By Inspector Maxine Cilia, Spelthorne Borough Commander
People are now returning to their workplaces after such a long period of time work-ing from home there are a number of crime patterns that have seen a slight in-crease. It is nice to be out and about but that gives the criminals other opportuni-ties too. Burglary is one of these such crimes that have seen a local increase. We have seen a number of burglaries where the entry into the house has been gained via the rear of the property and access via smashing a window, door or patio doors. Some of the tools used are as simple as a stone statue situated near the door or windows or rocks and bricks left lying in the garden. My advice is to consider checking any access to the rear of your prop-erty is secured, mend your gates and consider putting a padlock or bolts. Where possible remove tools and objects that can be used to gain entry into your home. Please consider joining you local neighbourhood watch scheme, https://www.ourwatch.org.uk/ . There is always someone around to keep an eye on properties and suspicious persons.
Please report any suspicious persons to us. We really would like to know if you have seen people door knocking, taking pictures of properties or just looking out of place. If you are concerned and think it is out of place it probably is.
Consider some further security such as alarm systems and/or cameras or camera door bells. Everything is a further deterrent.
The other crimes in the local area are theft of tools from transit type vans. Unfortunately this crime is often of high value because tradespersons tend to have numerous tools in their vehicles which are not cheap and are difficult to identify. Entry to vans is often by a hole drilled into the door and or simply bending out side doors with any implement to gain access. We are unaware where these tools go to be sold and would really like to know if you have been offered cheap power tools in the area or are aware of any sales of power tools. As a deterrent please consider marking tools up with a company name or postcode or number that is unique and identi-fiable. At least that way we can return found tools to rightful owners and when we stop vehicles we can check these numbers on our databases. These items are also less desirable to steal and more difficult to sell on. Tools can also be registered on the national property register The National Property Register, for Phones, Gadgets, Bicycles & More… (immobilise.com).
We really do need your help and support in finding stolen property, discovering where it is sold and making it difficult for people to profit from crime. So please consider letting us know by speaking to one of your local PCSO’s, calling us on 101 or talking to us via the Facebook Spelthorne Beat Pages https://www.facebook.com/SpelthornePolice. Fraud continues to be a national problem for us all. Whether it is a scam phone caller or someone contacting you by email, it is so easy to fall for some frauds unwittingly. It is never something to feel ashamed about and you should always report it to us. We have a great publication called The Big Little Book of Scams and it has excellent information in to keep you safe. You can access this on the internet with the link below https://www.surrey.police.uk/SysSiteAssets/media/downloads/surrey/advice/watch-schemes-and-initiatives/operation-signature/surrey-book-of-scams-pdf-v6.pdf or if you would like a printed copy please contact one of our team, or pop along to a meet the beat session where we always have some for you to take away. One the best top tips in the book is “Be suspi-cious of all ‘Too Good to be true’ offers. There are no guaranteed get rich quick schemes” . There are so many other great tips and detail in the book. It is definitely worth a read to stay safe from fraud in today’s modern society.