English (Manchester) Police Force Tweets All Incidents In 24 Hours to highlight Budget cuts

The Associated Press:  From stolen cars to suspicious smells, one of Britain's biggest police forces is tweeting every incident it deals with over a 24 hour-period to prove a point.


The online Twitter campaign aims to show the pressures that police are under as British officials prepare for deep budget cuts. [Cambridgeshire Police is facing a similar situation with a reduction of £30 million predicted by the new Chief Constable Simon Parr. The figure represents a manpower reduction of around 25% by Chrstmas].

"The reality of police work is that although crime is a big part of what we do, we do much else besides,'' Chief Constable Peter Fahy of Manchester said in a message posted to YouTube. "We're very much the agency of last resort, and a big part of our workload is related to wider social problems of alcohol, drugs, mental health and people having problems with their relationships.''


The project, which began at 5:00 a.m. Thursday, has already racked up more than 1,300 different incidents. Among the first tweets: An alert about a stolen vehicle thought to be headed for Manchester, the arrest of an aggressive shoplifter, and a report that "a man appears asleep at bus stop.''


Greater Manchester Police is one of the country's largest police forces, responsible for a 500-square-mile area centered on Manchester, which competes with Birmingham for the title of England's second city.


Although Manchester has seen some high-profile crimes including international terrorism cases most of Thursday's calls spoke of the daily grind of police work.

Many tweets covered domestic incidents, traffic accidents, stolen cars and missing people. There were calls about animals, complaints about a man urinating against a school wall, and a report of someone smoking on an incoming flight to Manchester Airport.

There were also dozens of false alarms.


In one incident, officers were sent to a bridge where a man was reportedly seen dangling a baby over the edge. In fact, he'd been carrying his dog in his arms because the animal was afraid of bridges.


The Twitter feed was choked with reports of children who had dialed police while playing with their parents' cell phones, as well as a host of nuisance calls.

"Confused man reporting his TV not working,'' one incident report stated. "Man calls to say locked out of house. Wants police to break in for him,'' another said. One woman called police because a video of her had been posted to YouTube.

Manchester police said the tweets were being sent by a team of people from its corporate communications department, along with two force inspectors. Incidents would not be tweeted if their publication threatened anyone's safety, a spokeswoman said.

(C) Park Farm Neighbourhood Watch Peterborough UK Tel: 01733 345581

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Cambridgeshire Neighbourhood Watch Group A G M on Wednesday 13th October Morag Irving reports

Hello,  Julian and I went to the Cambridgeshire Neighbourhood Watch Annual General Meeting on Wednesday 13th October in Huntingdon.

We know how to enjoy ourselves!

These are my brief notes of things I thought may interest you. If you would like to read the full minutes drop me a line and I’ll let you have a copy when I get one.



Cambs new Chief Constable Simon Parr gave the opening speech, his key points were:-


Transferring the fear of crime from the victim to the criminal

Taking a more holistic approach to crime and finding the root cause, in conjunction with other agencies.

Cutting bureaucracy

Engaging with the community, in areas other than stations and home visits.

Chief Constable Simon Parr is very aware of the impact of cuts to funding. How deeply this will affect us remains to be seen.


Cambridgeshire NHW has funds of £11,246.90 in the coffers. I hasten to add this is not ours here at Park Farm; it covers all of Cambridgeshire.


Inspector Paul Ormerod, the safer neighbourhood Officer spoke about the need for greater communications. The way information is passed on and how to speed things up. Again, this is also likely to come under budget cuts.


There were currently 4 vacancies on the board for members for Peterborough.
Julian and I have put our names forward to represent you on the panel.


Please let me know if you would like any more information.


Finally:

I managed to get some more Neighbourhood watch window stickers and stationery; if you would like some please let me know.

(C) Park Farm Neighbourhood Watch Peterborough UK Tel: 01733 345581 Broadcasters direct call ISDN 'down the line' 01733 555319 Codecs G722 & APT Press Enquiries 01733 345581

Flour Bombing, Egging ,Begging:The Halloween Nightmare (for some) is coming soon....

