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Theft
Between 22/08/09 & 23/08/09, unknown offender/s have stolen 3x stone rabbit ornaments from a garden in Mill La, Kineton. Offender/s have also caused damage to section of the fence. Incident 449/24/08/2009.
Between the hours of 1630 21/08/09 & 1200 22/08/09, unknown offender/s have removed a 2'x10' Leaded window from All Saints Church, Burton Dassett. Incident 301 23/08/09.
Church Security
The modern criminal is able to take advantage of the traditional church as a building that is open for prayer and worship or for sightseeing at all times.
Even when churches are locked when not in use the graveyard can provide ample cover and is surrounded by low walls, which assists the thief to avoid detection and gives him confidence.
Today, criminals have become specialists with a genuine, and often good, knowledge of church furnishings and their value, including the disposal of art or church antiques to the wanting-trade for these items. The rise in value and the increase in demand for these items have made church property a target.
What ever you do, DO NOT adopt the attitude “it will never happen to us.” The criminal may not come from your community, he/she may come from the other end of the country.
Remember – the responsibility lies with us all
Ideally the church should be locked at all times unless a responsible person is present. A notice can be displayed indicating from whom a key can be obtained.
Many churches do not wish to undertake this measure as the church is the focal point of the community and parishioners wish to come and go as they please.
If this is the case, measures must be taken to reduce the risk and minimise loss in the event of your church being targeted by the thief.
Measures should include:
Locking your church at night.
Small valuable items should be stored away in a locked vestry, cupboard or safe when not in use during the week.
Altarware – wooden or base metal substitutes should be displayed and the originals away. They can be returned for services and events.
Antique furniture and other valuables – consideration should be given to discreet chaining to floor and wall. This may not deter the determined thief but may be sufficient to prevent the opportunist criminal.
Valuables should be kept in a safe or a strong room when not being used for a service.
Valuables, including communion plates, which are not in regular use should be deposited in the bank.
Keys should be kept by a responsible person or in a secure place away from the church.
The vestry should be secured by good quality locks and bars at the windows. All locks should conform to BS 3621, or higher, specification.
All property should be photographed and a log kept. This needs to be stored in a safe place away from the church. All photographs must have a ruler or 50p coin in the picture to indicate size.
The offertory box should ideally be emptied daily. A notice should be displayed on the box indicating this.
Vulnerable stained glass windows can be protected externally by polycarbonate sheet.
Be vigilant and report anything suspicious to the police at the time.
Although the number of church crimes is relatively low in comparison to other crimes, the effect on the church community is just as devastating.
Lighting
The use of effective security lighting is very important, particularly for isolated buildings, for the following reasons:
To illuminate vulnerable areas on the vertical surfaces of buildings in order that it will reveal anyone attacking the building, for example, trying to force an entry, mounting drainpipes or moving onto a roof area.
To reveal an intruder in an unlit area between a floodlit building and an observer’s position.
To enhance the aesthetic appearance of your building.
Cellars
Where possible, access to cellars should only be via one entrance within the church building. All other entrances should be permanently bricked up. Where this is not possible, doors should be secured internally. Any retained entrance to a cellar should be given special attention with good quality frames and five lever deadlocks.
If this is the case, measures must be taken to reduce the risk and minimise loss in the event of your church being targeted by the thief.
Measures should include:
Locking your church at night.
Small valuable items should be stored away in a locked vestry, cupboard or safe when not in use during the week.
Altarware – wooden or base metal substitutes should be displayed and the originals away. They can be returned for services and events.
Antique furniture and other valuables – consideration should be given to discreet chaining to floor and wall. This may not deter the determined thief but may be sufficient to prevent the opportunist criminal.
Valuables should be kept in a safe or a strong room when not being used for a service.
Valuables, including communion plates, which are not in regular use should be deposited in the bank.
Keys should be kept by a responsible person or in a secure place away from the church.
The vestry should be secured by good quality locks and bars at the windows. All locks should conform to BS 3621, or higher, specification.
All property should be photographed and a log kept. This needs to be stored in a safe place away from the church. All photographs must have a ruler or 50p coin in the picture to indicate size.
The offertory box should ideally be emptied daily. A notice should be displayed on the box indicating this.
Vulnerable stained glass windows can be protected externally by polycarbonate sheet.
Be vigilant and report anything suspicious to the police at the time.
Although the number of church crimes is relatively low in comparison to other crimes, the effect on the church community is just as devastating.
