen from Britwell Salome, near Watlington on 15th August. There has been a noticeable rise in the thefts of Defenders with thieves targeting mostly older models in particular 1999-2005 models of 90 and 110 types.

2. Diesel Theft

Diesel has been stolen from a combine harvest left overnight in a field. It is a timely reminder for all of us to remain vigilant around harvest time.

Rural Crime

From the 2 July, Thames Valley Police will attend every rural crime reported under the new definition.

This means:

• Any reports previously dealt with over the phone by the Police Enquiry Centre, such as un-witnessed criminal damage or low value thefts, will now require an appointment with the caller or victim.
• Any reports previously dealt with by an appointment with the caller/victim will be attended under the urgent attendance policy (i.e. Police officers will aim to attend within one hour).
• Incidents which require an urgent or immediate response will continue to be dealt with in this way.
• Local neighbourhood officers will attend these reports in the first instance, unless it immediate attendance is required, then the nearest available resource will be deployed.

Ch Supt Tim De Meyer, Head of Neighbourhood Policing and Partnerships said: “This faster response reflects our determination to tackle rural crime and is part of a range of measures we are introducing to prevent, detect and reduce it.

“This definition will ensure that we focus on the crimes that target or affect the rural economy. Crime in these categories has gone down in recent years. But there is still more to be done.

“This faster response, followed up by thorough investigation, will of course increase our chances of finding evidence and catching the criminals responsible.”

Thames Valley Police define rural crime as any case where:

The offence occurred at a:

• Farm barn
• Farm shop
• Farm building
• Farm yard
• Farm house
• Farm field
• Fish farm

Or the property involved is:

• Agricultural machinery
• Agricultural tools
• Fencing
• Hay/ straw
• Heating oil and red diesel
• Horses
• Horse boxes
• Livestock

And the offence is:

• Burglary
• Robbery
• Theft
• Criminal damage
• Public health offences (fly tipping)

Hare coursing and poaching offences are including under the definition.

The new definition sets out criteria to allow them to better deal with the crimes targeting or affecting the agricultural rural economy most.

The definition will help to focus their efforts on the crimes of most concern and by being able to identify these crimes early on officers will respond to them faster and deal with them better.

Rave Warning

Thames Valley Police are advising all landowners, farmers and country watch members to remain vigilant this weekend.

With the warm weather upon us there is a higher risk that a Rave could take place in our area. If these illegal events are set up they can run for the duration of the weekend which could cause disruption and inconvenience to local residents and landowners.

If you see any large gatherings, an increased build up of traffic or hear any disturbances during the night in rural areas, please call the police on the 24 hour non- emergency telephone number 101 as soon as possible.

Music in the Barn is OK ...............

Council Tax scam

Residents are being warned to be on their guard against bogus officials offering council tax refunds or threatening them with fines.

There have been several incidents reported recently across Oxfordshire, including in South Oxfordshire and the Vale of White Horse.

The fraudsters operate by ringing, texting or visiting residents claiming to be from the local council, valuation office or some other company which deals with changes to council tax banding. They suggest that you are either due a council tax refund, or owe more council tax and must pay it promptly to avoid a fine. They will then ask for personal information and bank details to process the refund or payment or they may ask for a fee to secure a refund or band reduction for you.

If you receive one of these calls, texts or visits, do not give out any personal information, end the call as quickly as possible and do not give any money to anyone who visits your home. The fraudsters can get aggressive and ring back if you put the phone down but this is all part of the scam to make you act as they want.

South Oxfordshire District Council would ever call residents directly to demand bank details in this manner. Where it is believed that someone either owes or is owed money they will be invited to contact the council themselves to arrange payment. You will never have to pay a fee to have your council tax band reduced. It costs nothing to make an appeal against the band your home is in.

If there is any change to the amount you have to pay you will receive a bill through the post explaining the situation.

If you are in any doubt as to the authenticity of a call concerning your council tax account please call 0345 302 2313 (South Oxfordshire residents)

To report a suspected incident of the scam, residents can contact Oxfordshire County Council Trading Standards on 0845 0510845.

