Click here for the September Police Newsletter, published 22 September

New Police Commissioner Philip Seccombe unveils his draft Crime Plan for comments, read here.

Crime alerts:

Theft from vehicle parked in Hillside, Napton

Please be aware that during the night of 20 into 21 October, offenders stole the spare wheel from underneath a Land Rover vehicle parked on the driveway of a home in Hillside, Napton.

Crime Alert – 14^th October 2016

Southam Road burglaries – overnight 13/14 October several properties in Southam Road suffered garage and shed break-ins. Many items were stolen. Please contact the Police on 101 if you have any information which may help them to solve these crimes.

To reduce outbuilding crimes, please ensure that all garages and sheds are effectively secured.

Napton on the Hill :: Neighbourhood Watch

Crime Alert :: 27^th September 2016 will be letter boxed throughout the village

At 12.20 pm on Tuesday afternoon 27th September two men in a grey Mitsubishi L200 pick-up cut through the security lock on a shed in Godson’s Lane.  There were two other incidents in Napton that morning thought to be from the same vehicle.  They were disturbed and drove off down Godson’s Lane towards St. Lawrence Close and Dog Lane.  The police attended. The registration number BG56 HLN on the pickup was cloned as the Police swiftly found the true owner.

Please keep alert. There has been an increase in this kind of crime throughout the area, especially through the day.

Please report immediately any suspicious activity to the Police on 101 or 999 in emergency.

Keep up to date by visiting our website https://www.naptonparishcouncil.org.uk/neighbourhood-watch/

Click here for the October Scam Newsletter and see below for more scams

Latest Scam Alerts from Warwickshire Trading Standards

20/10/2016 Used car deposit warning

Buying a used car?

Warwickshire Trading Standards are warning consumers to think twice before paying deposits to hold vehicles they are interested in buying.

Trading Standards has received an increasing number if complaints from car buyers who paid ‘holding deposits’ for vehicles which were then either sold to someone else before they could view it, or the vehicle was markedly different to the advert.

In both cases they should have received their deposit back, but did not.

20/10/2016 False vehicle registration warning to internet car buyers

Purchasers of second hand cars advertised on websites are warned to beware of a new scam involving the use of false vehicle registration numbers.

Consumers can now find a lot about the car they are interested in buying by putting the vehicle’s registration number in to a free Government website, including information on a vehicle’s mileage and condition.

This has led some unscrupulous sellers of dodgy vehicles to remove or obscure the licence plate of the cars they are selling on photographs posted on the Internet.

One Warwickshire resident expressed an interest in a vehicle that was being sold on a popular Internet classified advert website. The vehicle was shown without the number plates visible, so the buyer contacted the seller to ask for the registration number.

The seller supplied him with a registration number and the buyer carried out a range of free and low cost checks on the vehicle. Satisfied with the result he then paid for the vehicle online and went to collect the car. When he arrived it turned out the the seller had given him a registration number for another vehicle of the same make/model, but not the one he had purchased. This car, the one he had paid for, was in a very poor condition with a high mileage!

Trading Standards advise consumers to be wary of purchasing vehicles without seeing them first and be suspicious of any advert where the licence plate of the vehicle cannot be seen affixed to the vehicle.

The new ‘check before you buy’ free web tools are now an important weapon in a car buyer’s armoury to protect them against buying vehicles in a poor state that may be clocked or even unroadworthy.

Some additional low cost checks can also help ensure that the car is not stolen or on finance.

20/10/2016 Door to door cavity wall warning

Warwickshire residents are warned to beware of unexpected doorstep callers offering ‘free, Government funded’ cavity wall insulation and other energy efficiency measures.

Trading Standards are concerned that some unscrupulous traders may be using the offer of ‘free’ insulation to convince homeowners to sign up to energy efficiency measures that may not be appropriate for their property and may end up costing them money.

Funding for energy saving measures may be available to some residents if they are on certain benefits and own or privately rent their home, often via their energy supplier.

The Government has posted information on energy saving improvements and eligibility criteria on its website. Consumers can also phone the Energy Saving Advice Service on 0300 123 1234 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 8pm).

It can be very difficult to tell a good trader from a bad one on the doorstep. Trading Standards urges homeowners not to be seduced by the offer of something free on the doorstep. Residents should instead speak to the Energy Saving Advice Service to get the facts.

