Hello and welcome to the Summer Swavesey area newsletter. SouthCambsCops met with the public on the 21st May at Over primary school for the latest panel meeting. We discussed the previous three priorities set for Police and set three new areas for Police to deal with:
1) Reduce criminal damage Willingham and Papworth
2) Speeding Oakington Rd Girton, Boxworth End Swavesey,
3) Develop online presence in Willingham
A full update on the previous quarter’s updates can be viewed here.
Good news:
Anti-social driving in Papworth remains much reduced on this time last year. Following wide consultation with business and local councillors Police did not seek to continue an order put in place between Jan and March to prevent such gatherings. Support from the community for this initiative was impressive, and the team thank all those that gave time to provide statements to support the application. In the future we hope to use the bridges we have built with enthusiast groups to keep the peace in the longer term.
Rave prevention – Again with the support of communities around the district Police have been able to follow up a number of leads regarding potential raves, and work with land owners to stops them occurring. We have a number of vulnerable locations in our area such as nature reserves and isolated fields. There is further advice available on our blog site here
Get Closer Campaign – SouthCambsCops are joining forces with the Constabulary to target Anti Social behaviour over the summer months. A series of radio adverts are being used along with marketing material to highlight to young people the consequences of anti-social behaviour. The campaign focuses on the harm it causes to the victim, and also seeks to support and encourage victims to get on contact. More information and recordings of the radio adverts can be found on the force website www.cambs-police.co.uk
Burglary- There has been an overall reduction in the amount of house burglary victims over the last quarter; Girton has seen a good reduction. A small pattern emerged in March in Papworth village and the surrounding villages that has now stopped. Despite the drop in offences we should remain alert, and never be afraid to report suspicious behaviour.
Crime prevention:
Across the district we are fortunate to see just a few distraction burglaries. A distraction burglary is defined by the offender targeting elderly and vulnerable persons, gaining entry by some deception. You may be familiar with the idea of offenders posing as people from the water or gas board. The Constabulary goes through great lengths to warn the elderly and vulnerable about these crimes, and we do receive a number of very welcome calls to report suspicious callers. One issue that remains across South Cambs is that of door to door callers. We hope this advice can help determine when, and who to call:
A sales persons – who is not asking for money up front, but maybe looking to sign you up to a commitment such as broad band package or an energy supplier. Most of the major energy and telecommunications companies do not employ people directly to sell door to door, so may not have ID from the suppliers but from smaller sales firms. Being a regular concern: we are currently in conversation with Talk Talk to ascertain their policy on door to door sales. Companies such as British gas will only dispatch a sales person to your house if you phone as ask for quote.
A hawker or pedlar – a salesperson who is selling door to door and requires immediate payment (often selling small items such as dusters etc). This is a licensed activity, and anyone doing this must have a licence and produce it to you. If the sales person cannot provide a licence to you, call 101 to report these persons and Police will attend and report persons to the courts for not
A rogue trader – someone known to the Police or trading standards as providing sub standard work or who has taken payment far in excess of the value of services they provide. Often referred to as con-men. In general, concerns should be reported to Cambridgeshire Trading Standards on 0345 0455206, they will deal with any transaction over £30. If you feel a person’s is trying to “con” you asking for money on the door step for work they have undertaken then call 999.
There are a number of reputable, honest and accredited door to door sales persons. For the elderly, infirm and vulnerable it is very difficult to say no for a number of reasons. No cold calling zones are set up by trading standards to protect residents from these issues.
By far the best approach to take it not to buy or sell anything on the door step.
The next public meeting for your area will be on the 20th August, held at Longstanton Golf club, 7:30pm
Contact: The South Cambs Police team are proud that we have number of ways for you to keep in touch with us.
– You can talk to us in person at our panel meetings or by calling 101 and asking to talk to your local PCSO.
– By emailing histon.npt@cambs.pnn.police.uk.
– You can follow us on twitter @southcambscops
– You can sign up to “ecops” and get regular email bulletins from your local team (visit www.cambs.police.uk/ecops.)
– We also conduct face to face consultation by door knocking in your village one a month.
– We conduct quarterly online consultation, the links can be found at the web link above, and we are very pleased to have worked with local village colleges to talk with young people about their views on local policing, crime and anti social behaviour.
– You can also message officers via the local pages on the force website www.cambs.police.uk
Policing in South Cambridgeshire 