Saturday 23rd May 2009 saw an extraordinary amount of Police resources deployed to the Kineton area, in the search of a Missing Person.

Resources were deployed from across the Stratford District in search of a person who had been missing since late morning. These resources included officers from:-
*Stratford-upon-Avon Reactive
*Wellesbourne Safer-Neighbourhood Team, including the Wellesbourne Bike Squad
*Shipston Safer-Neighbourhood Team
*Special Constabulary
*Police Dogs
*Officers on County-wide cover
*East Midlands Air Support Unit [pictured]

The search was co-ordinated from both the Force Control Room, and on the ground at Kineton High School, with the use of the Mobile Police Station. The expansive grounds of Kineton High allowed Officers to meet, brief, and also gave the Police Helicopter opportunity to land and help co-ordinate the search.

Warwickshire residents can keep a check on crime levels in their communities through a new crime mapping system which has just been launched in the county.

Crime mapping is part of a Home Office initiative which will eventually be available in all 43 police forces across England and Wales giving members of the public easy access to local crime data.

Most of us carry a mobile phone with names and numbers stored in its memory. If we were to be involved in an accident or were taken ill, the people attending us would have our mobile phone, but wouldn't know who to call.

The 'ICE' (In Case of Emergency) Campaign aims to rectify this. The concept of 'ICE' is catching on quickly. It is a method of contact during emergency situations. All you need to do is store the number of a contact person or persons who should be contacted in the event of an emergency under the name 'ICE'.

Advice to avoid drink spiking:

Spring is the burglars favourite time to steal from garden sheds and a good time to review your security. Offenders are stealing garden tools, lawnmowers, bicycles and fishing tackle. By taking fairly simple precautions, householders can drastically cut the chance of becoming a victim of such crime.

Most sheds are inherently weak, so do not to store valuable items of property in them.
Ideally, sheds and garages should be connected to the house alarm, but if this cannot be achieved, suitable battery operated alarms are available from the Police Station at a low cost.
Always lock your shed
Fit a good quality padlock. Ensure the hasp is bolted through the shed and into a steel plate. Secure up-and-over garage doors with padlocks through the inside runners, or fit a padlock (with hasp and staple) to either side of the door
Remember it is items that are easily carried off that are most popular with thieves who get into your shed. These ought to be locked away in a secure cabinet and marked with a house number and postcode. Consider having lockable steel boxes fitted to the floor to store your tools
Larger items can be shackled together with a bike chain or similar. Similarly high value items such as bicycles and lawn mowers should be shackled together, ideally to the fabric of the building or to a metal post cemented into the ground.
Research shows that thieves often take tools such as ladders and spades, from a garage or shed, to help them break into a house. Ladders ought to be secured to a secure fixture. A spade can be shackled to another larger item through its handle.
Try to site your shed within view
Visibly mark all removable items with your postcode and house number. Or use ultra violet marker pens available free of charge from the Police Station for this purpose.
Replace ordinary screws on outbuilding doors with non-return screws or coach bolts. Glue, smeared over the heads of screws, may stop the thief from unscrewing them
Make a note of make/model/serial number of tools and bicycles
Obscure the window of your shed/garage to prevent thieves seeing what you have inside
Consider joining your local Neighbourhood Watch (01926 415716)
Remember all stolen goods are sold on. There is a lucrative market for items such as these.

Don't Buy Crime - it is an offence - punishable by a prison sentence - to buy goods that you know to be or suspect to be stolen.

Michelle has worked with the Wellesbourne SNT for nearly 2yrs and feels she has made a difference to the community with her positive approach to any issue that arises, from tackling ASB and community problems Michelle feels very at home in the rural area.
Michelle has lived in Coventry for nearly 9 years after moving to the area from Aldershot, before joining Warwickshire Police she worked as a Sales Assistant for a company in the West Midlands for over 7yrs.

In her spare time Michelle enjoys attending football matches home & away, with her team being Aston Villa (it's been an up and down season!)