Message from police commander

The 2012/13 performance assessment is now available and I am extremely pleased that once again this police area has achieved outstanding success. We have continued to reduce crime whilst enhancing our crime detection rate. All crime has been reduced by 9.8% and 27.9% of all crime reported has been detected. We were the second best performing Local Police Area in Thames Valley delivering;

· A 15.6% reduction in Violent Crime

· A 0.3% reduction in Dwelling Burglary

· A 27.5% detection rate in Dwelling Burglary

· A 30.3% detection rate in Serious Sexual Offences

· A 47.4% detection rate in Violence against the Person with Injury

These figures should be viewed in the context of our continuing reduction of crime over the last ten years which can be seen below;

2003/4	2004/5	2005/6	2006/7	2007/8	2008/9	2009/10	2010/11	2011/12	2012/13
14740	15675	14635	15017	14220	13475	12351	12076	10178	9159

Over the last ten years we have reduced crime by 38%, this is a tremendous achievement. This is a district that can rightly take pride in being one of the safest places to live in the country. Indeed;

· Overall Crime is at its lowest level in over 15 years

· Burglary Dwelling is at its lowest level in over 15 years

· Personal Robbery is at its lowest level in over 15 years

· Theft from Vehicle is at its lowest level in over 15 years

· Total Violence against the Person is at its lowest level since 2001/2002

One of the crimes that we have particularly focussed on during this period has been dwelling burglary. This is a pernicious crime that can have a devastating impact on those in the community whose homes are invaded and where often irreplaceable items are stolen. We have reduced these offences by 57.3%.

2003/4	2004/5	2005/6	2006/7	2007/8	2008/9	2009/10	2010/11	2011/12	2012/13
844	806	659	635	514	536	580	527	361	360

These figures represent 5,581 less victims of crime and almost 500 less victims of burglary a year. This level of performance doesn’t just happen, it is delivered by committed, professional Police Officers and Police Staff who care about their local communities. I genuinely believe that we have made South Oxfordshire and the Vale of White Horse a better place for local communities.

We are determined to support victims of crime and vulnerable members of our communities, and will continue to do this through a number of programmes, such as Op Vera, our support network for elderly victims of crime. There is a huge amount we are doing together to enhance the lives of those within our districts that we can be rightly proud of achieving.

We have challenged offenders in a way they have never experienced before and we continue to robustly pursue these individuals on a daily basis. We make it clear that we will not tolerate criminal behaviour and together with our partners ensure individuals recognise criminality is not an easy option, we instead encourage them to accept one of the many positive intervention options available to them to discourage offending behaviour.

We have enjoyed considerable success, and whilst it is only right to reflect and recognise our achievements it is also time to look forward and consider what we need to do this coming year and build on these achievements.

This year we will continue to work to reduce burglary, violent crime and rural crime offences. It will be a challenge to further reduce burglary and violent crime although I am confident the strides we have made locally to manage offenders and our weekend night time economy give us a tremendous opportunity to do this.

We are extremely conscious that an increasing number of criminals are targeting rural communities, preying on isolated and vulnerable areas and targeting these individuals. This is a priority for us this year. Already we have increased the number of resources patrolling rural areas and had some notable successes in arresting travelling criminals who mistakenly believed they could come here and commit crime with impunity.

If we are to further reduce crime we recognise that we will increasingly need the help of the public and we will therefore be looking to develop our Neighbourhood Watch Schemes across the district. These schemes are a crucial element of our crime prevention network, often providing the eyes and ears that prevent crime happening whilst generating information to help us identify and prosecute offenders. We would welcome the opportunity to further discuss developing Neighbourhood Watch Schemes within your community. If you would like to discuss this please do let me know and I will arrange for a member of your Neighbourhood Team to make contact with you.

As I regularly point out we have not reduced crime on our own. I am extremely grateful to the continuing help and support from both South Oxfordshire and the Vale of White Horse District Councils, the Community Safety Partnership, the volunteers who support us through the Special Constabulary, Neighbourhood watch and the Neighbourhood Action Groups and, of course, the local communities of South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse.

Thank you to all of you for your support this year, it has been very much appreciated and I look forward to continuing to work with you over the coming year.

Best Wishes

Andy Boyd

Superintendent

South Oxfordshire and the Vale of White Horse LPA