Clifton and Hotwells
Improvement Society (CHIS)

Motor bike thefts from Clifton

Despite many of these bikes having excellent crime prevention devices fitted they continue to disappear without trace.

Another common factor is that every motorcycle has been stolen in an area not covered by CCTV.

It is our belief that there is a gang with a van or large vehicle and is loading them up. One has already been disturbed trying to steal a bike. It is also believed that the vans are running on false number plates.

The offences are occurring at all times of day and night. Two thefts have been prevented by their alarms activating and the offenders making off.

Thieves were disturbed trying to steal a motorcycle in Sion Place earlier this month. They were loading it up into a white Ford Transit which was displaying the registration number YK07 YNC. These are believed to be cloned plates from a similar vehicle.

We need your help.

I need to identify people who live in your area who possess fairly new top name road motorcycles. Trials bikes (scramblers ) are not being taken; nor are machines with small-sized engines.

Having done this, I would like them to be warned of the current crime trend that is occurring in our area.

Secondly, we have a number of tracker devices which we are prepared to fit free of charge as a temporary measure to their machines. In the event of a theft happening then we hopefully will be able to recover the property and catch the offenders.

For this to succeed we need to be discreet as to which machines have them fitted.

Should you wish to discuss the matter further with me then don’t hesitate to make contact Nick.Shaw@avonandsomerset.police.uk

Student Action against tuition fees

horses going up Park Street	police ready for action
police at Senate House	reinforcements at Senate House
police talking to Bristol Grammar School children through hedge

Protests were held with students holding rallies and occupying government and university buildings, including Bristol.

Metal Thefts

Street Furniture

Community Support

Our Neighbourhood Team works closely with council services, key local agencies, volunteers such as Neighbourhood Watches, and the community itself to identify the issues and the best solutions that matter most to you.

Clifton police station opening soon

Providing a base for the Clifton and Cotham Neighbourhood Policing Team as well as the foreign national Registration Unit, the new station will be used by the Neighbourhood Team for pre-arranged meetings and appointments to support their daily duties on their beats.

To avoid disappointment it is important to stress that, although the station will have an enquiry counter to deal with foreign national registrations, the station will not have a Public Enquiry Counter, and is not open to the public for general enquiries or to report incidents.

Anyone wishing to report an incident is asked to continue to do so by phone, using our on-line reporting services, or by attending a station with a public enquiry counter such as Southmead or The Bridewell.

We are delighted that this facility will be soon be available to us, and look forward to it helping us to improve the service we deliver to the communities of Clifton and Cotham.

Police re-organisation

Household Survey

The Information Commissioner's Office has stated that;
"These surveys usually require people to provide a large amount of personal information - ranging from whether they have any outstanding medical conditions, to details of their household income. Anyone approached to fill in one of these surveys should think twice before leaving information like this on their doorstep. They should be aware that anyone could potentially pick it up, opening the way to identity theft. People completing these forms should also understand who will have access to their information and what it will be used for."

Water Supply check scam

Trick or Treat

Chesterfield, Clifton Hill

Money for petrol scam

Sponsor scam

My advice is - never sponsor anybody in this fashion unless you personally know them or had them recommended. Ask the sponsor to show some documentation from the charity proving the event is taking place and never pay up front.

Squatters

Paving fraud

Distraction burgleries

• 1. White male early 20's wearing a pale grey patterned jumper and dark jeans.
• 2. White male early 20's wearing dark clothing, with curly dark hair.

phishing fraud

Burglaries

• Protect your letterbox possibly with a cage.
• It is important to double lock your doors, particularly if your front door has a handle to lift to disable it being opened from outside.
• Lock it with the key and keep your keys out of sight.
• Don't leave vehicle keys downstairs.
• Take your vehicle keys to bed with you overnight.

Peugeot thefts

selling cars

Probation cold calls

Leaflets

• 1] Don't deal with traders if you don't have the name of the owner, the geographic address or a landline number where they can be contacted - How will you contact them if there is a problem?
• 2] The website appears to be unobtainable - any trader website must, by law, carry a geographic address to enable customers to make contact.
• 3] Both phone numbers only offer answerphone messages
• 4] You are taking a great risk if you contract with any trader whose name and address you don't know, especially where the type of service they provide means they are likely to be in your home when you are out. How do you know you can trust them?

