Safer neighbourhoods
The local policing map of Suffolk is being re-drawn – to help
provide an even better service to people across the county. Sectors
and beats are being replaced with districts and neighbourhoods in
the biggest shake-up of community policing for decades.
The changes are being introduced nationwide as part of the
government’s Neighbourhood Policing initiative. However, policing
is just one element of a drive to get service providers, agencies
and local organisations to work even more closely on keeping
communities safe while improving quality of life for local
people.
In Suffolk, Safer Neighbourhood Teams will be created across the
county, which will see police officers, Community Support Officers
and Specials working alongside staff from other organisations
including district and borough councils. Each team will have a
remit to solve problems identified by local people – which could
range from crime and anti-social behaviour to noise and
litter.
Already, a great deal of work has taken place to identify the
neighbourhoods across the county where the teams will operate. A
map showing the new districts and neighbourhoods has been drawn-up
– and local people are being asked for their views on the
proposals. The map can be viewed at www.suffolk.police.uk
The work is being driven by a seven-strong team based at Police
Headquarters, headed up by Superintendent Chris Mayhew.
“These neighbourhoods will be the foundations of policing in
Suffolk,” said Supt Mayhew. “There is no standard size; in urban
areas, a neighbourhood may consist of a relatively small area of a
town. However, in rural areas a neighbourhood may cover a number of
parishes. What will be standard, though, is each team’s ability to
make a real difference at a local level.”
The teams will be up-and-running by June next year; but already
there have been a number of significant developments. Chief
Inspectors have been appointed at a district level and will oversee
the Safer Neighbourhood Teams in their patches. The five pilot
teams are up and running - three in Ipswich and one each at
Kesgrave and Kessingland – to help develop good practice which can
be rolled out across the county.
“From the policing point of view, Safer Neighbourhood teams will
give officers the opportunity to concentrate their efforts on
protecting smaller, more localised areas than they do at the
moment,” said Supt Mayhew. “They will be supported by more CSOs,
specials and, of course staff from other agencies which means that
together they will be able to provide a far more visible and
impactive service to local people and they will all have the
back-up of existing specialist units such as dogs, traffic and the
helicopter.”
The creation of Safer Neighbourhoods is in line with the aims of
the Suffolk First For You initiative, which aims to provide local
people with the best policing service in the safest local
communities.
Anyone with comments can e-mail them to
saferneighbourhoodteam@suffolk.pnn.police.uk
or to Superintendent Chris Mayhew, Safer Neighbourhood Project
Team, Martlesham Heath, Ipswich, Suffolk.
Suffolk Neighbourhood Watch
During 2001/02, a major review
of Neighbourhood Watch in Suffolk was conducted by a
partnership of Suffolk Constabulary, the Police Authority and the
Suffolk Neighbourhood Watch Association (SNWA). One of the
recommendations was the development of a
website. Click
here to link to it.
. . . a l e r t s . .
.
"This information
is worth reading. By understanding how the VISA & MasterCard
Telephone Credit Card Scam works, you'll be better prepared to
protect yourself.
One of our employees was called on Wednesday from "VISA", and I
was called on Thursday from "MasterCard". Note, the callers do not
ask for your card number; they already have it. The scam works like
this: Person calling says, "This is (name), and I'mcalling from the
Security and Fraud Department at VISA. My Badge number is
12460. Your card has been flagged for an unusual purchase pattern,
and I'm calling to verify. This would be on your VISA card that was
issued by (name of bank). Did you purchase an Anti-Telemarketing
Device for £249.99 from a Marketing company based in (name of any
town or city)?" When you say "No" the caller continues with, "Then
we will be issuing a credit to your account. This is a company we
have been watching and the charges range from £150 to £249, just
under the £250 purchase pattern that flags most cards. Before your
next statement, the credit will be sent to(gives you your address),
is that correct?" You say "yes".
The caller continues - "I will be starting a Fraud investigation.
If you have any questions, you should call the 0800 number listed
on the back of your card and ask for Security. You will need to
refer to this Control Number. The caller then gives you a 6 digit
number."Do you need me to read it again?" Here's the IMPORTANT part
on how the scam works. The caller then says, "I need to verify you
are in possession of your card". He'll ask you to "turn your card
over and look for some numbers". There are 7 numbers; the first 4
are part of your card number, the next 3 are the security Numbers
that verify you are the possessor of the card. These are the
numbers you sometimes use to make Internet purchases to prove you
have the card. The caller will ask you to read the 3 numbers to
him. After you tell the caller the 3 numbers, he'll say, "That is
correct, I just needed to verify that the card has not been lost or
stolen, and that you still have your card. Do you have any other
questions?" After you say No, the caller then thanks you and
states, "Don't hesitate to call back; if you do....", and hangs up.
You actually say very little, and they never ask for or tell you
the Card number. But after we were called on Wednesday, we called
back within 20 minutes to ask a question. Are we glad we did! The
REAL VISA Security Department told us it was a scam and in the last
15 minutes a new purchase of £249.99 was charged to our card. Long
story made short - we made a real fraud report and closed the VISA
account. VISA is reissuing us a new number. What the scammers want
is the 3-digit PIN number on the back of the card. Don't give it to
them.
Instead, tell them you'll call
VISA or Master card directly for verification of their
conversation. The real VISA told us that they will never ask for
anything on the card as they already know the information since
they issued
the card! If you give the scammers your 3 Digit PIN you think
you're receiving a credit. However, by the time you get your
statement you'll see charges for purchases you didn't make, and by
then it's almost to late and/or more difficult to actually file a
fraud report. What makes this more remarkable is that on Thursday,
I got a call from a "Jason Richardson of MasterCard" with a
word-for-word repeat of the VISA scam. This time I didn't let him
finish. I hung up! We filed a police report, as instructed by VISA.
The police said they are taking several of these reports daily!
They also urged us to tell everybody we know that this scam is
happening. Please pass this on to all your family and friends. By
informing each other, we protect each other."
Source: Email forwarded from Ian Bushnell, 26 January
2006