It can be difficult telling a good trader from a bad one on the doorstep – never buy goods or services from unexpected callers!

?Make a scam/rogue trader complaint to Trading Standards via Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 03454 040506.

?Warwickshire Trading Standards Website Facebook Twitter

?Sign up to scam alerts at www.warwickshire.gov.uk/scams

Vehicle crime in Ford Farm, Pendicke Street & Newstead Drive, Southam

Please be aware of the following incidents, which have occurred in your area over recent days:

Incident 285 of 30 September – At around 5pm on 30 September a male offender climbed in to a VW Transport van, which was being loaded, with the keys in the ignition, at Ford Farm, Southam and then sped off in it.

Incident 314 of 30 September – Between 8am and 4.40pm on 30 September, offenders stole tools from a Mercedes van parked in Pendicke Street, Southam 

Incident 92 of 1 October – Between 4.30 and 4.45pm on 1 October, offenders broke into an insecure van parked outside a home in Newstead Drove, Southam and stole a Makita grinder and a Stihl saw.

Incidents at homes in Stockton & Napton

Please be aware of the following incidents, which have occurred at homes in your area over recent days:

Incident 50 of 28 September – At just before 7am on 28 September, offenders broke into a van parked outside a home in Victoria Terrace, Stockton and stole a large quantity of power tools from inside.

Incident 218 of 23 September – At some point before 1pm on 23 September, offenders attempted to get inside vans parked on the driveway of a home in Southam Road, Napton.  The offenders may also have tried to break into the house.

Incident 44 of 26 September – During the night of 44 of 26 September, offenders entered a van parked at a farm premises in Napton and rifled through a van.

Incident 166 of 27 September – Between 10.20am and 12.30pm on 27 September, offenders cut the padlocks on the wooden doors of a garage at a cottage home in Chapel Green, Napton  and entered the premises. Once inside, the offenders stole a single axle Ifor Williams trailer, 3 Stihl chainsaws, a Stihl hedge trimmer and a red Honda generator

Burglary at home in Dog Lane, Fenny Compton

Please be aware that at around12.10pm on 21 September, offenders moved a wheelie bin from outside of the garage door of a home in Dog Lane, Fenny Compton and then entered the insecure garage.

The offenders are believed to have been disturbed by the family dog barking and the resident of the house switching on the lights, as they quickly made off.  Nothing appears to have been stolen.

Car Thefts On The Rise: Why Do 43% Of British Drivers Leave Their Car Keys With People They Do Not Know?

Vehicle thefts are on the rise for the first time in years yet 40% of motorists gladly hand over the keys to their car to people they do not know.

Car owners do not appear to think twice about leaving their vehicle with a stranger, with few bothering to check whether the valet company or car washing team, for example, is a member of an accredited body.

Key cloning scams are on the rise, experts are warning, with new technologies being developed to copy keyless entry systems. As vehicle security has become more sophisticated, so the level of car theft has fallen year on year, from a peak of 620,000 20 years ago to just below 80,000 now .

However, vehicle thefts rose by 8% in the year to March this year – prompting fresh warnings from the motor industry and police that thieves are also becoming ever more sophisticated in their efforts to beat beefed up security.

More at: https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/car-thefts-on-the-rise-you-wouldnt-give-your-104128295.html

Hate Crime: Please report it!

We all have a responsibility to stand up to hate crime.

If you have been a victim of hate crime, if you know of someone who has been a victim of hate crime or if you witness a hate crime, you should report it.

You don?t need to know the victim or even know their name.
The person may not realise they have been a victim of hate crime, they may be too scared to report it or they may not know how to report it.

If you think the incident is a hate crime, even if the victim doesn?t, then it will be logged and responded to as a hate crime.

What is a hate crime?

A hate crime is any criminal offence which is perceived by the victim or any other person to be motivated by a hostility
or prejudice based on a person?s:

? Race (including nationality, national origin, ethnic origin, race and colour).

? Religion or belief
? Sexual orientation

? Disability

? Gender identity

? Individual characteristic that makes someone appear different.

How do I report a hate crime?

 You can report a crime in confidence in any of the following ways:

? In an emergency call 999

? For non-emergencies call 101

? Report online to True Vision at www.report-it.org.uk