Crime: 3 July 2013  

First an update from Ch Insp. Lee Townsend our Deputy Area Commander:

“Hello ladies and gentleman, may I take a moment of your time to discuss the critical issue of keeping our children safe from harm.

By way of introduction, I am Chief Inspector Lee Townsend, the Police Deputy Area Commander for the Royal Borough.  Jeffrey has told me that several of you have asked questions about ‘Safeguarding Children’, which has been heavily covered recently in the media and of course on TV.

As part of my role, I chair the ‘Preventing Harm & Keeping Children Safe’ sub group, of the ‘LSCB’ – the Local Safeguarding Children Board.  This means I coordinate the activities of the group and help to influence the strategies the Royal Borough has in place, to keep children and young people safe and free from harm.  We work as a partnership board, with a range of different agencies in working to achieve this. ,However, It is everyone’s responsibility to keep children and young people safe.  The LSCB ensures that agencies which have particular duty of care and specialist resources, work together and deliver the safeguards we all expect.

The LSCB has a website, which I can recommend to everyone:

http://www.rbwm.gov.uk/safeguardingchildren/

The website is designed to pass on information to:

Children and Young People,

Parents and Carers,

Professionals,

The General Public.

Many people are rightly concerned about who is online targeting young people, creating fake identities in order to commit crimes against children.  ‘CEOP’ - the ‘Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre’ - also produces really useful advice for parents, or anyone supervising young people.  Their view, is that children whose internet activities are monitored and who talk to their parents about staying safe online, are better protected and more resilient, to the tactics used by online offenders’.

‘The Police view is the same.  What we don’t want to do, is to scare parents into thinking that their children will fall prey to these people.  Our aim is raise awareness, so that parents feel comfortable to talk to their children about the dangers and to help them spot anything suspicious and report it.  There is no doubt, the Internet is a great asset and young people are often the ones most tuned into the advances in technology – the trick, is to ensure they are in possession of all the information they need, to stay safe’.

The CEOP website can be accessed using the following link:

http://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/

I hope this helps.  If you think your children, or other youngsters have accessed anything suspicious, or that they are being targeted online, then please phone us on the 101 number or if you consider it an emergency 999. Thank you for your time.

Chief Inspector Lee Townsend

Just to back up what Lee has said – we had this result in Oxford last week:

Operation Bullfinch – men sentenced – Oxford

Seven men were () given prison sentences on the 27^th June totaling a minimum of 95 years, after being found guilty of offences including rape, facilitating child prostitution and trafficking.

The men were convicted at the Old Bailey last month following a two-year investigation into child sex exploitation in Oxford and a four-month trial.

Operation Bullfinch was a joint investigation launched by Thames Valley Police and Oxford County Council Social Services in May 2011, into suspected serious sexual offences against a number of children and young people in Oxford.

Seven men were convicted of 59 counts on 14 May.

They were today sentenced to:

Kamar Jamil, aged 27, of Aldrich Road, Oxford – life imprisonment with a minimum of 12 years and other concurrent prison sentences for eight offences

Akhtar Dogar, aged 32, of Tawney Street, Oxford – life imprisonment with a minimum of 17 years and other concurrent prison sentences for 11 offences

Anjum Dogar, aged 31, of Tawney Street, Oxford - life imprisonment with a minimum of 17 years and other concurrent prison sentences for nine offences

Assad Hussain, aged 32, of Ashhurst Way, Oxford - seven years' imprisonment and a Sexual Offences Prevention Order for two offences

Mohammed Karrar, aged 38, of Kames Close, Oxford - life imprisonment with a minimum of 20 years and other concurrent prison sentences for 18 offences

Bassam Karrar, aged 34, of Hundred Acres Close, Oxford - life imprisonment with a minimum of 15 years and other concurrent prison sentencesfor nine offences

Zeeshan Ahmed, aged 28, of Palmer Road, Wood Farm, Oxford - seven years' imprisonment and a Sexual Offences Prevention Orderfor two offences

In sentencing, Judge Peter Rook said the men had committed "a series of sexual crimes of the utmost gravity", which had targeted "vulnerable and underage girls".

He said: "Each of the six young girls have shown enormous courage in coming to the Old Bailey to give evidence, knowing they would be accused of lying, knowing they would have to relive their ordeals and knowing they have not been believed before.

"The jury have found they have come to the court to tell the truth."

