Increasing involvement in local community matters

At the recent Watch this space! event, it was suggested that Neighbourhood Action Plan (NAPs) and Neighbourhood Watch meetings should take place at the same place and time. After checking that this does not conflict with any guidelines, it has been decided that Neighbourhood Watch meetings will “piggyback” onto NAPs meetings for the rest of this year.

This will alter the dynamics of Neighbourhood Watch schemes, where, presently, local co-ordinators set up meetings for their area as necessary and participate in regular co-ordinators meetings to discuss general issues, plan campaigns, group events etc. The local meeting will now be a regular fixture, with dates set for the year, and structured to encourage increased local participation. It will provide a visible working link with local police. Co-ordinators meetings will still take place, but their focus will change to share experiences and information and to plan NHW events/ initiatives for the area as a whole.

Changing the meeting structure in this way will reduce the number of meetings and also ensure that local problems are identified and discussed by local people, including watch members, and that action is co-ordinated with other agencies for maximum impact. These meetings should produce a tailored plan to deal with local issues, rather than a general approach agreed at co-ordinators meetings. It should also encourage participation in tackling and dealing with local problems, with smaller communities able to identify “who” is doing “what”.

Those watch members whose details are held by the Essex Watch Administrator within each NAPs area will receive an individual letter of invitation, but there are other watch members whose details are not known. To receive regular updates, information and warnings from Essex Police, membership details must be held on a central register. The register/database is maintained by Essex Police and used only by Essex Police to circulate information to scheme members. The database also enables the watch administrator to identify “gaps” in watch schemes and support co-ordinators in campaigning to attract new members.

If you are a “lost” or “lapsed” member of a Neighbourhood Watch scheme in either the Maldon or Dengie area, please contact either your local co-ordinator (if you know who it is) or the Essex Watch Administrator, so that you can be included in the mailing list. If you would like to join a local Neighbourhood Watch scheme, contact the Essex Watch Administrator. Membership is free, there are no subscriptions to pay and all you need to do is keep your eyes and ears open for anything unusual going on in your area.

Details of forthcoming NAPs meetings appear in the local press, are published in local parish magazines and notices placed on parish notice boards. A full list of dates and venues is available from Maldon Police Station and Maldon Community Safety Partnership website, or you can call the Essex Watch Administrator or NAPs co-ordinator.

NAPs meetings to the end of June 2009

Wickham Bishops Village Hall Tuesday 12 May 2009 at 7.00pm

Maldon Town Hall, Market Hill Thursday 14 May 2009 at 7.00pm

Latchingdon Village Hall Monday 18 May 2009 at 7.00pm

Claydon Room, Plantation Hall, Heybridge Monday 18 May 2009 at 7.00pm

The Star Inn, Steeple Wednesday 20 May 2009 at 7.00pm

Tolleshunt Major Church Rooms Thursday 21 May 2009 at 7.00pm

One Place, High Street, Burnham on Crouch Thursday 28 May 2009 at 7.00pm

Maldon Town Hall, Market Hill Thursday 18 June 2009 at 7.00pm

Essex Watch Administrator
Mrs Chris Walker 01621 852255 ext 62113/0300 333 4444 ext 62113
christine.walker@essex.pnn.police.uk

NAPs Co-ordinator
Mrs Chris Rust 01621 875811
chris.rust@maldon.gov.uk

Chris's Information Update 27 04 09

Southminster

TillinghamBetween 1800 on 21 April and 0900 on 22 April in North Street three plant pots were taken from the front garden of a property. Information to Southminster Police Station.


Mayland

Between 1900 on 22 April and 0830 on 23 April at Bramley Way, thieves gained entry to an insecure black Toyota Avensis and stole a Bluetooth telephone headset valued at £50.

Also between 2100 on 22 April and 0630 on 23 April at Bramley Way, the contents of a handbag were stolen from an insecure grey Kia Carenz. The handbag was left. Information to Pc Ian Turner.


Little Totham

Between 1930 on 21 April and 0630 on 22 April at a property in Renters Cottages, diesel with an estimated value of £200 was stolen from a DAF 95 lorry. The lock to the central heating tank was also broken. Information to Pc Lee Taylor.


Latchingdon

Between 1900 on 22 April and 0700 on 23 April entry was gained to an insecure silver Vauxhall Vectra estate in Ramsay Chase and a wallet containing cash, cards and documents was taken. Information to Pc Cally MacIver.


Heybridge

Between 0830 on 19 April and 0815 on 20 Aprilthe guttering at Plantation Hall was pulled down and the safety surfacing in the childrens play area was pulled up. Damage estimated at £200. Information to Pc Lee Taylor.