Children are easily frightened not just during Halloween!

Halloween can be fun or it can be a nightmare, not everyone welcomes or even understands the American import of 'trick or treat.'  Helen O'Driscoll, the very approachable Police Community Safety Officer is looking for information and needs your help. Could you please quickly let her know if you or anyone else had issues with flour bombing, 'egging' , agressive begging or other forms of anti-social behavior associated with last years Halloween. She needs to plot a geographic map of areas most likely to be 'under attack' during this years Halloween.


In order to correctly target patrols this year. Police are putting together a co-ordinated Halloween action plan for officers. These will also will include known anti-social behaviour hotspots areas in the city.  Police have produced a special NO TRICK OR TREAT HERE poster which can eb downloaded  from the police website.


Leave your information on telephone number 01733 424477or send as a confidential e-mail to  helen.odriscoll@cambs.pnn.police.uk  Helen O'Driscoll is the Community Safety Officer based at Bridge Street Police Station.




(C) Park Farm Neighbourhood Watch Peterborough UK Tel: 01733 345581
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Issues with 'private' CCTV installed by a neighbour.

Just taken a PFNW call from Fletton (Sorry caller, out of our area) about the installation by a next-door neighbour of CCTV cameras, on the neighbours property and in the back garden. The caller was worried that the CCTV camera in the garden overlooked his property and that he was being 'spied upon.'

CCTV cameras and recording units can be purchased from shops or websites like  www.maplins.co.uk but the rule of thumb is that the picture transmission footprint should legally only record activity physically within the boundaries of your own property and not a wider video footprint.

To be effective following an incident, Police should be able to take off timecoded digivideo images on a DVD or USB key. Some standalone Infra Red [IR] (nightlight) cameras will record time elapsed pictures on an SD card but again the images must be confined to an area within your property boundary.

The caller then described the positioning of the camera and it became clear that as it was only 1 metre from the backwall, all that it would pickup would have been the neighbours backdoor and possibly a window.

But before you do install CCTV, do the right thing and talk to your neighbour and ask your neighbour if they would object, explain that the images would only cover your own property BUT if the neighbour wishes and with his/her permission (in writing is best) your camera could possibly be re-set to cover his front garden, driveway and car as well - at no cost to them either!

Recently a relative installed such a system and as she is a senior citizen, the local police community officer in her area offered some positive advice and later told me she had a better CCTV system than the local bank! 

(C) Park Farm Neighbourhood Watch Peterborough UK Tel: 01733 345581
Broadcasters direct call ISDN 'down the line' 01733 555319 Codecs G722 & APT
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Peterborough South East Neighbourhood Policing Panel "ZERO" CAMPAIGN ON-STREET PARKING OBSTRUCTIONS CLAMPDOWN IN STORE

Police are still looking for this motorcycle at speed on the Greenwheel at Park Farm

As part of our remit to look out for the residents of Park Farm and Stanground, your PFNW chair and committee attended the South East Neighbourhood Panel Meeting held on October 5th at Hampton Police Station.

The meeting is open to the public and the panel usefully represents local and regional agencies, PCC and the usually faceless council officials who have ventured out from behind their roll-top desks to face the residents.

We also had a few well meaning jokers, including a gentlemen called Bernard who briefly stood for the vacant chair (Chris Harper having resigned as he has now been adopted as the Conservative Party Candidate for the next round of council elections). Bernard stressed that he was a businessman (selling padlocks to the police was one of his business marketing ploys – Good man!) and volunteered the information that he had just financed and set up the Common Sense Political Party.  Clearly, the spirit of the late lamented Screaming Lord Sutch lives on, such is democracy!

Christopher York (who stood as a Labour parliamentary candidate in the recent General Election, but failed to win a seat) by a unanimous vote, was elected chair and immediately cracked the whip to get the Agenda moving.


