Neighbourhood Watch

The Neighbourhood Watch scheme, also known as Home Watch; is about bringing people closer together and involving them in local village life. It plays an important part in making the community safer and one of the most important things that scheme members can do is to look out for activity that seems suspicious or unusual and report it to the police. It may help solve or prevent a crime!  Any messages received from Dorset Police regarding Neighbourhood Watch will be posted here as soon as we receive them.  Please check this page frequently in order to keep up to date with any alerts.  Alerts will normally be deleted after 2 weeks.

New Non-Emergency Police Number

This is a Community Message from Dorset Police, we thank you for your continued support.

101 NON-EMERGENCY NUMBER GOES LIVE IN DORSET

The new 101 police non-emergency telephone number has gone live today, Monday, 19 September 2011. Members of the public in Dorset must now ring 101 to contact Dorset Police for non-urgent enquiries. The new 101 number has replaced the previous non-emergency police number in Dorset of 01202 or 01305 222 222.
Chief Superintendent Colin Searle, Communications and Contact Services Commander, said: “The new 101 police non-emergency telephone number is easy to remember and will be live across the whole country early next year. It is important that the public in Dorset know that they must dial 101 to contact the police in Dorset for non-urgent business from now on. The public should call 101 to report crime, to contact their local Safer Neighbourhood Team, to provide us with information about crimes that have been committed or to make a general enquiry.   As ever, people should always dial 999 in an emergency – when life is in danger or a crime is in progress.”

Calls to the 101 non-emergency number – from both landlines and mobile phones – cost 15 pence per call no matter what time of day you call, or how long you are on the phone.

A reminder that your Safer Neighbourhood Police Officers are:-
Sgt Steve Yeoman, PC Jeremy Cuff and PCSO Vickie Hedges
Call them at Dorset Police on: 01305 222 222 or on their team mobile: 07500 816291
Please only use the numbers above for non-emergency calls. If a crime is in progress or life is in danger, please dial 999.

Meet the team and members of your PACT Panel to raise local issues at the following events.
Surgeries:
Puddletown Library, Every Wednesday between 3 - 4pm
Cheselbourne Village Hall, 10.00am - 10.45am Friday 15th April 2011
Dewlish Village Hall, 11.00am - 11.45am Friday 15th April 2011

PLEASE REMEMBER NEVER TQ CHALLENGE SOMEONE BEHAVING SUSPICIOUSLY OR PUT
YOURSELF AT RISK.
How to contact the Police and which number do you need to ring?
Before ringing consider the following:
• Is life at risk?
• Are offenders nearby?
• Is someone injured?
• Is immediate Police action 'necessary?
If the answer is yes to any of the above then ring 999
For all other incidents or routine enquiries and advice please ring 01305 222 222

Police frequently receive reports from worried residents in relation to silent phone calls.  The fear is that someone is just checking whether they
are out.  Police have investigated these calls in the past and there is nothing sinister to be concerned about.  It is usually companies that telephone-sell goods using multiple dialling, which phones 20 lines simultaneously, and as soon as one person answers, all the other phone lines are cut.  You can stop at least some these unsolicited calls easily by registering with the Telephone Preference Service.  The number to stop these sales calls is 0845 070 0707.

A company, possibly based on a call centre in India, has been contacting telephone subscribers and claiming to be from the Telephone Preference Service (TPS).  TPS is a free service that aims to stop nuisance cold-calling on the telephone.  The callers claim that TPS is free for only three years, after which a subscription of £30 is payable and then ask for credit card or bank account details.  This is a scam - TPS is always a free service; do not divulge any details of credit cards or bank accounts.  For further details, check out http://www.mpsonline.org.uk/tps/news1.html

Thefts from churches, particularly lead from roofs, are an increasing problem.  There have been several incidents in West Dorset.  Local awareness and identification of strangers is an invaluable defence.  Buckland Newton is therefore joining the police initiative 'Church Watch', and those living around that part of the village will be receiving invitations asking for their support.  If you see anyone acting suspiciously around the Church, or anywhere in the village, the police would like to know straight away.  Better a false alarm than missing a wrongdoing.  Dorchester Police 01305 222222.

Scams: Don't get caught out
Everyday tens of thousands of people across the UK open their post to find that they have apparently won
money in a lottery or have a special parcel awaiting delivery on receipt of a delivery fee or following a
premium rate telephone call. Many others receive phone calls telling them similar stories.
DON'T BELIEVE THEM
Watch out for these warning signs:
• You must send a fee to make your claim
• The company is based overseas or has a PO Box address3H_
• You are asked for your credit or bank account details
• You must call a premium rate telephone number (090...)
• You must respond immediately to claim your prize
It's an unsolicited letter, phone call or e-mail
In short, never spend any money in response to these scams...

Doorstep traders are similar so never allow anyone through the door without being sure who they are. IF IN
DOUBT SHUT THEM OUT. You can always take their identity card and ring their employer to check them
out There is a sticker available from Scamwise Southwest for use on a glass panel on or near the front door
which tells unwanted visitors not to bother to ring or knock. If you would like one please ring them on 08454
04 05 06.

Bank ATMs Converted to Steal IDs of Bank Customers

A team of organised criminals are installing equipment on legitimate bank ATMs in at least 2 regions to steal both the ATM card number and the PIN. The team sits nearby in a car receiving the information transmitted wirelessly over weekends and evenings from equipment they install on the front of the ATM (see photos). If you see an attachment like this, do not use the ATM and report it immediately to the bank.

The equipment used to capture your ATM card number and PIN is cleverly disguised to look like normal ATM equipment. A "skimmer" is mounted to the front of the normal ATM card slot that reads the ATM card number and transmits it to the criminals sitting in a nearby car.

At the same time, a wireless camera is disguised to look like a leaflet holder and is mounted in a position to view ATM PIN entries.

The thieves copy the cards and use the PIN numbers to withdraw thousands from many accounts in a very short time period directly from the bank ATM.


   

Equipment being installed on front of existing bank card slot.


The equipment as it appears installed over the normal ATM bank slot.


The PIN reading camera being installed on the ATM is housed in an innocent looking leaflet enclosure.

The camera shown installed and ready to capture PINs by looking down on the keypad as you enter your PIN.