STELLING MINNIS COMMUNITY WEB SITE
NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH
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Poster Useful Contacts
To Contact the Police:
Dial 999 for emergency or if a crime is being committed
Dial 101 for all other contact
Refer to Hardres - Stelling News for Telephone contact details for the Neighbourhood Watch
Co-ordinator for Upper Hardres and Stelling Minnis is currently Vacant.
Please contact either Stelling Minnis or Upper Hardres Parish Councils if you are interested in undertaking that voluntary role.
e-mail: nhw.sm.uh@gmail.com
Report a Fraud to Action Fraud
Go to:_
Householders and the use of force against intruders (3 Feb 05).
HANDY VAN SCHEME FOR THE ELDERLY
ROGUE TRADERS AND RANSOME WARE
Neighbourhood Watch Co-ordinator
To a large extent, the role of
co-ordinator is to pass on info FROM the police, et al, to all those who live in
the area and wish to receive it. The messages are
typically information about forthcoming policing campaigns, or for instance, the
extra precautions folks should take during the forthcoming strike by the Kent
firemen (KFRS).
The virtual immediacy of communication via email makes
it the ideal way for me to disseminate the information I receive to the wider
community. To enable this, I would be grateful for everyone who wants to receive
such info to send a suitable email address to
nhw.sm.uh@gmail.com. I would be further grateful if you could pass on
this information to anyone you know who “doesn’t do email”. This is particularly
important for info that could impact upon them personally.
As the name of the
organisation implies, the main flow of information is from the community i.e.
you, the eyes and ears on the ground, feeding your local knowledge TO the
police. If you do see or hear of:
• anyone behaving in a suspicious manner, or
• anything that strikes you as
suspicious,
please ’phone 101 (or 999 if it is a dangerous or
menacing incident) and report the incident to the police as soon as it is
possible. Do NOT ’phone the NHW co-ordinator. That would just elongate the line of communication,
thereby wasting time during which the “villain can make his getaway”. Moreover,
the police prefer, where possible, for the report to come direct from whoever
witnessed the incident and thereby reduce the chances of the story becoming
mangled. Many of you will be familiar with the military command “Send
reinforcements, we’re going to advance” which, by the time the message has
reached HQ, has become corrupted to “Send three and four pence, we’re going to a
dance”.
It is a rare and frightening prospect to be confronted by an intruder in your own home. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and Chief Constables are responding to public concern over the support offered by the law and confusion about householders defending themselves. We want a criminal justice system that reaches fair decisions, has the confidence of law-abiding citizens and encourages them actively to support the police and prosecutors in the fight against crime.
Wherever possible you should call the police. The following summarises the position when you are faced with an intruder in your home, and provides a brief overview of how the police and CPS will deal with any such events.
Anyone can use reasonable force to protect themselves or others, or to carry out an arrest or to prevent crime. You are not expected to make fine judgements over the level of force you use in the heat of the moment. So long as you only do what you honestly and instinctively believe is necessary in the heat of the moment, that would be the strongest evidence of you acting lawfully and in self defence. This is still the case if you use something to hand as a weapon.
As a general rule, the more extreme the circumstances and the fear felt, the more force you can lawfully use in self-defence.
No, not if you are in your own home and in fear for yourself or others. In those circumstances the law does not require you to wait to be attacked before using defensive force yourself.
If you have acted in reasonable self-defence, as described above, and the intruder dies you will still have acted lawfully. Indeed, there are several such cases where the householder has not been prosecuted. However, if, for example:
having knocked someone unconscious, you then decided to further hurt or kill them to punish them; or
you knew of an intended intruder and set a trap to hurt or to kill them rather than involve the police,
you would be acting with very excessive and gratuitous force and could be prosecuted.
This situation is different as you are no longer acting in self-defence and so the same degree of force may not be reasonable. However, you are still allowed to use reasonable force to recover your property and make a citizen?s arrest. You should consider your own safety and, for example, whether the police have been called. A rugby tackle or a single blow would probably be reasonable. Acting out of malice and revenge with the intent of inflicting punishment through injury or death would not.
The police weigh all the facts when investigating an incident. This includes the fact that the intruder caused the situation to arise in the first place. We hope that everyone understands that the police have a duty to investigate incidents involving a death or injury. Things are not always as they seem. On occasions people pretend a burglary has taken place to cover up other crimes such as a fight between drug dealers.
