Summer
2012
THE NEWSLETTER OF THE HORSHAM DISTRICT NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH
Inside this issue :-
Horsham District NHW Association.
Local Events
Details of NHW week.
News of NHW Schemes.
Save on your Home Insurance
Summer Crime Prevention Advice
Warning over alternative website.
Sussex NHW Federation.
Update from NPT, North and South District.
Organised Immigration Crime
LOCAL EVENTS
Horsham District NHW
Association.
An EGM and Committee
Meeting of the HDNHWA will be
held on the 11th June 2012 @
7:30pm at Southwater Parish
Council Chambers, Beeson
House Southwater.
If any members, area
coordinators or coordinators feel
they would like to join the
committee or just come along
and meet us then please e-mail
our secretary Paula, so seating
can be provided.
at :-
paulamorg5@gmail.com
Storrington Village Day
23 Jun 2012, 2:00PM
Hurston Lane, Storrington,
Fete at Hurston Lane with live
music and variety of stands. We
will be there with timely, seasonal
advice and to talk to generally.
Partridge Green Village Fete -
Street Briefing
23 Jun 2012, 8:00AM
PCSO Tom Guiney will be
present at this annual village
event. It is an opportunity to raise
any concerns or ask questions.
Tom will also be able to update you on current
crime trends and offer advice on prevention.
Cowfold Village Fete - Street Briefing
7 Jul 2012, 8:00AM
PCSO Tom Guiney will be present at this
annual village event.
Street Briefing - Forest Boys School
12 Jun 2012, 2:30PM
Forest Boys School Comptons Lane Horsham,
Please feel free to come along and see me to
discuss any issues you might have. I shall be
outside of Forest Boys
Schoolbetween14.30hrs and 15.30hrs.
PCSO Tracy Field
Forest Neighbourhood Panel Meeting
21 Jun 2012, 7:00PM
Horsham Police Station Hurst Road, Horsham
Please feel free to join us on this evening for
an informal opportunity to discuss any issues
or concerns you may have in your community.
Roffey Local Action Team Meeting
25 Jun 2012, 7:00PM
Roffey Millennium Hall Crawley Road
Horsham West Sussex,
Sussex Police and the Community Safety
Team at Horsham District Council (HDC) have
set up a Local Action Team (LAT) for the
Roffey area. The purpose of the LAT is to
discuss issues and ongoing problems in the
Roffey area and come up with solutions. The
LAT is to be community led. Sussex Police
and HDC will be there along with other partner
agencies to assist with any relevant queries.
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The second meeting will be held on the above
date.
Rudgwick Neighbourhood Panel Meeting
17 Jul 2012, 1:00PM
Meeting will be held at at the Rudgwick Youth
Club which is situated at the playing fields,
Bucks Green off the A281, Guildford Road,
signed Village Hall. The Youth Club House is
the building painted white.
Neighbourhood Panel meets to discuss local
issues with PCSO Sylfan Hammond and to
set local priorities.
Faygate/Colgate Cuppa and Chat
11 Jun 2012, 10:00AM
St Saviour's Church Forest Road Colgate,
This is a for residents to pop in and have a
chat. I will be there if any-one would like to
discuss any concerns. PCSO Tracy Field.
NHW week, 16th - 24th June 2012.
The Neighbourhood and Home Watch Week
2012 campaign resource pack 2012 is now
available for download on
www.ourwatch.org.uk, under campaign
materials .
Save on your Home Insurance with
Towergate
Towergate Insurance can now beat your
home insurance premiums by at least 10%.
Not only that, but Towergate will give
Neighbourhood Watch members £50
cashback on all new home insurance policies
taken up before 31st July this year. Their
policy also includes Home Assistance, a 24-
hour
helpline for emergencies in the home, such as
problems with your heating system, plumbing
or power supply. This means you can rest
assured that you’re only ever a phone call
away from the advice you need. Towergate
understand that as a Neighbourhood Watch
member, you take pride in your home, your
street and your community. For an immediate
quote or cover:
Tel: 0844 346 3253 (Mon – Fri 9am – 5:30pm.
Sat 9am to 1pm)
or visit: www.towergatehomeinsurance.co.uk
NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICING TEAM
UPDATE JANUARY 2012
South District
Overall in the last twelve months to April 2012
we have enjoyed a reduction in all reported
crime. Moreover across the Horsham South
there have been fewer reported dishonesty
related offences in EVERY category! This I
have no doubt is down to the work by
Community officers patrolling in your area and
their ever increasing visibility.
In Storrington PCSO Carol Boniface is
regularly involved in local initiatives to
enhance local people’s lives. Carol has raised
cash donations from the Police Property Act
Fund (a source of cash awarded to community
initiaves funded by the sale of crime proceeds
etc). Benefiting recently has been a play area
in Meadowside which has bought a bench and
Kingsfield Dementia club which has
purchased electronic aids and games aimed
at dementia / Alzheimer’s sufferers. Also in
Storrington cash has been raised by
Neighbourhood police for local junior football
club Storrington and Sullington Vipers.
