SMI NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH SCHEME
Local Crime Information
May 2021
Dog theft update
PCSO Angela Saunders provided advice on dog theft. She issued SMIRA with a poster to display via its Facebook site which set out key guidance on keeping your dog safe and how to report if your dog is missing.
May 2021
Car crime update Neighbourhood watch alert and PCSO Angela Saunders
In May 2021, the Island’s PCSO Angela Saunders issued a message asking residents to ensure that their vehicles are locked at all times to avoid opportunist thefts occurring on the Island. This followed a report of two males in Redshank Road and Woodlark Road trying to open doors on vehicles.
March 2021
Car crime update Neighbourhood watch alert and PCSO Angela Saunders
As part of the Neighbourhood Watch Scheme, SMIRA receives regular updates from the scheme on key matters affecting communities across the UK. Neighbourhood Watch launched a new campaign to tackle car crime on 31 March 2021 and issued guidance on how to increase protection of your vehicle in three quick steps:
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Leave your car locked
A simple mistake that can prove calamitous: 44% of cars are broken into via an unlocked door.
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Leave your car well-lit
80% of car crime occurs during the evening or at night. Parking near street lamps or in a busy area can deter thieves.
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Leave your car empty (or with no items on show)
Owners often forget that personal belongings within the car are at as much risk of being stolen as the car itself.
October 2020
Launch of SMI Neighbourhood Watch:
Working with Medway and National Neigbourhood Watch, SMIRA have now registered the SMI Scheme.
Neighbourhood watch stickers for each home will be sent out shortly.
Signage in three strategic areas of the island will be sited by CMT to promote that the island is part of a Neighbourhood Watch Scheme.
July 2020
Scam awareness:
A - Never Assume a caller, email or text is genuine.
B - Never Believe a caller, email or text is genuine.
C - Always Confirm by contacting a trusted number or team like Action Fraud, a family
member, friend or your bank’s fraud department to check if it’s genuine.
Please if you hear of someone that has become a victim of a scam encourage them to report it immediately at:
www.actionfraud.police.uk or by calling:
For up to date information via twitter: @actionfrauduk
www.takefive-stopfraud.org.uk/advice/general-advice
www.actionfraud.police.uk/what-is-national-fraud-intelligence-bureau
July 2020
Arrest of suspect in connection with vehicle thefts on SMI
A male has been arrested in connection with the thefts from motor vehicles that occurred last month on the Island and other locations in Medway. He has been charged and remanded in custody.
June 2020
Anti-Social Behaviour and Other Incidents of Note
Now that the weather has improved, the amount of youths swimming in Basin 2 has already started to increase. These have been picked up quickly, either by CCTV from the Trust and Ward security, or by residents reporting them. The youths have been given words of advice and moved on from the area. On each occasion, the youths have not been from St Mary's Island but from other areas in Medway. I will be keeping an eye on this and if we have repeat visitors, we will visit parents.
Shoplifting has decreased in Dockside and at the Co-Op, mainly I believe because of people having to be monitored in and out of the centre and shops.
There has been a theft reported on the Island. Four pushbikes were taken from a rear garden
overnight on the 25th June, unfortunately there is no CCTV in that area and the bikes have not been located. The rear gate to the property was not locked. Two of the bikes have been property marked so if they show up anywhere, they can be returned to the owner.
Two males were reported to be climbing on the Blue Crane along the River Walk. On arrival, one male was fixing a rope at the top of the crane and they said they were going to be abseiling down.
Words of advice were given and the males moved on.
Reports of anti social behaviour at Dockside car park have started to come in again, mostly from residents at The Dockyard and Marina Point West. On the 22nd June, as I was passing by, a driver was wheel spinning a car around the car park. On stopping the vehicle, it transpired that the driver only held a provisional license, was not displaying L plates and was not insured to drive the vehicle. A
patrol was called to the location and dealt with the offences accordingly.
St Mary's Island (SMI) Neighbourhood Watch Scheme
SMIRA carried out a resident consultation in July 2020 on its island wide neighbourhood watch scheme proposals. The proposals included:
Sharing information
As part of its information sharing approach SMIRA will:
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Register the whole island as one scheme
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Act as the lead Neighbourhood Watch controller for the SMI scheme
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Ask SMI Sector Representatives to act as information sharers about the new scheme
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Create a new crime incident reporting form on the SMIRA website for SMI residents to share information about crime on SMI (this does not replace direct reporting of incidents to the police on 999 and 101)
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Information received from the incident form will go directly to CMT and the PCSO
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Create new website pages outlining ways to reduce crime on SMI as part of a neighbourhood watch scheme
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Continue to utilise its existing residents meetings to discuss crime on the island
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Provide residents with Neighbourhood Watch stickers to display in windows
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Working with CMT ensure formal Neighbourhood Watch scheme signage is placed around the island