Lighting
The use of effective security lighting is very important, particularly for isolated buildings, for the following reasons:
To illuminate vulnerable areas on the vertical surfaces of buildings in order that it will reveal anyone attacking the building, for example, trying to force an entry, mounting drainpipes or moving onto a roof area.
To reveal an intruder in an unlit area between a floodlit building and an observer’s position.
To enhance the aesthetic appearance of your building.
Cellars
Where possible, access to cellars should only be via one entrance within the church building. All other entrances should be permanently bricked up. Where this is not possible, doors should be secured internally. Any retained entrance to a cellar should be given special attention with good quality frames and five lever deadlocks.
First Response
Call handlers deal with up to 700 calls every day reporting a vast array of crimes, collisions and concerns and most of the time officers are expected to attend the scene or arrange a visit with the caller.
This places a huge demand on resources, reduces the number of officers readily available for other, more serious incidents and creates a backlog of unattended calls which leads to complaints from members of the public.
Many calls received in the communication centre concern matters which are not police responsibility, for example noise nuisance and stray dogs which are both the responsibility of the borough or district councils, and under the new system those calls will be directed to the relevant agency.
There will be NO CHANGE in the way emergency and priority calls are handled.
If officers NEED to attend they will - if it is an emergency 999 call this will be as quickly as is safely possible and if it is urgent or a local policing priority it will be within an hour.
Non emergency calls will be dealt with on a strict appointment basis with dedicated officers staffing police surgeries and appointment cars seven days a week.
This means that members of the public will be guaranteed an appointment with an officer at a time and place agreed with them within 48 hours of their initial call (unless they choose a later time).
The new system will provide long term benefits for the force and the community and has already been successful in other areas of the country.
How will it work?
Each call which comes into the control centre will be assessed by a trained member of staff who will decide the best response grading calls as either Emergency, Priority, Appointment and Advice and Information.
What this means is:
Emergency - we will still attend 999 emergency calls, where crime is in progress or life is at risk, as quickly as is safely possible. Call 999.
Priority - if the matter is urgent or a local policing priority, but is not an emergency, we will attend as soon as possible, usually within 60 minutes (in line with the Policing Pledge). Call 01926 415000.
By appointment - for incidents which are neither an emergency or urgent the caller will be offered an appointment with an officer at one of the nine station surgeries which are being created across the force either the same or next working day. Call 01926 415000.
If this is difficult for the caller, because of transport, work or family commitments, they will be offered an appointment at an alternative location with an officer using a dedicated appointment car.
Station surgeries will be at Leamington, Warwick, Stratford, Rugby, Nuneaton, Kenilworth, Bedworth, Atherstone and Coleshill.
Advice and information - for calls relating to incidents or matters which are not the responsibility of the police, for example stray dogs or noisy neighbours, the caller will be given advice and appropriate contact details.
Each call which comes into the control centre will be assessed by a trained member of staff who will decide the best response grading calls as either Emergency, Priority, Appointment and Advice and Information.
What this means is:
Emergency - we will still attend 999 emergency calls, where crime is in progress or life is at risk, as quickly as is safely possible. Call 999.
Priority - if the matter is urgent or a local policing priority, but is not an emergency, we will attend as soon as possible, usually within 60 minutes (in line with the Policing Pledge). Call 01926 415000.
By appointment - for incidents which are neither an emergency or urgent the caller will be offered an appointment with an officer at one of the nine station surgeries which are being created across the force either the same or next working day. Call 01926 415000.
If this is difficult for the caller, because of transport, work or family commitments, they will be offered an appointment at an alternative location with an officer using a dedicated appointment car.
Station surgeries will be at Leamington, Warwick, Stratford, Rugby, Nuneaton, Kenilworth, Bedworth, Atherstone and Coleshill.
Advice and information - for calls relating to incidents or matters which are not the responsibility of the police, for example stray dogs or noisy neighbours, the caller will be given advice and appropriate contact details.
Smartwater...
If an item is marked a thief will probably not steal it because it will be much harder to sell. After all, when there is lots of unmarked property around it's easier to steal that instead.
Mark your property
SmartWater is a chemically based forensic dye likened in concept to DNA profiling and unique to the registered owner. It is colourless, odourless and once applied to valuables such as computers, Hi Fi equipment, cameras, DVD or Video players, it is virtually impossible to remove.
If an offending burglar gets SmartWater on them, it is almost impossible to get off and immediately shows up if that person is examined with ultra violet light in a custody suite. A mark just the size of a pinhead is enough for that person to be linked to a crime scene.
