Fighting fuel thefts in Test Valley Police in rural Test Valley are uniting with local farmers and members of the rural community to try and reduce fuel thefts in the area. Working together with the Test Valley Farmwatch scheme, police officers are introducing a substance that can be used to ‘chemically tag’ fuel so that it can be traced back to its original owner. They will be giving out free bottles of the substance to members of the rural community during September. By adding just 100ml of the liquid to their tanks, farmers and other members of the rural community can protect their fuel and put thieves off from stealing it. Stickers stating that the fuel has been tagged are also being given out with the substance to be displayed on the tanks and act as a deterrent to potential thieves. Individuals living within the rural Test Valley can register to receive a free 100ml bottle of the substance at the Romsey Show on Saturday, September 11, where local police and Farm Watch representatives will have a stand. Alternatively, they can contact the Test Valley Crime Prevention Officer, Melody Manning, by calling 101, or 0845 045 45 45 from outside of Hampshire. Fuel thefts continue to be a problem nationally. With the rising cost of fuel, thieves are continuing to target tanks at local farms, businesses, homes and inside vehicles. Seven premises in Test Valley were targeted in August and police anticipate there may be more over the coming months as more people fill up their heating fuel tanks ready for the colder weather. Last winter (2009-2010), Western Hampshire saw the number of fuel thefts quadruple from the number of such offences during the previous winter (2008 -2009). Local officers are hoping the use of this substance could go some way to ensure that doesn’t happen again in the area this year. PC Bill Williams, from the Andover Rural Safer Neighbourhoods team, said: “Using this substance to mark fuel is a simple but very effective way of making it easily traceable and making it harder for thieves to re-sell. We will be working hard over the next few months to spread the message among the rural communities that this substance is available to them and that it will help us to deter and reduce this type of crime in our area.” Ruth Harper-Adams from Test Valley Farmwatch said: "Fuel theft from farmyards not only has a costly impact, it also creates other huge implications, such as delays in farming operations, and may also create an environmental problem; where tank damage is a consequence." Local farmer, Mark Glover, said: “I think this is a great idea. With the rise in fuel thefts, we will definitely be tagging all of our fuel.” Western OCU dealing with serial burglary offenders Officers from the Western Operational Command Unit, covering the boroughs of Test Valley and Eastleigh and the New Forest district, have been working to bring serial dwelling burglary offenders to justice. The OCU currently has the lowest dwelling burglary rate for the whole of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. There are approximately 165,000 households in the area and during April, May and June there were only 180 burglaries which equates to less than two per day. Dwelling burglary is down by a massive 33% compared to the same period last year. Not only are the number of burglaries low but the police are also detecting a large number of the incidents. The detection rate is currently 28%. Detective Inspector Paul Gelman said: “The priority crime team based in the Western OCU is committed to reducing the considerable impact that dwelling burglary has on its victims and the community by ensuring offenders are identified quickly, dealt with effectively and brought to justice. Hopefully providing reassurance to the communities of the Western OCU that burglary crime will not be tolerated.” More than 1,000 illegal vehicles taken off Hampshire’s roads A small team of officers from the Roads Policing Unit have made a big impact in its first year by taking more than 1,000 unlicensed, uninsured or untaxed vehicles off the road. The RPU’s Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) team based in the West of the county is made up of one sergeant and five officers. This team – which covers Eastleigh, the New Forest, Test Valley and Southampton – has worked tirelessly over the past 12 months and has secured a total of 220 arrests. Officers have also taken more than 1,000 un-taxed or un-licensed vehicles off the roads of western Hampshire in the past year. Officers can seize uninsured or unlicensed vehicles under section 165 of the Road Traffic Act. Since November last year they have also been given the power to seize untaxed vehicles. Sergeant Julian Williams, who leads the team, said: “We really want to stamp out the anti-social use of vehicles because they are often used to assist with or carry out other crimes. “We are keen to tackle travelling criminality and using the ANPR technology, we can stop potential criminals in their tracks. “Often if they are using a stolen vehicle or don’t have a valid licence, tax or insurance, there are other criminal elements of their life which need to be disrupted.” If you know someone who is driving illegally you can contact Hampshire Constabulary on 101 or call the charity Crimestoppers line anonymously on 0800 555 111. Callers outside Hampshire should call 0845 045 45 45.
Crime falls in Test Valley Recent statistics released by Hampshire Constabulary show that recorded crime in Test Valley has fallen by 12 percent. This equates to 938 fewer victims of crime. The statistics relate to recorded crime during the operational period April 2009 to March 2010, compared to the previous operational year. The break down of these results also showed that acquisitive crime (theft and burglary) has been reduced by 22%, criminal damage incidents have been reduced by 23% and serious violent crime has fallen by almost 5%. More good news came with the results from Hampshire Police’s most recent confidence survey, which found that 83% of residents surveyed said that they have confidence in the police in Test Valley Borough. 1185 people from the Test Valley District were surveyed in the Local Confidence Survey for Hampshire Constabulary’s Western Operational Command Unit between April 2009 and March 2010. Those surveyed felt the biggest problem for the Test Valley area is speeding (37%), followed by teenagers hanging around on streets (26%) and parking issues (26%). 67% agreed that the police in the area are dealing with the things that matter most to people locally and 65% said they feel they do have the opportunity to make the Safer Neighbourhoods team aware of any policing issues that cause them concern. Test Valley Chief Inspector Gavin McMillan said: "These are some excellent results and we are pleased to see the hard work from our officers, our partner agencies and the community themselves is paying off. The teams working from Andover, Stockbridge and Romsey will continue to work hard to ensure Test Valley remains a safe place to live, work and visit. I would urge members of the public to contact their Safer Neighbourhoods teams with any issues or concerns they may have in their neighbourhood." Your local Safer Neighbourhoods team can be contacted by calling 101 or via email. All email addresses can be found at www.hampshire.police.uk . In an emergency always dial 999. Police Warning Residents in Romsey are being warned of the dangers of carrying an imitation firearm after a man was spotted with what was thought to be a 4ft rifle. Police received a call from a member of the public at 5.15pm on Tuesday, April 13, reporting that a man had been seen with the weapon in the Woodley area at Warren Gardens shopping precinct. The 30-year-old local man pointed the weapon at a member of the public but then left the scene. Officers from the Tactical Firearms Support Unit were sent to a house in the town where a man matching the description was found. An imitation firearm was also recovered. It was discovered that the weapon was in fact a BB gun. A 30-year-old local man was arrested on suspicion of being in possession of an imitation firearm with intent to put someone in fear of violence. He was bailed until May 3, pending further police enquiries. Pc Chris Saunby said: “The consequences of displaying an imitation firearm can be extremely serious. Fortunately in this case no one was hurt but some of the guns seized from young people are so realistic that a firearms officer would not immediately be able to decide if they were real. “This incident should serve as a reminder that firearms officers have to treat every gun incident as if the weapon is real.” Hampshire Constabulary has been running its FAKE (Firearms and Knife crime Education programme) campaign across the two counties since July 2007. Almost 70 per cent of all incidents that the force’s firearms officers attend involve knives and imitation firearms. One hour of policing a firearms incident costs the equivalent of 27 hours of local beat policing. |
