Stoney Middleton Neighbourhood Watch

The Neighbourhood Watch committee would like to thank the Parish Council for kindly sponsoring this newsletter and website.

Remember the Church issues a monthly magazine with local items including NHW, these can be obtained from Mr M Miller or Mr T Askey, please support the magazine as a lot of hard work goes into it.

We have several new members to the village these may require window stickers, leaflets etc these are always available from coordinators, or J Slater.

Remember as you are part of a NHW area you are entitled to 10% off house insurance.

The ringmaster system used by police to alert residents of issues can also be used in case of danger or harm like a dam burst, bomb attack, fire or water pollution, if you wish to alert the local community ring 0345123 33 33 and ask to have the item put on ringmaster, the police will decide the importance and recipients to include.

The Parish Council are preparing a Community Action Plan for the village, to include people like Doctors and Nurses in the village available in an emergency, evacuation procedures, water supplies, vehicles available in an emergency, retired police and firemen. If you have any talents or equipment that could help please contact Madge Greaves 01433 639089 (madge@stoneymiddletonparishcouncil.org.uk or any member of the parish council.

If anyone would care to join our group please contact J Lloyd on 01433 630243 neighbourhoodwatch@stoneymiddletonparishcouncil.org.uk

What do we do

Stoney Middleton Neighbourhood Watch coordinators recently held their local meeting, to discuss recent events and if they need to assist anyone in crime prevention, they receive emails regularly from the police and these are sent to 28 other people in Stoney Middleton. The mails contain details of local crimes, thefts and missing persons. If you would like to be included on the list please contact J Lloyd 01433 630243 (neighboorhoodwatch@stoneymiddletonparishcouncil.org.uk)

At our meeting A Boswell our local Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) gave details of initiatives already carried out in operations like Python and Relentless. They achieved very good results. Bonfire night, Halloween and Christmas had seen little trouble in the area.

New operations include

SNIPE - designed to give children an outlet to go to in villages, to meet and visit other areas.

LAPLAND - designed to stop cars sounding horns, speeding and creating a nuisance in villages

OUZEL - looking after the safety of children entering and leaving school, encouraging them to use pavements at all times and wear high visibility clothing, also to educate parents in always making the child exit via the nearside of the car.

BLACKBROOK --operated in conjunction with The Peak Park to deter off road vehicles using illegal paths.

If you need any further information on these new initiatives please contact your local coordinator

Speeding

A recent call from a resident regarding speeding through the village resulted in the police operating a speed check for 4 hours this ended with verbal warnings, speeding fines and warnings for not wearing seat belts.

We cannot have a flashing sign indicating speed as we are not classed as an accident blackspot at present, but we will continue to push for one of these signs in conjunction with the Parish Council.

Community Action

The Parish Council are implementing a plan to contact as many people as possible in the event of an emergency, dangerous situation or any other incident the village should know about.

When the local dam burst many people found out about it later on the television. By signing up to the Police ringmaster system you can receive messages by phone, text, email or mobile, this is by far the best way to be contacted. If you wish know more about or to sign up contact either Madge Greaves (01433 639089) or John LLoyd (01433 630243) for the necessary forms.

How secure is your property?.

Where did you leave the lawnmower last night?

Where is the mountain bike you bought for your son or daughter?

What about the strimmer and power tools, are they locked away, are they post coded are they really secure?

Boring !! Yes but as we approach spring there is an annual increase in crime involving collectable gardening items such as Lawn Mowers, strimmer's and power tools, do not make it easy for the thieves lock items away.

Some useful tips to protect your property

• Check your fences, gates, shrubbery and hedges, look for possible hiding places or easy ways of gaining access.

• Side entrances should be secured with lockable gates make sure the hinges do not allow the gate to be lifted off.

• Ensure good lighting with photocells to detect intruders.

• Ensure all windows are locked and lock all doors when you go out even for the shortest time.

• Use a chain if you are not sure who is at the door, lock the doors when in the bath or shower

• Ensure back doors are locked when you answer the front one

• Ask to see identification of all repair people such as gas and electricity workers, especially if they arrive unannounced, ring if need be to find out if they who they saw they are.

Damage to Vehicles

Derbyshire Police have recently seen an increase in the number of reported incidents of 'damage to' and 'theft from' motor vehicles parked on streets in the High Peak and Derbyshire Dales.

We would like to ask Ringmaster members to report anyone seen acting suspiciously near unattended motor vehicles, to Derbyshire Police on 0845 164 1644.

Don't give Criminals an easy ride:

Please check the security of your vehicle, always remove your in-car electronic equipment if possible and always take out the satellite navigation system devices as these are the most sought after equipment in

your car. Remove the support cradle and suction pads and wipe away any suction pad marks on the windscreen/dashboard.

If you have a garage, please use it and lock it. If you do not have a garage, put the vehicle in a well lit area and avoid leaving personal belongings in unattended vehicles.