Cllr. Brian Rush, Janet Goodman and Lisa Emmanuel, all took their places meanwhile Kevin Morris – a nicely scrubbed up Special Constable - reported the ‘Specials’ managed to put in a staggering amount of voluntary patrol time, some 91 hours in the last week of September alone. Bringing up the rear for the agencies, was Roy Clarke, resplendent in PCC green NATO pattern jumper and size fourteen Doc Martins.


It would have helped if the top table had identifiable name plates, agency staff wearing their name badges and for part of the meeting, presentations were no more than a low verbal rumble, (for the few who had hearing difficulties virtually impossible to hear). Hopefully Inspector Snow (now sans beard and sporting a close shaven head) took all this on board and will have a microphone, PA system and a roving wireless mic for the audience questions next time.


It would also have been good to have the Police ‘Corporate Marketing Unit’ prepare a simple PowerPoint presentation, to visually present the mind spinning complex roll call of statistics, which in any case were contained in the latest October edition of the newsletter, now presented under the snappy title of ‘On your Beat’.

I of course misread it as ‘On yer Bike’ but either title gets over the urgency of the task in hand and the publication has double the number of pages in the A5 format with a corresponding increase in detailed information and comment. It is also available online at www.cambs.police.uk .


We have a brand new Chief Constable and Inspector Snow said that despite the looming cuts in funding and manpower, the new Chief was in favour of community initiatives and hopefully the ‘on beat’ presence would not feel the cuts too much.

I noted the well appointed Hampton Police Station meeting room had a video projector so perhaps the chief constable could in future tape a short digivideo presentation or a few words of wisdom? The next meeting will be on 11th January 2011 at the Baptish Chapel Hall, Chapel St. Stanground.


At the meeting, clearly Fletton generally and Fellowes Gardens in particular was punching above its weight with a disproportionately heavy payload of crime and mind sapping anti-social behaviour. Police had on suggestion of the neighbourhood panel made this a priority action, targeted the area and generally introduced a zero tolerance policy for anti-social behaviour and a host of other nuisances.

Youths and children had been identified, a few parents contacted and in some cases in conjunction with the PCC parental contracts issued. There were also a significant number of adults variously cautioned, charged and processed during the period, graphically demonstrating that the community zero tolerance approach does work.


Alarmingly during the period under review, police also came in for some unreasonable stick and abuse by residents and adverse media comment when one of the agreed actions was to clamp down on inconsiderate and illegal parking, many tickets issued, cars towed.

The acid test apparently is “can a double baby buggy freely pass on the pavement when a car is parked on the verge/pavement or the vehicle so parked forces a pedestrian at any point to step onto the road.”

Priorities set for Police by the panel

for the next three months

 

• ASB (Anti Social Behaviour) - Fair Meadow Car Park - this will including car cruise meetings & suspected drug taking / dealing on the Railworld site and on cycle paths by the river.

•  ASB (Anti Social Behaviour) - Earls Close.

• Parking Concerns - Hampton.

PS 1916 Coulson

NPT Sergeant

Peterborough South East

0345 456 456 4 ext 7112211

luke.coulson@cambs.pnn.police.uk

Contrary to popular thinking that parking regulations do not apply to unadopted roads, two parish councillors from Hampton, waved a hefty document in the air, produced by Kent Police (and already lodged with the Peterborough Neighbourhood policing team) which stated that all Highway Code / RT rules apply and should be enforced by Police.

Eagle Way, Hampton was singled out as a continuing problem, as your own committee experienced when trying to leave the meeting at Hampton Police Station, not helped by a Tesco home delivery van at 9 pm and unable to pass a crocodile of inconsiderately parked cars.


Indeed the whole return journey within the confines of Hampton was a nightmare, strictly single file traffic. Clearly town planners made a huge mistake, they need to urgently widen the roads, cut back on the architectural planting, ultra wide pavements and splash a few double yellow lines around! Roads in Park Farm are generally much wider, so residual house values on our patch, should be better off for it, as opposed to moving to Hampton!


