POLICING MATTERS - Supt Mel Paley offers crime prevention advice for autumn and winter

I want to tell you more about some of the things your officers and staff have been doing recently.

As an emergency service we often find the summer period is particularly busy.

While some staff were fortunate and had a little time away from work to recharge, the large majority have been on duty responding to calls for service, attending public events and engaging with local communities.

With the summer weather seemingly behind us and children back at school, we are now planning for some of the key autumn calendar dates such as Halloween and fireworks events.

For most, these are fun times, for some it can mean they are impacted by anti-social behaviour in what is often referred to as ‘nuisance fortnight’.

My Safer Neighbourhood Teams (SNTs) are working hard to ensure plans are in place to be out and about in the community with you, keeping everyone safe but we also offer advice on anti-social behaviour on our westmercia.police.uk website.

You can contact your SNT with any concerns or if you need any support by directly or through neighbourhoodmatters.co.uk – if you haven’t signed up to Neighbourhood Matters, I encourage you to look and see what it is all about.

Your local SNTs have been working hard over the summer to support community and policing priorities such as road safety and anti-social behaviour.

I have talked before about Operation Enzyme, our proactive response to tackle vehicle thefts and burglary.

Stealing cars through a ‘keyless theft’ or by taking keys from someone’s home is a concerning crime type.

Officers from across the policing area and force are continually tackling these issues.

Thanks to your support with valuable information reported, we have charged several offenders very recently, which means they are going to court to face the consequences of their actions. I will update more when I can.

I would like to remind you of some important crime prevention advice.

This is timely, in view of the darker nights and inevitable colder mornings.

Shut curtains and leave lights on in the evening and, if you’re out all day, then it’s advisable to use a timer device to automatically turn lights and a radio on at night.

It goes without saying that leaving your vehicle running unattended while you de-ice it or warm it up in cold weather is a serious risk to take but did you know it is also illegal?

If someone takes it while it’s left like this, your insurer won’t pay out because you won’t be covered.

Visit westmercia.police.uk for more on the latest news, vehicle crime prevention advice and home security advice.