SmartWater can be purchased direct from www.smartwater.co.uk, or from the Crime Prevention Officers at stratford Police Station on 01789 414111.
Because each application of SmartWater has its own DNA code, it means that any criminals who are later arrested can be linked forensically to the crime scenes.
If an offending burglar gets SmartWater on them, it is almost impossible to get off and immediately shows up if that person is examined with ultra violet light in a custody suite. A mark just the size of a pinhead is enough for that person to be linked to a crime scene.
SmartWater can be purchased direct from www.smartwater.co.uk, or from the Crime Prevention Officers at stratford Police Station on 01789 414111.
Because each application of SmartWater has its own DNA code, it means that any criminals who are later arrested can be linked forensically to the crime scenes.
Burglary
Between 22/08/09 & 23/08/09, unknown offender/s have gained entry to a unit at Wellesbourne Airfield and caused a large amount of damage by smashing windows and doors. Once inside a number of computers were taken and offender/s made off in an unknown direction. Incident 140 23/08/2009.
Between 2200hrs 15/08 & 0645hrs 16/08/2009, unknown offender/s have smashed a rear window at Freemans Farm Shop, Snitterfield and stolen Alcohol, a Charity Box, selection of knifes, also taken was a large quantity of meat. Incident 209 16/08/2009.
Between 2200hrs 15/08 & 0645hrs 16/08/2009, unknown offender/s have smashed a rear window at Freemans Farm Shop, Snitterfield and stolen Alcohol, a Charity Box, selection of knifes, also taken was a large quantity of meat. Incident 209 16/08/2009.
On Wednesday 26th August between 1230hrs & 1315, unknown offender/s used a crow bar to gain entry to a property in St. Peters Rd, Kineton. Once inside the offender/s gave a messy search and stole £1500 in cash from the property. Incident 269 26/08/2009.
Theft Of Vehicle
Between 2330 24/08 & 0700 25/08/2009, unknown offender/s have approached a secure and unattended Silver Mitsubishi L200 4 Life pick up left in Gaydon, the vehicle was then stolen and offender/s made off in an unknown direction. Incident 76 25/08/2009.
Keep Your Credit and Debit Cards Safe
The warning comes after two reports to the police of scams in which people have been phoned by a man purporting to be from British Telecom. The man claimed there was a problem with the direct debit payments of their phone account and asked for details of credit or debit cards over the phone to prevent the callers phone being cut off.
On each occasion the caller has then claimed there was then a problem with the details of the card details given over the phone and requests details for another payment card.
In each instance checks made by the members of the public, one from Lower Quinton and one from Wellesbourne, with BT have revealed there had been no problems with the customer's direct debit payments and the calls have been made fraudulently.
Police remind members of the public they should never disclose details of their credit or debit cards to people over the phone if they call you. You do not know who they are and you are giving an unknown person access to your finance accounts.
In each case the cards were cancelled by the card holders as soon as they realised the telephone calls were false.
Inc 156 18 August
In a second incident relating to credit cards police in Warwick ask shoppers to be sure they protect their PIN number when using their debit card after a member of the public reported that her debit card was stolen from her handbag after she had used it to pay for goods at a supermarket in Warwick on Tuesday afternoon.
The woman put the card back into her handbag and walked out into the car park where she was then approached by a male who asked for change to use the phone.
The woman opened her purse and as she withdrew change the man reached in and stole her debit card. Before the woman could cancel her card a fraudulent withdrawal of £200 was made at the supermarket cash point.
It is believed that the man must have been close by when the woman entered her PIN number when paying for goods at the checkout.
A police spokesperson said, "Always cover the key pad with your other hand when you are entering the PIN number for your card and always make sure you place your card safely inside your purse or wallet.
"All these incidents happened in the south of the county, but they could occur anywhere."
The woman put the card back into her handbag and walked out into the car park where she was then approached by a male who asked for change to use the phone.
The woman opened her purse and as she withdrew change the man reached in and stole her debit card. Before the woman could cancel her card a fraudulent withdrawal of £200 was made at the supermarket cash point.
It is believed that the man must have been close by when the woman entered her PIN number when paying for goods at the checkout.
A police spokesperson said, "Always cover the key pad with your other hand when you are entering the PIN number for your card and always make sure you place your card safely inside your purse or wallet.
"All these incidents happened in the south of the county, but they could occur anywhere."
Appeal to Moreton Paddox
If you has ANY information about this crime please call Crime Desk: 02746 483432 or Control Room: 01926 415000 and quote Incident 97 - 28/08/2009.