The focus on illegal obstructive on-road and pavement/verge parking will soon shift to Park Farm/Heritage Park and Stanground with particular attention to any vehicles obstructing the footpath and parked within 10 metres (32 feet) of, or opposite any junction or crossroads. This will be particularly relevant on the lower dogleg section of Kedleston Road where emergency services and utility vehicles are routinely unable to negotiate round residents’ cars, commercial vans and trucks parked on the road, rather than on their own off road driveways and parking places. The other practical test used by police is to ask the fire brigade to drive their appliances around and if they find an obstruction caused by a vehicle its an automatic penalty and possibly a day in Court.

Needless to say if the Emergency vehicle is unable to get through the consequences could well be fatal for someone....


Finally a word from Inspector Matt Snow:

“Anti-social behaviour often increases towards the end of October as Halloween and Guy Fawkes (Bonfire) Night approaches. I have already arranged additional police patrols in all hotspot areas. My officers will take positive action against individuals who use this time as an excuse for anti-social behaviour. They will be proportionate at the same time. I recognise the vast majority of people will be having fun and causing no issues. If you would like a ‘NO Trick or Treat’ poster for your home it can be downloaded from www.cambs.police.uk or call in person at any police station.”

(C) Park Farm Neighbourhood Watch Peterborough UK Tel: 01733 345581
Broadcasters direct call ISDN 'down the line' 01733 555319 Codecs G722 & APT

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Shed Burglaries Reported

Two shed burglaries have been reported in the area this week. Please ensure your shed is locked with a good quality hasp and padlock and the equipment inside is UV or Smartwater marked. Try to think how a burglar thinks, how would they gain access to your property in the first place and what precautions could you take to put them off?

• Is access to the rear of your property easy?
• Is there a lock on your side or back gate?
• Is your shed and garage alarmed?
• If you have a ladder is it chained and locked securely?
• If someone gains access to your garden might they be seen by neighbours particularly if you have installed security lighting?

Be warned that garden tools make excellent tools for a burglar. Make sure they're securely locked away.

(C) Park Farm Neighbourhood Watch Peterborough UK Tel: 01733 345581
Broadcasters direct call ISDN 'down the line' 01733 555319 Codecs G722 & APT
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Couple conned into buying Spuds instead of Laptop

Potatoes? All I got was a sackful of little people.......

 We just had to include this report by Raymond Brown of Cambridge News, it concerns a  couple who were conned into believing they were buying a laptop – 

The man and women were tricked out of £650 (!) in Huntingdon High Street by the fraudster.
Police have launched an investigation into the fraud which left the couple out of pocket and holding nothing but a rucksack full of spuds and cardboard.

The victims were approached by the man opposite the Savers supermarket who offered them a laptop computer for sale.  He took them to a car park at the rear of Dominos pizza where they viewed the laptop in a rucksack and agreed to buy it, along with an iPhone. They then visited Lloyds Bank and withdrew £650 in cash before handing it to the fraudster who then took them back to the car park and handed them the closed rucksack.

However, when the victims later looked in the bag they realised they had been duped.

The man is described as white, about 30, more than six feet tall with reddish brown hair and stubble. He wore light blue jeans.  [he also has a wide grin from ear to ear - Ed!] Police have issued a warning about buying goods from strangers in car parks after the incident which happened between 12.30pm and 1.15pm on Tuesday (September 28).

PC Lorna Owen, from Huntingdon police station, said: “I am appealing for anyone with information about who this man might be to contact police. I would also urge people to only purchase goods from genuine companies and make sure they know exactly who they're buying from.”

Anyone with information should contact Pc Owen on 0345 456 4564 or call Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.

We've made fun of this, but it carries a serious message, buying anything for CASH, wrapped or signing for goods 'UNEXAMINED' is always a very bad idea no matter how persuasive the doorstep or street salesman is. If you must buy something use a credit card, and then if the transaction goes bad you have the powerful Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act to fall back on - taking the Credit Card company to Court even if the seller has long gone. We have information on this. Just call.

C) Park Farm Neighbourhood Watch Peterborough UK Tel: 01733 345581
Broadcasters direct call ISDN 'down the line' 01733 555319 Codecs G722 & APT
Press Enquiries 01733 345581