Between 0245 and 0740 on 25 April, at The Causeway, a red Mitsubishi Coupe was broken into and a car stereo and computer memory stick, valued at £140 were stolen. Damage estimated at £40. Information to Pc Ovais Chaudry.

Between 1800 on 17 April and 1000 on 20 April in Colchester Road, the stone work to one of the pillars was broken off. Information to Pc Neil Tremain.

Between 1330 ans 1535 on 21 April at a car park in the Industrial Estate on The Causeway the front offside window of a silver Ford Fiesta was smashed. Information to Maldon Police Station.


Maldon

Between 1830 on 22 April and 0630 on 23 April thieves broke into the yard of a farm in Colchester Road by breaking through the wooden fence, causing £50 damage and stole tools, including a nail gun, total value around £300. Information to Pc Andrew Long.

Between 1630 on 22 April and 0830 on 23 April at Burns Close, a purple Ford Escort, valued at £500, was stolen. Information to Pc Cally MacIver.

Overnight of 21/22 April at Mornington Lodge Farm, Mundon Road, the yard and office were broken into and the keys to a van taken, together with a laptop. The silver Citroen Relay van was stolen, together with power tools in the van, valued at £5000. Information to Maldon Police Station.

Between 2330 on 20 April and 0700 on 21 April in Tennyson Road the front offside window of a red Peugeot 106 was smashed causing damage estimated at £75. Information to Maldon Police Station.

Between 8 and 23 April in Tenterfield Road a black VW Golf was stolen. The car was parked on the road. Information to Maldon Police Station.


Forthcoming NAPs meetings:


Tuesday 12 May at 7.00pm Village Hall, Wickham Bishops
Thursday 14 May at 7.00pm Town Hall, Maldon


NHW co-ordinators should make every effort to attend their local meeting. In that way, they can be certain that the issues in their area are identified and prioritised. (Please note the news re cpombining NHW meetings with NAPs meetings-L)

Mrs Chris Walker
27April 2009

Information Update 20 04 09

Little Braxted

Between 2000 and 2100 on 15 April in Braxted Lane thieves gained entry to premises by smashing through gate doors, then using bolt cutters to cut the chain on the doors to an outbuilding. They took a blue garden Iseki SG sit on lawnmower, which was recovered in a nearby car park. Information to Pc Dean Stratton.


St Lawrence

Between 0245 and 0300 on 17 April, thieves attempted to remove the ATM in the club house/community centre at Waterside Holiday Park, Main Road. Entry was gained by smashing a window in the main door. They then jacked up the railings surrounding the ATM, causing damage estimated at £400. The thieves were disturbed and nothing was removed. Information to Ps Ian Turner.


Burnham on Crouch

Between 1800 on 12 April and 1100 on 14 April at a property in Maldon Road, entry was gained to a secure wooden shed by ripping the padlock and hasp. A commercial bosch drill was stolen. Value of goods is £50, damage estimated at £10. Information to Pc Cally MacIver.


Purleigh

Between 1800 on 15 April and 0900 on 16 April at All Saints Church, Church Hill, five lead paned glass windows were smashed, causing £250 of damage. Information to Pc Cally MacIver.



Southminster

Between 1730 on 14 April and 0930 on 19 April at St Leonards Church, Burnham Road, vandals have damaged vases and ceramics in the graveyard by throwing them about. Information to Pc Alan Bowen.


Heybridge

Between 1150 and 1230 on 19 April at Long Common, thieves entered an insecure red Lexus and removed both house and car keys, which were left on the drivers seat. The owner will now have to change the locks on both the property and car. Information to Maldon Police Station.

Between 1200 on 14 April and 1200 on 15 April in Abbotsmead, entry was gained to a red Renault Clio and the rear parcel shelf, nearside and offside front window seals were removed. Damage estimated at £200. Information to Pc Cally MacIver.

Between 2200 on 13 April and 0930 on 14 April in Wood Road, the front nearside door of a red Renault Clio has been bent. Nothing was taken. Information to Pc Michael Bond.

Between 0900 and 1900 on 15 April in Sanderling Gardens a secure electric blue adult Scott mountain bike was stolen by smashing the lock securing the cycle to a metal post. The bike is valued at £500. The bike was post coded. Information to Pc Ovais Choudry.

Between 1700 and 1800 on 18 April at West Maldon Community Centre Wycke Hill an insecure pedal cycle, hidden in a bush near the woods was stolen. The cycle is a black ruption with white TT seat, white pedals and brake cables. Information to Maldon Police Station.



Maldon

Between 2330 on 16 April and 0600 on 17 April at a property in Memory Close, thieves gained entry to a detached garage by an insecure side door and stole alcohol and cleaning products valued at £40. They drank part of a bottle of vodka and left the remainder in the garage. Information to Pc Ovais Choudry.

