MEON VALLEY NORTH SAFER NEIGHBOURHOODS TEAM

IF YOU DIDN'T BUY A TICKET, YOU HAVEN'T WON THE LOTTERY....... It would be good if more people thought about this and hung up the phone! Unfortunately many are taken in and some part with thousands of pounds before realising they have been fooled.
Scams now come in many versions - free holidays, bogus shares, miracle healing cures, travel clubs etc. Hampshire Trading Standards report a 100% increase in complaints in the last 12 months and are taking part in a national SCAMNESTY campaign to make people more aware of the dangers out there. For more information here

Which Computing reports that one of the latest scams is cold calling from people pretending to be from Microsoft, or an internet service provider, saying there is a virus on the user's PC and offering to take them through steps to fix the "problem". This results in the user allowing remote access to their PC, and ultimately divulging their credit card details in order to pay a fee for the repair. Remember, never tell anyone your personal details, unless you are absolutely 100% certain they are who they say they are. If in doubt, hang up and ring them back on a number you know is valid, not one they gave you. And – if it looks too good to be true, it probably is!

To encourage more people to report these scams, you can send your scam letters to: Trading Standards Service, Hampshire County Council, FREEPOST (SCE 7175), Winchester SO23 8ZZ, for intelligence purposes. Anyone who feels they or someone they know may have fallen victim to a scam, can also contact Consumer Direct on 08454 04 05 06.

Call Andrew or Ashley on 01962 733990 or visit our website www.prospectfencing.co.uk

KEEP YOUR GARDEN SECURE

Suppliers of Fencing, Pergolas, Sheds, Summer Houses, Decking, Gates, Garden furniture and much more.

Prospect Fencing Ltd
Prospect Road
Alresford
Hants. SO24 9QF

CRIME IN PROGRESS? — RING 999 NOW - NOT TOMORROW

LEVELS OF SERVICE

Hampshire Constabulary has joined other forces in England and Wales in signing up to the national Policing Pledge. This is in addition to the Service Level Agreement, recently signed between Hampshire Neighbourhood Watch and the Police. Between them, they set out expected standards and show commitment from both Hampshire Constabulary and Neighbourhood Watch from the highest level. Details can be found here.

This is a key link to become familiar with the SNT personnel, contacts, beat surgeries, initiatives and other information such as dates when the mobile police station may be in your area.

ANTI SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR

Some of you may have received a government leaflet on Tackling Anti-Social Behaviour, with your free paper. Alresford is a relatively low crime area, but ASB is still the problem of highest concern to many residents. We in Neighbourhood Watch must support the commitment of the SNT to deal with this issue.

A summer initiative will be repeated this year. Volunteers would be welcomed by the Police. You can all help, by being aware where your youngsters are; all incidents are caused by someone’s children!

As always though, it is important to report all incidents. Non emergencies to 101, but if there is danger to life or property in progress then 999. On line reporting is also possible; details of this and much more about ASB here.

101

The Government is proposing reintroduction of the 101 national non-emergency phone number to report minor crime and antisocial behaviour.

A national non-emergency number is needed to make it as easy to complain about antisocial behaviour as it is to ring 999, taking the pressure off the emergency service, by diverting less urgent calls.

National rollout would depend on "a suitable infrastructure which provides value for money" for the police, Whitehall and the public, says the Home Office.

Hampshire and Wales are two of the few areas that are still operating the 101 scheme, so please continue to use it for non emergency calls.

CO-ORDINATOR NEWS

We welcome new Co-ordinators Wendy Starforth Hill for Haig and Melanie Ridley for Castles. Our thanks go to Margot Power and Roger Whiffen for their services.

ADNWA COMMITTEE

The following changes to the Committee have taken place. Gareth Rees has taken over as Treasurer and Mark Flemming has taken on Secretary/Administrator duties. We still have vacancies and if any Co-ordinator wishes to volunteer, please contact Chairman, John Stevenson on 07595 368946.

Constabulary Column

MEON VALLEY NORTH SAFER NEIGHBOURHOODS TEAM

There have been some changes to the SNT that covers our area. Sergeant Wayne Curson and PC Steve Thompson have both moved on to pastures new, after a considerable number of years service to our community. We thank them both and wish them well for the future.

We welcome Sergeant Amanda Smith, whose 20 year career started in the Met as a fresh faced probationer in the East End at the age of 18, where she says she certainly learned the job in a short space of time! Since joining Hampshire, she has worked in Aldershot, Fareham and various crime and drug units in Southampton. In 1998 she moved to CID, passing the Sergeants exam to work in Eastleigh as a Detective Sergeant.

Latterly Sergeant Smith worked as Custody Sergeant in Winchester and will now strive to make the area of Meon Valley North a safe place to live/work/visit and looks forward to meeting us all and working closely together in partnership.

PC Paul McShea joined Hampshire Police in 1987 and spent the first 13 years of his service at various stations in the New Forest. In 2000 he moved to Winchester, serving as an area car driver on a response shift for 10 years. He came to Alresford in December 2009 and is looking forward to the new challenge of working in a more community based role, which will allow him to try and resolve the more long term issues that arise.