Senior Investigating Officer Simon Morton said: “This is a great result for the victims. At last they can see justice has been done.

“These men have received a total of at least 95 years. The girls can now start to move on with their lives knowing the men that caused them so much pain are locked up.

“More than that, every victim around the country can see that justice does work. If you’ve suffered like these girls have, please come and tell us your story, we can help you.

“There is another message here. Anyone out there who even thinks of committing sexual atrocities like these needs to look over their shoulder and keep looking over their shoulder. We know how you work, we know how you think. Be in no doubt, we are coming for you.”

Supt Christian Bunt, Oxford LPA commander, said: “This is an excellent result today and I once again want to commend the young victims who made these sentences possible.

“Now these offenders have been brought to justice, we are working hard to continue tackling child sexual exploitation in the city.

“This includes training every member of our frontline staff and running dedicated and regular patrols around the city to identify any potential victims or offenders.

“I want to reassure the Oxford community that everything is being done to safeguard children from sexual exploitation in this area.”

Baljit Ubhey, Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS Thames and Chiltern, said: "The abuse these girls were subjected to was truly appalling. Today's sentences reflect the seriousness of the offences, and the young age and vulnerability of the victims when the offences were committed.

"I would like to thank the victims for having the courage to support prosecution and give evidence in this case. Their bravery has ensured that seven sexual predators, who sought opportunities to target and sexually abuse and exploit vulnerable young girls, have been brought to justice.

"The victims in this case were targeted because of their vulnerability and then cynically exploited. They were given drink and drugs; they were shown attention to make them feel special, all of which was insincere and designed solely to make them feel indebted to their abusers; they were then coerced into sexual acts by emotional pressure, intimidation, threats and violence. As a result, these girls were left in absolutely no position to give true and free consent to sexual acts.

"This is an important point for other victims out there, who may think that they won't be believed because they too seemingly 'agreed' to sexual activity. The background and context of such sexual activity is of crucial importance and victims who are forced to succumb to it by the use of such tactics do not, in the eyes of the law, consent to it."

NEXT – an update for you which relates to the Police.UK website launched by the Home Office a couple of years ago:

Police.uk website updated to help public crack down on crime

28 June 2013

More data about crime in people's local areas, has been added to Police.uk - the government's crime mapping website.  This is an attempt to better equip the public, with the information they need to take an active role in crime prevention.

New crime data categories including 'bicycle theft' and 'theft from the person', 'public order' and 'possession of weapons' have been added to the website, so that the public can get a better idea of how crimes affect local people.

A section for 'violent crime' has been renamed 'violence and sexual offences', to make it clearer, where these crimes are happening.

People are being encouraged by the Government to use the data, to raise issues at local police meetings, to challenge their elected Police and Crime Commissioners and to play a role in preventing crime and antisocial behaviour in their community.

"Our crime mapping website, Police.uk, has been a phenomenal success since its launch in 2011, with more than 586 million hits to date," said Policing and Criminal Justice Minister Damian Green.

"By continuing to make policing more accessible to the public through directly elected Police and Crime Commissioners and crime mapping, the Government is driving forward even greater transparency across the criminal justice system, reconnecting police with the communities that they serve."

Well – we have been doing that for years on Ringmaster and now on Thames Valley Alert !

As always – Trailblazers !

Back in February, The Home Office made another facility available !

Public can now create personalised crime maps

on Police.uk

01 February 2013

A new feature on the government's local crime information website means that people can check the safety of their estate, village, or route to work by creating their own personalised crime maps.

The Police.uk website was launched by the Home Office two years ago to show people street level information on crimes committed in their area.

But it was soon criticised, for providing misleading information.

Claims were even made that millions of homeowners and landlords had stopped reporting crimes over fears that the website would display the information and risk reducing the value of their property.

24 months and 548 million hits later, a 'draw your own area' feature, has been added to the site so that people can plot an area and create their own crime maps.

This will then give them specific information on crime, antisocial behaviour and outcomes for the selected area.

"Crime mapping has been a phenomenal success with millions of hits since their launch two years ago," said Police and Criminal Justice Minister Damian Green.

"These changes mean members of the public will have even more tailored information at their fingertips to hold their local police to account and ensure crime continues to be driven down."

MAIDENHEAD CENTRAL:

maidenheadcentralnhpt@thamesvalley.pnn.police.uk

Neighbourhood Page:

http://www.thamesvalley.police.uk/yournh/yournh-tvp-pol-area/yournh-tvp-pol-area-berkse-winds/

yournh-tvp-pol-area-n391.htm

NO CRIME TO REPORT.

