URGENT MESSAGES

Love Your Home Shop Launched By Police

A one stop shop for home security advice will open its doors to the public next week.

 The Love Your Home shop is being launched on February 15 as part of West Mercia Police's Operation Protect, a campaign launched last month to encourage people to protect their property through a number of means.

The shop, at Worcester's CrownGate Shopping Centre, will be open for one week and offer advice on property marking and the Immobilise* website, where you can register your valuable items for free.

Officers will also be on hand to offer information on crime prevention and distribute giveaways. People will even get the chance to visit a reconstructed crime scene, follow the clues and be in with the chance of winning a Nintendo DSi or one of two digital cameras.

Inspector for Worcester, Janet Heritage, said: "This is a fabulous opportunity for people to come along and learn all they need to know about how to protect their property with all of the information they need, all under one roof.

"This can include marking their possessions to tips on how to keep valuables as secure as possible, both inside and outside their homes. This can be anything from a push-bike to a games console or jewellery.

"We are also really pleased that other agencies are joining us to ensure as much advice is on hand as possible for those who drop in."

Representatives from Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service, Neighbourhood Watch, South Worcestershire Community Safety Partnership, Safer Worcester, Age Concern, the Safer Roads Partnership and other agencies will be in the shop throughout the week.

Bluetooth messages promoting the shop and crime prevention messages will also be sent to shoppers in CrownGate.

Crime Risk Manager for South Worcestershire, Mike Stephenson, added: "This is a great opportunity for people to learn that very simple steps can be taken to protect their home and their property.

"People will still be enjoying their Christmas presents and may not think that the value of these added together can be quite considerable and that these steps can protect them from losing them to criminals."

West Mercia Police is extremely grateful to CrownGate shopping Centre for the generous use of the shop, which is near to Primark, for the week.

Erica Burlace, CrownGate centre manager, said: "We are delighted to host this event, which we feel offers some very valuable and important safety advice for the local community in an interesting and innovative way."

The Love Your Home shop is situated in the CrownGate shopping centre near to Primark and will be open from Tuesday, February 15 until Saturday, February 20.

It will be open from 10am to 4pm daily. Reply using the community messaging website

OPPORTUNITY FOR COORDINATORS - 15th-19th February

The "Love Your Home shop" is a West Mercia Police initiative and Worcester City Neighbourhood Watch have been invited to have a small stand.

If you like the idea of meeting your Worcester City Committee members and other coordinators/Committee members from Malvern Hills and Wychavon Districts then this would be a good opportunity.

We plan to have two coordinators in attendance each morning and each afternoon for five days. There are 10 half-day (3 hour) sessions and if you can spare a morning or an afternoon you will be very welcome.

It would be great if we can find say 5 or 6 coordinators willing to help out.

Here is your chance to chat to members of the police, members of the public and of course other coordinators.

If you are interested in helping please contact Geoff Simmons by email or telephone. ( geoff@simmons-web.com or telephone 01905 353 013). If you are not able to help out then by all means just visit the shop...you are almost certain to benefit.

Changes to police support for Neighbourhood Watch

The following message is being circulated at the request of Jeremy Thomas, West Mercia NW Forum Chairman:

I was invited by Chief Inspector Jim Baker to meet him this morning, to discuss the proposed changes to police support for Neighbourhood Watch. It is important to note that changes were already being planned before the present Spending Review, but the latter has caused a bit more "pencil sharpening", so there really is no going back.

So, what is being proposed?

1. The police are insistent that the proposed changes, if taken together, will result in an overall improvement in support for Neighbourhood Watch and for other similar volunteer-based activities. This recognises that existing support ranges from "excellent" in some areas to nigh "non-existent" in others - the aim is to provide a more uniform (and equally high) level of support across the force area.
2. The proposed changes are also targeted at improving levels of co-operation between Local Policing Teams and Neighbourhood Watch at street level - another example of wide variations between "best" and "not as good as it might be", according to where you live. To achieve this, the intention is to specifically task all CSOs with maintaining day-to-day contact with "their" NW members - something at present sadly lacking in some areas.
3. The cumulative effect of these (and other lesser) changes will be to free up time at present being spent by the NW Administrators on tasks that should have been done by others in the first place, and are not strictly within their remit as Administrators
4. Summarising, the intention is that the Administrators (albeit fewer of them) will continue to "do the admin", while others (mainly CSOs) will do the liaising and policing bits at present being done by administrators.

Well, that's the way they are telling me, and I have to say I have a few reservations (will it work?, will CSOs have time?, etc, etc) but it does have some potential benefits too (potentially better local support for areas at present being a bit neglected, more uniform NW / LPT approach across the force area, etc)

And perhaps we should be relieved that nothing more drastic is being proposed in the name of the dreaded "Spending Review"?

The subject will be on the agenda for the next meeting of the Executive in February, and Chief Inspector Baker has kindly offered to attend the WMNW Forum AGM on 24th March - put it in your diaries, so you can ask the questions for yourself.