By Inspector Maxine Cilia, Spelthorne Borough Commander
I hope your summer has been enjoyable and you have coped with the very hot days and dry gardens. Spelthorne is seeing a rise in the theft of moped scooters, and with youths riding them with no headwear other than a balaclava. Not only is this dan-gerous for them, as they are mostly stolen and being joyridden, but also dangerous for users of the pathways which they ride up on when going through alleyways and short cuts. If you are aware of any persons riding in this fashion, or you know where scooters are being stored, please let us know. If you have a scooter and park it on a drive on in the street please consider buying an extra locking device for it as we have seen how quickly these groups can steal them. We have also seen the difference it makes when there is a lock in place. If you have any information please let us know via 101 (see below for other options) or Crime Stop-pers 0800 555 1111. If your child is wearing a balaclava when it is not cold, maybe you could ask them why. There is only one reason other than when it is cold, and that is to conceal identity! It has been great seeing all the community events running in the borough throughout the summer. We have had a number of regattas and other events which have all been fantastic, well attended and well organised. We always try to pop in at these events but cannot promise to provide a pres-ence for the whole event. Look out for us at our local community events where we will be offering bike marking. We always advertise our locations on Facebook on our Spelthorne Beat Pages. Other crime that we have noticed is the reappear-ance of opportunistic theft from motor vehicles. Often offenders will test car doors in the small hours of the night, to see if they open. When they get lucky they find a trove of treasure left behind. I cannot believe how many people keep important possessions in their open vehicles; credit cards, bank cards, expensive designer sunglasses, money and even mobile phones. Our advice is obviously first and foremost lock your vehicle, but failing that at least take out all these treasures because with the ability to spend on cards without a PIN number these cards really are worth stealing. The last crime type to tell you about that has come to our notice as a small series recently is Fraud. This is in the form of rogue traders. These suspects often look for the signs of a house owned by an older/frail person, such as overgrown garden, older style doors, signs of guttering leaking, older roofs etc. They then approach the poor unsuspect-ing victim and offer to do some work on their be-half. This is either at double or triple the standard cost, or the standard cost but never completed, or even just an excuse to get in the house to steal. A couple of the cases we have seen also purport to be drain clearance working from well-known compa-nies. As a rule no one will just turn up on your doorstep from a reputable company unannounced, and if they do, they will have ID which you can check while they wait outside. Please look out for elderly and vulnerable neighbours. If you know them well, maybe you can be a support for them if they get strangers at the doorstep, where they can call you if they are in doubt of the identity and purpose of the person. I am pleased to let you know that we were success-ful in our Safer Streets Bid 2022-2023 and will be working with the Housing Association and Spelthorne Council in Sunbury to improve the CCTV in underpasses lighting and public access area in Sunbury Cross and nearby estates. I will update you more in the next coming months through our social media/Facebook pages. Please remember, your piece of information could be that final bit of the puzzle which helps us to solve a crime or identify an offender, so please let us know any information you may have. If you do not want to wait on the 101 telephone number please use the FaceBook messaging service on our Spelthorne Beat Page or use the on-line reporting on Surrey Police website. If it is urgent and you feel threatened or need help immediately as a crime is in progress always call 999. We are also actively recruiting so if you think that policing is a career for you why not go on to the Surrey Police Website to find out more. Thank you for everything that you do for us and your community.
Keep safe and well.