In Steyning PCSO Louisa Hull has raised
money through the same fund for Steyning
Area First Responders.
If any scheme members are involved in similar
type community projects that would benefit
from this fund make sure you contact your
local PCSO or alternatively call PC Julian
Pinkney at Steyning Police Station on 101
extension 84227.
Moving on finally to crime reduction - a couple
of seasonal messages are appropriate for
members to bear in mind.
Beauty spot car parks are regularly targeted
by thieves. Make sure you don’t become a
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victim of crime by leaving property visible in
your car!. We regularly patrol car parks in the
hope of deterring crime but of course cannot
be there all the time so please do your bit.
The other message is one which I make no
apology for repeating. Hiding your premises
behind high hedges and vegetation may be
appealing from a privacy aspect but also
makes life easier for a would be thief! Please,
if possible, reduce the height or density of
your hedges or trees. I know this means your
neighbours can look in but it also means they
will see and report any suspicious activity
when you are not.
PC Julian Pinkney
On behalf of Horsham South
Neighbourhood Police Team
NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICING TEAM
UPDATE June 2012
North District
Since the last issue, we have had further
changes within our Neighbourhood Policing
Team, Acting Inspector Ian Cooke has
returned to Worthing and now we welcome
onboard Inspector Clare McKnight who has 25
years service with the force and has
experienced many roles ranging from
Response, Neighbourhood Policing,
Performance, Strategic & Crime management
and achieving the ranks of Detective
Constable, Sergeant & Inspector within CID.
She has worked in locations from
Chichester/Arun to Brighton and now including
Horsham.
The last few months has seen an unfortunate
rise in incidents of Burglary dwellings and
shed/garage breaks over Horsham North
District , however, with the hard work of
officers and staff within the force we have had
some great results, some of these being:
The Roffey area of Horsham was subject to a
spree of daytime burglaries in March and April
where the rear of the premises was being
broken into and items stolen from within. An
incident on the 11th April occurred and was
reported to police, with the help of witnesses
and police officers acting quickly and
efficiently, this resulted in 2 males being
arrested for this spree. They are currently on
police bail until June. There have been no
further incidents of this kind in the area to
date.
On the 30th March, an incident was reported to
police of a female finding a male hiding in her
garden in Southwater. Police units attended
and caught sight of the male after he had left
the property. A chase has ensued whereby
the male was apprehended after threatening
the officer with a crowbar . Property was also
located on the male which was quickly linked
to a burglary which had occurred in Blakes
Farm Road, Southwater that day. The male
Ricky Brigden 36 years of No Fixed Abode
was charged with Burglary Dwelling and Affray
and has been remanded in custody to appear
at Lewes Crown Court 15th June 2012.
Another great result of members of the public
and police team work is the arrest of 3
persons on the 10th May on suspicion of
Burglary within the Partridge Green area.
From descriptions given by the public of
persons acting suspiciously in the area, they
were identified to be known by police and
were subsequently located. This area
including Shermanbury, Henfield, and Cowfold
had been subject of a recent spree of daytime
burglaries and overnight shed breaks, these
incidents are being considered to be linked
with enquiries and investigations ongoing.
The suspects are currently on police bail till
the end of May.
Hopefully we have now seen the tail end of
the ‘April showers’ and with the warm weather
bringing the opportunity to have windows and
doors open during the day, we would like to
remind all residents to please be mindful of
your home security when not only leaving your
house unattended but also when present in
your gardens with doors and windows ajar at
the front of the property, leaving an
opportunity for quick and easy access to be
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gained to steal items.
Also we would like to remind people of leaving
any valuables within their vehicles even if for a
short period of time, there are opportunistic
thieves out there who work on people doing
just this and is a very quick way of possessing
money or personal items such as mobiles and
Sat Navs which can be sold on easily if not
security marked.
We would also like to provide reassurance in
relation to the up and coming events
surrounding the Olympics for 2012. Sussex
police amongst other forces are being utilised
and resourced within our own force and that of
the Metropolitan Police to assist and provide
numbers required, however we would like to
point out that there will still be an acceptable
level of resilience of cover of police officers
within our own districts and divisions to
continue our day to day role of serving and
protecting the public.
Natalie Steward
Police Constable DS696
NEWS OF NHW SCHEMES
AROUNDTHE AREA
‘No cold calling zone’
The absolutely best thing I have achieved as a
neighbourhood watch coordinator is setting up
a ‘no cold calling zone’. I feel strongly that
cold calling can make a person feel vulnerable
in their own home. By setting up the zone,
our street presents a more united approach to
door steppers. Every house is encouraged to
display the NHW sign and we also have a
street sign warning would be cold callers.