In considering these cases Chief Constables and the Director of Public Prosecutions (Head of the CPS) are determined that they must be investigated and reviewed as swiftly and as sympathetically as possible. In some cases, for instance where the facts are very clear, or where less serious injuries are involved, the investigation will be concluded very quickly, without any need for arrest. In more complicated cases, such as where a death or serious injury occurs, more detailed enquiries will be necessary. The police may need to conduct a forensic examination and/or obtain your account of events.
To ensure such cases are dealt with as swiftly and sympathetically as possible, the police and CPS will take special measures namely:
An experienced investigator will oversee the case; and
If it goes as far as CPS considering the evidence, the case will be prioritised to ensure a senior lawyer makes a quick decision.
It is a fact that very few householders have ever been prosecuted for actions resulting from the use of force against intruders.
(added 3 February 2005)
HANDY VAN SCHEME FOR THE ELDERLY
First, this is about vulnerable residents in our area, usually elderly and living on their own or in isolated places. There is a "handy van" scheme working in our area who will come and fit chains or spy holes free of charge. You must get the consent of the person concerned and then phone our NHW liaison officer, Sally Coleman on 01304 218151 with their name address and telephone number. They will then be put into the system and soon be safe and sound.
A scheme set up to stop "off road drivers.
This is a list of points you must be aware of.
Any information regarding this activity should be given in strictest confidence to PC Ian Foster on 01304 2188130.
ROGUE TRADERS AND RANSOME WARE
NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH
14 June 2017
This is a reminder about Rogue traders and some useful websites for you
to visit.
If you're a victim of fraud
or know someone who is please visit Action Fraud online or call 0300
123
2040.
If you feel afraid or threatened by a doorstep caller,
phone 999. For non-urgent calls, phone Kent Police on 101.
Sign up for the latest Public
Protection alerts, you can unsubscribe at any time
http://bit.ly/1NESgZN
Take a look at this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-iW0TOvins
Following the ransomware cyber attack on Friday 12 May
which affected the NHS and is believed to have affected other organisations
globally, the City of London Police's National Fraud Intelligence Bureau has
issued an alert urging both individuals and businesses to follow protection
advice immediately and in the coming days.
·
Install system and
application updates on all devices as soon as they become available.
·
Install anti-virus
software on all devices and keep it updated.
·
Create regular backups
of your important files to a device (such as an external hard drive or memory
stick) that isn't left connected to your computer as any malware infection could
spread to that too.
·
Only install apps from
official app stores, such as Google's Play Store, or Apple's App Store as they
offer better levels of protection than some 3rd party stores.
·
Phishing/smishing
Fraudsters may exploit this high profile incident and
use it as part of phishing/smishing campaigns. We urge people to be cautious if
they receive any unsolicited communications from the NHS. The protect advice for
that is the following:
·
An email address can
be spoofed. Don't open attachments or click on the links within any unsolicited
emails you receive, and never respond to emails that ask for your personal or
financial details.
·
The sender's name and
number in a text message can be spoofed, so even if the message appears to be
from an organisation you know of, you should still exercise caution,
particularly if the texts are asking you to click on a link or call a number.
·
Don't disclose your
personal or financial details during a cold call, and remember that the police
and banks will never ring you and ask you to verify your PIN, withdraw your
cash, or transfer your money to another "safe" account.
|
Online Protection Advice |
environmentalhelpdesk@canterbury.serco.com/
|
Fly-Tipping |
https://www.folkestone-hythe.gov.uk/report-a-problem/fly-tipping
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Fly-tipping (Folkestone & Hythe DC) |
www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/
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Trading-standards |
|
Online Protection |
|
Kent Police |
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Age Concern, as was |
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Report Fraud |
Trading Standrards notices etc - will be removed when 6 months old
Notices to be added
The content of this page is not the direct responsibility of Stelling Minnis Parish Council.
Page designed and produced for Stelling Minnis Neighbourhood Watch by Nick Smith - 19 June 2002
Updated 24 July 2021
Web site url and hosting facilities kindly donated by Simon Wood of Terabyte Computing Ltd