Between 1400 on 16 April and 0800 on 17 April at Venta Way, entry was gained to an insecure silver Mitsubishi Shogun sport. A pair of Gucchi sunglasses, selection of CDs and cash was stolen. Information to Pc Cally MacIver.

At the property next door, between 1900 on 16 April and 0730 on 17 April, entry was gained to an insecure black Mitsubishi L200. Loose change, a TomTom satnav and hands free mobile phone equipment was stolen. Information to Maldon Police Station.

Between 1900 on 16 April and 1230 on 18 April, thieves gained entry to a gold FordSmax and removed empty CD cases from interior compartments. Information to Pc Neil Tremain.

Between 1000 on 16 April and 1050 on 17 April in Blythe Way entry was gained to an insecure blue Renault Clio and cash was stolen. Information to Pc Ovais Choudry.

Between 1735 and 1810 on 17 April in Cross Road thieves broke into a silver Ford Fiesta by pulling the doorseal of the front nearside door and removed an exhaust system that was on the rear seat. Information to Maldon Police Station.

Between 1700 on 16 April and 0800 on 17 April in Mirosa Reach thieves broke into a silver Ford Focus by forcing the front offside door. They stole the keys to the garage doors at the property. Information to Pc Ovais Choudry.

Between 1800 on 13 April and 0930 on 14 April in Colchester Road, entry was gained to a secure blue BMW318I by forcing the nearside and offside locks. Nothing was taken. Information to Pc Yasmina Sakauloo.



Forthcoming NAPs meetings: (
NB, NAPs meetings are to include local neighbourhood Watch meetings. More details soon - Linda)


Tuesday 12 May at 7.00pm Village Hall, Wickham Bishops
Thursday 14 May at 7.00pm Town Hall, Maldon


NHW co-ordinators should make every effort to attend their local meeting. In that way, they can be certain that the issues in their area are identified and prioritised.

Mrs Chris Walker
20 April 2009

Chris's Report 13th April 09

Information Update 140409

Warning about lottery and other scams

There are a number of e-mail and letter scams operating nationally. Below I set out the details of a recent scam which was uncovered, but I would ask you all to pass on the message – “If something seems too good to be true, it probably is!” Please ignore any request that asks for money or information, particularly bank details.
A scam letter scheme which could have netted an estimated £35m a year has been smashed by officers from the Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca). It follows a police raid on a building in Somerset which was being used to process cheques for criminals abroad. Payments totalling nearly half a million pounds were recovered.
Cheques are now being returned to the 22,000 senders with a letter warning them about the scam and urging them to be more vigilant in future.

The letters, which were responding to international lottery scams and bogus offers, were intercepted by Soca during the raid in Somerset last June, before they could reach their final destinations overseas.
'Substantial blow'
They typically contained £20 cash and Soca believes the fraud could have yielded over £35m a year if it had continued.

Trevor Pearce, Soca's director of enforcement, said: "Mass market frauds are often sophisticated and convincing - criminals know just which buttons to press to make people part with money, especially in an economic downturn when we are more susceptible to believing good news."

People who respond to a scam can find themselves on a list which is sold to other fraudsters, and people can lose their life savings, he said.
"In this case we've been able to return people's money, and although the perpetrators are abroad and outside our jurisdiction, a substantial blow has been dealt to their operation by cutting off this particular channel," he said.
"The most powerful way to defeat the fraudsters though is to ignore them. Quite simply, be on your guard. Don't be a willing victim for their crime - if something seems too good to be true, it probably is."

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith congratulated Soca on the success of the operation, saying it sent a "strong message" to criminal networks that work was being done to stop them preying on innocent people.

She said: "We will continue to invest in agencies like Soca to enable them to tackle these criminals effectively. The public can be very confident that we are doing everything in our power to make it as difficult as possible for these groups to continue to operate."


Tolleshunt D’Arcy

Between 1400 on 25 March and 1130 on 9 April, a football net on the playing fields in Tolleshunt D’Arcy Road was burned and the lines cut, causing damage valued at £100. Information to Pc Richard Hamilton.


Purleigh

Overnight on 6/7 April at the playing fields, The Glebe, damage was caused to the safety matting in the play area by pulling it up from its fasteneings, causing it to be unsafe for use. Damage valued at £1500. Information to Pc Tony England.


Southminster

Between 1800 on 9 April and 1200 on 11 April, a white Vauxhall Murvano was broken into. Entry was gained by damaging the lock on the nearside door. 2 Makita Cordless drills, a Bosch jigsaw, a Makita chopsaw, a Stanley hammer and a set of marble chisels were stolen. All of the tools have initials scrathed on them. Damage valued at £50. Value of goods £1200. Information to Pc Sam Pateman.

