Crime: 20 October 2011

THERE WERE NO BURGLARIES ACROSS THE ENTIRE BOROUGH IN THE LAST 24 HOURS.

IN FACT, I HAVE NO CRIME TO REPORT FOR MAIDENHEAD AT ALL FOR THE LAST 24 HOURS !

Some preliminary messages.

Our Tecchy expert in the Community Safety Team here, has had a word with me this morning about tracker Apps. There are apparently 3 formats for Smart phones – Apple, Windows and Google. You don’t really need to know this, but it helps – I have a wind up mobile phone from the dim and distant past that only receives and makes telephone calls, imagine that !. Many of you have emailed me, to ask for a recommendation, about which App to download. I cannot recommend one product over another – but there is an easy solution. To download one of the Apps we have been talking about, you open the Apps Icon on your particular phone. This takes you to the Apps Store, which contains all the Apps, which are suitable for your particular phone format. They will all be suitable for your phone. You can scroll down. Each comes with a description of the function and a star rating / user feedback, from other phone users. That simplifies the process consider ably. You can press on the rating and read the individual reviews, which produces those star ratings. Most are free, some you pay for, if you want what they offer. It is very simple. One he recommends and it comes with different names, for the different 3 formats – (you have to have a phone with a forward facing camera – as opposed to on the back - all of the newer ones do) – will take a photo – without the user being aware – of any person attempting to operate the phone, if they put in an incorrect password – that may of course be you ! That photo – a full frontal of their face looking into the phone - is immediately emailed to you. If three incorrect attempts are made to insert the password, the memory is wiped and the phone de-activated. Very useful if you have personal data, photos or address books in the phone, you would not want to fall into the wrong hands. I hope this clarifies things for those who find the whole tech nology aspect of the new hi tech mobile phones, a little daunting.

We are still working on this and will investigate exactly what is available for laptops over the next few weeks. As I said yesterday, we want every phone and laptop capable of being protected in this way, protected as soon as possible. We want to send a message out to the thieves and particularly the handlers, that it is not worth stealing such items in the Borough as they are worthless and the chances of getting caught have massively been increased. If you have a child / grandchild who has one of these expensive phones, they need to be advised, to be discrete with them and not walk around texting / phoning in crowded public areas, flaunting their very valuable piece of equipment.

The Borough are holding a Crime Prevention Morning on Tuesday 8th November at the WRVS Centre York Road Maidenhead, between 11 a.m. / 1.30 p.m. The aim is to pass on messages about protecting your home as the evening draw in and through the cold winter months – a poster is attached. There will be people and literature from Age Concern, Community safety, neighbourhood Watch and Trading Standards. A really good event to attend.

Next a date for your diary / reminder from Keith Bell, one of the Chairs of the Boyn Hill, Cox Green and Woodlands Park NAG. They are holding their public ‘Community Consultation’ for their Neighbourhood on Tuesday 25th October 7.30 p.m. – 9.30 p.m. at the Cox Green Community Centre. They will be announcing their 3 new priorities: Parking, Burglary & Theft from Property and Speeding and Dangerous Driving. There will be a brief introduction by the Chairs then 3 short presentations from – Neil Walter from the Borough on Parking, Me on Burglary etc and Sgt Martin Littlewood on Speeding and Dangerous Driving. There will then be an informal Q & A session. An excellent opportunity to meet the your Neighbourhood Team – and the movers and shakers !

CRIME:
BISHAM, COOKHAM, HURLEY, THE WALTHAMS, LITTLEWICK GREEN & KNOWL HILL:
No crime to report.

BOYN HILL, COX GREEN & WOODLANDS PARK:
No crime to report.

RIVERSIDE & BELMONT:
No crime to report.

INNER MAIDENHEAD:
No crime to report.

OLDFIELD & BRAY:
No crime to report.

PINKNEYS GREEN & FURZE PLATT:
No crime to report.
 

It's not often I can send a message like this !

As I keep saying - WE only have opportunist thieves in this area - if WE take a little more trouble to protect our own homes and possessions - not leaving houses / cars insecure with items left on display - WE could reduce crime in our own communities considerably.  If WE make it hard for them, they won't try harder - they are opportunists - they will simply go elsewhere !  WE can make that happen.