Caerwent Community Neighbourhood Watch

POLICE NOTES

OCTOBER 2002 October is here again and the evenings are drawing in. Unfortunately, this gives thieves longer hours of darkness to attempt to steal your property! RECENT CRIME PATTERNS Over the period of August and September there has been a large increase in the number of thefts from garages. Items such as lawn mowers, hedge trimmers and all types of power tools have been stolen. The main offenders appear to be hardened drug addicts living in Caldicot and thesurroundong area. The problem of thefts from garages and sheds is mainly confined to Caldicot but may .start to spread outwards to the surrounding areas if the "supply" of items to steal "dries up". Therefore I strongly advise that readers review the security of their garages and sheds, in particular the security of the "up and over" type of garage door. Some relevant advice is given below: GARAGE AND SHED SECURITY If your shed or garage has a window put up a net curtain. This helps to prevent thieves from seeing what is inside. If the window opens fit a lock, also consider fitting a metal grill. On the doors fit a heavy duty hoop and staple or lockable shoot bolt. Ensure that it is securely fixed using nuts, bolts and washers with a metal backplate. The bolts should go right through the door frame and be round headed on the outside. On "up and over" type garage doors fit the hoop and staple into the concrete floor if possible. Ensure that you purchase a good quality heavy duty combination or padlock. If you have to store expensive items, lawnmowers, cycles and ladders, consider chaining them to racks and locking them. Get pedal cycles post coded. Mark other items with your post code and list all manufacturers' serial numbers etc. Don't leave anything that may be useful for thieves around the outside of your property - axes, spades, crowbars, ladders etc. Consider fitting a standard or remote battery infra red alarm within the shed or garagee. These are now very good and may well discourage the criminal from taking anything. If the garage or shed contains a deep freeze, fit a good quality lock to it. Thieves will steal meat etc. to sell on. Finally, remember that if you see anything suspicious don't worry about *BOTHERING THE POLICE" - Just dial 999. If it is not an emergency the operator will downgrade the response priority. It's better to have nine false alarms and catch one criminal than no calls and have that criminal escape. I welcome all constructive comments, critical or otherwise, about my articles. If there is any aspect of general criminal law tnat you would like to know about, let me know and I will write an article on it. A GENERAL REMINDER! If you see any suspicious activity - don't worry about 'disturbing the police'. Please just dial Caldicot Police Station on 01291-430999 or 999 straight away. Remember, your efforts can make a real difference. Until next month. Ashley Turner. PC 737, Community Police Constable PS:- I still have "BOGUS CALLER INITIATIVE" packs and some very good booklets on drugs and alcohol abuse. If anyone would like one contact me at the Police Station on 01291-430999.

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