RIVERSIDE & BELMONT:

maidenheadcentralnhpt@thamesvalley.pnn.police.uk

2/7 – 3/7  Tuesday 6.30 p.m. / Wednesday 10.30  Company, Cordwallis Road.  Bottom half of front door forced – no entry gained.

30/6 – 1/7  Sunday 7 p.m. / Monday 7 p.m.  All saints Avenue.  Car door handle damaged – no entry gained.

30/6 – 1/7  Sunday 6 p.m. / Monday 9.45 a.m.  Blakeney Court.  Wing mirror damaged.

MAIDENHEAD WEST

BISHAM, COOKHAM, HURLEY, THE WALTHAMS, LITTLEWICK GREEN & KNOWL HILL:

maidenheadwestnhpt@thamesvalley.pnn.police.uk

Neighbourhood Page:

http://www.thamesvalley.police.uk/yournh/yournh-tvp-pol-area/yournh-tvp-pol-area-berkse-winds/

yournh-tvp-pol-area-n393.htm

30/6 – 1/7  Sunday / Monday  Bradcutts Lane.  Shed break – entry by unknown means.  Strimmer stolen.

PINKNEYS GREEN & FURZE PLATT:

maidenheadwestnhpt@thamesvalley.pnn.police.uk

NO CRIME TO REPORT.

MAIDENHEAD SOUTH

BOYN HILL, COX GREEN & WOODLANDS PARK:

maidenheadsouthnhpt@thamesvalley.pnn.police.uk

Neighbourhood Page:

http://www.thamesvalley.police.uk/yournh/yournh-tvp-pol-area/yournh-tvp-pol-area-berkse-winds/

yournh-tvp-pol-area-n392.htm

Tuesday noon / 2.20 p.m.  Foliejohn Way, Woodlands Park.  Brick thrown through a house window.

OLDFIELD & BRAY:

maidenheadsouthnhpt@thamesvalley.pnn.police.uk

29/6 – 1/7  Saturday 3.15 p.m. / Monday 7.15 a.m.  Stafferton Way.  Staff went to unlock storage areas on Monday morning and found the keys missing.  They found the doors open and tools missing.

MEMBERS COMMENTS:

First – a reminder that the Police Screensaver Scam is still out there:

Hi Jeff

You may wish to warn people about the attached screenshot image that comes up on a computer.  This is a complete scam and is only trying to get money out of unsuspecting people.

Looks real though doesn’t it?

Keep up the good work!

Regards

Pietro

I have attached the screen shot, for those that have never seen it.  It does look very real and there are several versions – one of which purports to be from the German Police.  It must be really difficult to persuade the rest of a household that uses the computer that you or someone in the house has not been to ‘improper sites’.  To remove it, you need access to two computers.  You need a second machine, to download the patch from the internet - easily available - onto a memory stick– to load back into the affected computer.  It is a pain and can cause a lot of aggravation in a home – why most people pay to have it removed as quickly as possible.

NEXT THE WINDOWS SCAM:

Hi Jeff

 I have had a number of calls regarding the above and I simply ask the caller - ‘what IP address are they are referring to’ ? - This usually results in them putting the phone down as I am obviously someone that knows what I am talking about. If they quote an address, I simply tell them that it is not the correct IP address for my computer and they then hang up.

Just thought I would share this method with you as it seems to work very effectively for me.

 Thanks

 Jeni

Brilliant advice. I then asked Jeni what an IP address looked like, so that if questioned further, anyone on the phone could sound as if they know what they are talking about !

Hi Jeff

 Every device which connects to the internet has an Internet Protocol (IP) address which is a series of numbers (usually 9). Asking scam callers for the IP address of the product they are calling about, usually puts them off and they hang up, but, if they go on to quote an IP address, I tell them it’s not one of my devices and they can't argue then, so ring off.

You don't need to know your products IP address, just tell them the one they quote is not your device.

 Hopefully this helps

 Thanks

 Jeni

It does – even I can understand that !

So that I can justify my highly coloured messages and sometimes 3 exclamation marks – I have had this in from Barbara:

Hi Jeff,

Enjoyed the BIGGER writing, s p a c i n g and setting out!!!-deserves three.

Barbara

I agree Barbara !!!!