Friday 20^th of January 2012 – Thursday 26^th of January 2012

In Your Area

I have to report that in the last week the following crime/crimes occurred in or near to your area.

Crime Reference WK/12/441 – Between the hours of 08:00 and 19:00 on Saturday the 21^st of January 2012 a vehicle parked in SWALLOW RISE, KNAPHILL had its registration plates stolen.

Criminals will often steal vehicle registration plates to place on their own vehicles in order to carry out other criminal activities in an attempt to go undetected. Protect your registration plates by securing them to your vehicle with tamper proof screws and bolts. Visit www.safe-plates.co.uk for further information.

If you feel that you have witnessed any incident that may relate to the above crime/crimes please call 101 quoting the relevant crime number.

Can you please circulate the details of the crimes to the members of your watch if you think it will be of value. Remember that if you have elderly or vulnerable residents in your road this information may frighten them so be careful how you deliver this message.

Yours Sincerely

Mark Saunders

Crime Prevention Design Advisor

Woking Borough

Investigation launched following distraction thefts in Woking and Surrey Heath

Surrey Police has launched an investigation following a number of distraction thefts in Woking and Surrey Heath over the last two weeks.

The most recent incident took place at Lynch Estate Agents in Woking High Street between 11-15 am and midday on Friday (January 20), when two women speaking broken English asked sales staff for details of properties which were on the market. During the conversation the women waved a piece of paper in the agent’s face to distract him, giving them the opportunity to take a computerised personal organiser from his desk. The younger woman has then taken a phone call before they both left the office.

The first suspect is of Asian appearance, in her mid 40s to 50s, 5 ft 4 tall, with dark-coloured hair and wearing a black and white checked head covering and dark clothing. The second suspect is also of Asian appearance, in her 20s, 5ft 4 to 5 ft 6 tall, with dark hair which was in a bun. She was wearing a black fitted bomber jacket and was carrying a phone with a pink cover.

A similar incident took place at Alan Greenwood and Sons Funeral Director in The Parade, Frimley, at 1-45pm on January 18. A man came in asking about arranging a funeral before picking up a £500 i Phone from the desk and running out of the shop. He is described as being of Asian appearance, in his early 20s, 5 ft 7 tall, with short dark hair and was wearing a black top or coat, brown trousers and black plimsolls.

Police are also investigating an incident at Accessorize in The Peacocks Centre in Woking around 5pm on January 13 when one man distracted a member of staff at the till while another man made off with her £400 i Phone.

Officers are also investigating an incident at Leaders Estate Agent in Chertsey Road, Woking, just before 1pm on January 10. A man and a woman went to the office and distracted staff using leaflets and begging for money before making off with a £700 i Phone. The man was described as around 20 years with short dark hair and wearing blue jeans and a tracksuit top, while the woman was described as 20-30 years, of Indian or Eastern European appearance with long dark hair in a ponytail and was wearing a silk scarf and silk skirt with trousers underneath.

Police are also investigating links with a burglary at a house in Princess Gardens in Maybury on Sunday (January 22), when a woman knocked on the back door and asked to use the toilet. After she left, the elderly occupant realised that £40 cash had been taken from the pocket of a pair of trousers he had left in the bathroom. The woman is described as white, 20-30 years old, of a slim build and was wearing a woolly hat.

West Surrey Detective Inspector Andy Haslam said: “We are carrying out a number of enquiries to try and establish the offenders responsible for these thefts. In the meantime, we would ask staff and shop owners to remain vigilant and not to leave their personal possessions on display.”

If you have any information regarding any of these incidents, please contact Surrey Police on 101, quoting crime reference number WK/12/404. Alternatively, if you prefer to remains anonymous, call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Actions taken on your neighbourhood priorities

Anti-social driving
Over the past month Surrey Police has continued to tackle ongoing issues around the anti-social use of motor vehicles in the area.
The focus of this includes car parks to where large groups of youths appear to congregate late at night in order to socialise. This has proven to be an issue for those residents who live nearby to the car parks and as a result Surrey Police has received a large number of complaints about the level of noise that attributes these gatherings.