We want to reduce the risk of distraction
burglaries occurring, protect the vulnerable
and stop would be burglars ‘casing’ our
houses. The ‘no cold calling zone’ was set
up with the help of the trading standards.
website www.tradingstandards.gov.uk . There
is lots of relevant information on the website,
which will hopefully inspire you all to set up
this most valuable of assets for your
neighbourhood watch scheme.
Andrea Ward
Street Coordinator, Park Terrace West,
Horsham.
Organised Immigration Crime,
Human Trafficking and Exploitation
Sussex Police is currently reviewing its
processes for combating all types of
Organised Immigration Crime, Human
Trafficking and Exploitation offences, are in
effect “Modern Day Slavery.
Potentially vulnerable venues and locations
might include: -
Brothels/ massages parlours
Areas associated with roaming DVD
sellers
Areas associated with roaming building/
tarmacing canvassers
Pick Your Own fruit farms
Car washes .
It is vital that community and business
partners assist us by reporting activity that
might arouse suspicion that vulnerable
individuals are being exploited following
trafficking. Victims will often be tightly
controlled, working long hours for little or no
pay and living in poor or cramped housing with
little contact with the outside world. A number
of recent investigations by Sussex Police have
confirmed that this type of crime is being
committed in our county. However, we want to
know more about the extent and scale of this
problem. We would ask to be vigilant for any
such suspicious activity, reporting any
incidents to the police and quoting the
operational name ‘Op Thames’.
Sgt Jim Collen
Crawley Police Station
Horsham District Neighbourhood
Watch Association (HDNHWA)
At their last meeting on the 15th February in
Billingshurst the recently formed association
received a grant of £300 from the Sussex
Police Authority. The cheque was presented
by Police Community Support Officer Sue
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Poynter on behalf of Sussex police to David
Langdon Chairman of the HDNHWA. The
Chairman thanked the police for their support
in forming the HDNHWA and for the £300
grant that would be put to good use in
promoting Neighbourhood Watch across the
Horsham District.
The Horsham district covers a wide area that
includes not only Horsham town and nearby
villages but many other villages such as
Steyning, Storrington, Pulborough,
Billingshurst and Cowfold to name but a few. It
is hoped the association will be able to
promote, bring together and coordinate
Neighbourhood Watch across the whole
district. Among other things it will give
guidance and information to coordinators and
will also act as a link between coordinators,
the Sussex Neighbourhood Watch Federation
and police management within Sussex.
Community Safety Survey.
West Sussex County Council want to know
your views on crime and community safety in
your local area and in West Sussex.
Police, Local authorities, NHS, Fire and
Rescue Services as well as local community
groups work in partnership to reduce crime
and disorder to make residents feel safe. We
want to understand your priorities and the
areas you think services should be focusing
on in the future.
The survey is now live on the WSCC website,
and as many people as possible are
encouraged to complete it. This will be of
great assistance to the incoming Police &
Crime Commissioner, who is due to be
elected in November.
The survey is available online and takes
approximately 10 minutes to complete, it can
be completed via the West Sussex CC
website http://www.westsussex.gov.uk
SUMMER CRIME PREVENTION
ADVICE.
Summer is a time of warm days when
windows, doors and garages are often left
open, and tools and valuables may be left
lying around outside.
The most common cases of opportunist
summer burglary involve offenders that:
• enter an insecure front door while
residents are in the back garden
• enter doors that are closed but
unlocked at night while residents are
asleep
• reach through windows to take valuable
items
Summer burglary prevention tips:
• If you are out in the back garden,
ensure that your front door is secure.
• Put your garden tools and games away
into a secure garage or tools shed after
using them, they could be used to
break into your home, or your
neighbours'.
• When you leave a room unattended,
close the windows and doors -
especially on the ground floor.
• If you want to leave windows open
while you sleep, fit window restrictors
so they cannot be fully opened, or
make sure they are not large enough to
allow access to a burglar.
• Keep all wallets, purses, credit cards,
car keys and other valuables out of
sight.
Consider fitting outside security lighting
or a visible alarm to help deter burglars.
Even using pea shingle or gravel on a
driveway and spiky plants in garden
beds can help.
Horsham Town Community
Partnership
ESTABLISHING NEW SCHEMES AND
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Horsham District NHW WEBSITE -
www.mynhwsussex.org
e-mail - nhwhorsham@yahoo.co.uk
Compiled and edited by Diane Morrison, Horsham NHW
Webmaster and NHW Coordinator. I have recently taken
over editing the newsletter and I would welcome any
comments you may have on the format or ideas for articles
in future newsletters at :-
nhwhorsham@yahoo.co.uk
DEVELOPING EXISTING SCHEMES.
The Horsham Town Community Partnership
which has recently been formed has this as
one of its objectives, and it is an important
priority of the police and of the Association,
which may become a member of the
Partnership. A leaflet “What have you got to
lose” is available for distribution to encourage
people to set up NHW schemes. Arthur
Carden, Area Co-ordinator for Horsham
Riverside, and a local team will shortly drop
copies to all households in streets in his area
where schemes previously existed to try to
find new street coordinators.