Overnight on 8/9 April at the Queens Head in Queen Street an insecure picnic bench was stolen from the front beer garden, valued at £70. Information to Pc Nicola Clarke.


Heybridge

Overnight on 9/10 April at Chigborough Fishing Lakes, Chigborough Road, a white Vauxhall Astra van was stolen from the car park. Value of car £1000. Information to Pc John Perry.

Between 2200 on 10 April and 1400 on 12 April an insecure pedal cycle was stolen from the raer garden of a property in Chestnut Avenue. The cycle is a black Ranger mountain bike with 2 26” wheels, the word Ranger in white down the frame, cats eye lights on the front and rear and blue and black plastic coated chains. Value of bike is £200. Information to Pc Lee Taylor.

Overnight on 10/11 April at Hall Bridge Rise a blue Alfa Romeo car was damaged by a long scratch from the front of the front panel to the rear of the rear panel on the offside, causing damage valued at £1000. Information to Pc Carla Hammond.

On the same night in Hall Bridge Rise a black Citreon Saxo was similarly damaged with scratches on the nearside front door and nearside rear panel. Damage valued at £250. Information to Pc Carla Hammond.


Maldon

Between 1800 and 2200 on 12 April, entry was gained to insecure premises in Butt Lane, through an open first floor window. After a messy search video recorders, a black LG DVD player and jewellery were stolen. Value of goods £200. Information to Dc Steve Bennett.

Overnight on 8/9 April at Royal Court car park, a red RS 2000 was broken into by pulling the top of the front nearside door from the vehicle. A Sony radio/stereo was removed from the dashboard, valued at £20. Damage valued at £700. Information to Pc Sam Pateman.

Between 2145 and 2345 at car park in Fambridge Road, a blue Citreon Saxo was stolen, valued at £2500. Information to Maldon Police Station.

Between 1015 and 1030 on 13 April, in the Promenade Park, a handbag was stolen containing a black leather purse, £15 in cash, various keys, a mobile phone and a Sony Cybashot silver digital camera. Value of stolen goods is £400. Information to Pc Anthony Crick.

Overnight on 7/8 April at Woodrolfe Road an anchor chain and rope were stolen from the deck of a boat moored on a buoy in the leavings at Woodrolfe Creek. Value of goods is £200. Information to Maldon Police Station.

Between 2330 on midnight on 12 April, at the Oakhouse Bar Café in the High Street, a large tan handbag was stolen, containing a purple snake skin purse, debit card and Ni card, £15 in cash and keys, valued at £60. Information to Pc Arran Shave.

Between 1215 and 1230 on 11 April in Poundstretchers, High Street, a black leather purse was stolen from a closed bag, containing debit cards and £100 in cash, valued at £130. Information to Maldon Police Station.

Overnight on 8/9 April in America Street, two wicker hanging baskets were stolen from the front of a property, valued at £30. Information to Pc Richard Hamilton.

Between midnight on 7 April and 1000 on 9 April a large Euro 240 wheelie bin was stolen from a shop in Market Hill, valued at £50. Information to Pc Arran Shave.

Between 2130 and 2300 on 10 April, in Washington Road, the nearside wing mirror of a black Vauxhall Astra was smashed. Damage is valued at £150. Information to Pc Lea Keene.

Between 1830 on 8 April and 1500 on 11 April, the nearside wing mirror of a red Rover 220 and a purple VW Golf were damaged and the rear windscreen wiper was ripped off in Warwick Drive, causing damage valued at £200. Information to Pc Lea Keane.

Overnight in Warwick Drive the offside wing mirror of a black Toyota Corolla was ripped off and the nearside front door was scratched, casuing £200 damage. Information to Pc Arran Shave.

Between 1600 and 1730 on 9 April at Tescos, Fullbridge, a silver Vauxhall Astra was damaged when the entire nearside door and panel were scratched. Damage valued at £200. Information to Pc Richard Hamilton.


Wickham Bishops

Between 1900 on 6 April and 1200 on 8 April, from a property in Hatfield Road, a red and orange belle petrol cement mixer was stolen, valued at £300. Information to Pc Richard Hamilton.

Between 1130 and 1300 on 11 April in Church Road, the rear nearside window of a silver Peugeot 206 was smashed, causing damage valued at £100. Information to Pc Nicola Clarke.

Forthcoming NAPs meetings:

Tuesday 12 May at 7.00pm Village Hall, Wickham Bishops
Thursday 14 May at 7.00pm Town Hall, Maldon


NHW co-ordinators should make every effort to attend their local meeting. In that way, they can be certain that the issues in their area are identified and prioritised.

Mrs Chris Walker
14 April 2009