Of note, the following car parks have received a significant number of complaints from residents in the Knaphill, Brookwood area:
– The Vyne/Alexandra Gardens off Redding Way, Knaphill
– Sainsburys car park off Redding Way, Brookwood
– Brookwood Train Station car park

In recent weeks the local team has handed out warning letters to those suspected of causing a persistent level of alarm distress and annoyance to residents. This has notably made some impact to the number of calls that we have been receiving and also with the number of youths seen to gather in the car parks also decreasing in number.
Brookwood Train station off Connaught Road has recently become an issue with the same type of offence. British Transport Police has also been informed of this as the car park for the station comes under their authority.

Residents are again advised to report any form of anti-social driving including speeding, revving engines or playing loud music to Surrey Police, making sure to note as much information as is safe to do so such as vehicle index, make and model.

With the help of the council, car parks are being looked at for their lighting and use of cameras in order to assist in deterring people from gathering in them late at night and causing noise disturbances.

Operation Smart
On 23 November, 2011 the local team carried out an Operation Drive Smart day, whereby road users in the locality of Knaphill and Brookwood were educated at the roadside for any traffic offence witnessed. The operation was a complete success with up to 20 road users given a warning for offences of excess speed. Two road users incurred fixed penalty notices for offences including using a mobile phone whilst driving and excess speed which includes a fine and points.

The new non-emergency telephone number – 101 – is proving a success in Surrey since its official launch on 1st September 2011.

More than 50 percent of the non-emergency calls coming into the Surrey Police contact centre are made by members of the public using 101 rather than the previous 0845 number.

The memorable 101 number has now been rolled out to all police forces across England and Wales and is expected to continue to aid the police in dealing with calls for help from the public.

101 costs 15p per call from both mobile phones and landlines, no matter how long the call lasts or what time of day it’s made. Calls to 101 from telephone boxes are free.

As an alternative to 101 – a geographical number – 01483 571212 – is also available for those unable to use the 101 service (for example, if calling from abroad).

Chief Inspector Alison Barlow, from Surrey Police’s Contact Centre, said: “On average Surrey Police receives around 350 emergency 999 calls a day but less than 20 percent of those require an emergency response from the police. You should only call 999 in a real emergency, for example when someone’s life is in danger, a serious offence is in progress or someone is at risk of violence. For all other issues such as contacting police with a general enquiry or reporting minor crime or disorder the public should contact Surrey Police on the 101 number.”

Minor crime can also be reported online, at a police station or at Surrey Police’s mobile police office. For more details visit http://www.surrey.police.uk

Surrey Police has launched an initiative this week to tackle vehicle crime across the county. Activity will include neighbourhood officers and extra patrol teams focussing on the hot spot areas within Surrey and offenders known to be linked to vehicle crime. The Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) team will also be stopping vehicles which are known to have been stolen or have links to offenders. The overall aim is to reduce the offences of theft from and theft of motor vehicles.

In addition to these operational activites, innovative ‘Fixed Police Notices’ containing crime prevention advice will also be put on cars in vulnerable areas or where vehicle crime has recently taken place.

Inspector Richard Mallet of Surrey Police Roads Policing Unit advises the following steps to reduce vehicle crime;

Always lock your car when you leave it, even if it’s just for a few moments. Make sure windows and sunroofs are shut and locked too.

Never leave any personal possessions in your car. Thieves love to steal sat navs, laptops and mobile phones. But less obvious items such as clothes and loose change are also appealing.

Don’t leave valuables hidden in your boot or under car seats. Thieves know where to look.

Don’t store driving or vehicle documents in your glove box. Keep them stored safely at home.

If your car doesn’t have an alarm, get one fitted or use a steering lock to deter thieves.

Look after your car keys. Keep them on you when out and about. When at home keep them hidden and not in view of a window, door or letterbox.

Secure your number plate with clutch head screws to avoid becoming a victim of ‘car cloning’.

Keep your eye out for potential car criminals. If you see someone looking inside cars or trying door handles call Surrey Police on 101. In an emergency always call 999.

For more details on how to protect your vehicle visit www.surrey.police.uk/vehiclecrime