Upstairs burgleries

Fraudulent Male

Credit card scam

Burglaries

• There have been a number of reports from residents in North Bristol who have had children around 8/10 years old call at their door, sometimes alone or other times accompanied by a friend or on occasions an adult. They knock on the door and use an excuse to get inside the house. When most people think of a bogus caller it tends to be of someone posing as a water board official or a builder but not normally a child, but children are also committing these offences. They are picking on vulnerable and elderly people, who are more likely to believe them and offer various excuses to gain entry to the property. Some say they need a drink of water or they need to use the toilet whereas others say they've kicked their ball in to the garden or lost a kitten. Once inside the house the children are stealing cash, jewellery and credit cards. The Police advice is to be more suspicious than usual if a child turns up on the door with a seemingly innocent request, and to to use the doorstep code - 'Stop, Chain, Check' - when answering the door to strangers. If you live next door to an elderly person or have elderly relatives, please warn them of these dangers as they are most at risk. Remind them they should always keep strangers out - even children.
• This has been confirmed by Royal Mail. The Trading Standards Office are making people aware of the following scam which has raise it's head at this time of year for the past couple of years:
  A card is posted through your door from a company called PDS (Parcel Delivery Service) suggesting that they were unable to deliver a parcel and that you need to contact them on 0906 6611911 (a premium rate number). You are advised NOT to call this number, as this is a mail scam originating from Belize. If you call the number and listen to the recorded message you will be being charged at premium rates. If you do receive a card with these details, then please contact Royal Mail Fraud on 02072396655 or ICSTIS (the premium rate service regulator) at www.icstis.org.uk www.icstis.org.uk
• There have been several reported incidents of an Asian man calling on properties in the Redland and Clifton areas.
  The story almost word for word each time goes: He calls at a house, usually but not always at around 9.00pm. He says he is a neighbour and that he has no electricity. He asks if he can borrow a long extension lead so that he can get electricity from the house next door. He often mentions that he's spoken to a neighbour who he names, which adds weight to his claim that he is a legitimate neighbour.
  In previous incidents, when the householders have either found an extension lead or said they didn't have one, he asks for money to charge up his electricity key or card. He says he has no money on him because it's all in his electric safe that he can't open because there's no power! He asks if he can borrow a few pounds, then goes on to say he want more, saying that he will return the money when he has opened his safe, which of course never happens.
• Could all residents please be aware of an increase in residential burglaries in the Clifton area. The most common form of entry has been by forcing or slipping a single front door lock. The times that these thefts are occurring are predominantly overnight. I would urge all residents to use second locks or dead locks on front and back doors and where applicable set alarms and check that security lights are in full working order.

Fireworks

1. Anyone under 18 to possess a firework
2. To let off fireworks between 2300 and 0700 ( except Nov 5 when fireworks can be let off until midnight)
3. To cast down or throw a firework in a public place.

Wheel thefts

Tree Felling scam

Crime

Security

• Mark your property with a security pen. Write your postcode followed by your house number. This will not damage your property and once dry is invisible to the naked eye.
  Keep a note of all of your serial numbers (a good idea is to keep a list / photos with your house insurance documents)
  Take photos of unusual items
  Mark anything that is worth stealing including individual CD's / DVD's / computer games.
• Last summer, residents were amazed to see dog vans and other vehicles in Princess Buildings, when Millwall football supporters decided to have a drink at the White Lion. We are glad the police averted social disorder, but I have never seen such a heavy police presence in Clifton before
• Peak times for offences are wide, but evening through to the early hours have been highlighted. Entry methods vary, but slipping the latch is often used. This can be done by using a piece of plastic, sometimes cut from a plastic bottle to form a loop, reaching in through the letterbox, placing the loop around the door latch and pulling it down to open the door. In some cases, plastic can also be forced between the door frame and the door, in the area of a Yale type lock, to push the latch open.
• residents must ensure that their house security is adequate, to deadlock doors where possible or use a mortice lock. Leave lights on when out and a radio on, preferably tuned to a talk channel. Please help yourself to keep your property safe.
• Peak times for vehicle theft are 9pm - 6am. Where possible, do try to park your car off of the street, and do remember to remove all items from the vehicle. Remember, residents leaving items in their vehicles are attracting criminals to your area.
• A third of all burglaries happen because a door or window has been left open. If you're in a private home or flat, lock up whenever you go out - with deadbolts if you have them.
• Make sure everyone in the flat/house knows when the property is going to be empty and ensure that the house is well secured during this period. Perhaps speak to a neighbour and ask them to keep an eye on the property whilst you are away. Ensure the last person who leaves for Christmas double-checks all the locks and windows.
• Ask your landlord to fit deadlocks to all outside doors - burglars hate them because you need a key to open them from the inside as well as the outside. And ask them to put key operated locks on all downstairs or accessible windows - burglars don't like having to smash windows because of the noise and the danger of cutting themselves.
• Lock up goods in your garden - including ladders, tools and bikes - not only are these are at risk from being stolen, but burglars can also use them to break in.
• If you live in a flat, be careful who you let in - or who follows you into the building. Lock your bedroom door even if you are only going down the corridor.
• Be careful about putting your name against each bell on a multi-occupancy flat. A recent scam has been for a burglar to note the names, and tailgate by saying they were visiting one of those names.

Useful links

• Neighbourhood Watch Newsletter,
• new and only official National Neighbourhood and Home Watch website
• BBC web page on Anti-Social behaviour
• Network of Residents' Association (includes section on anti-social behaviour)
• Bristol City Council My Neighbourhood information Community safety; Begging campaign; Cleaning our streets; Pest control; Dog wardens services; Pollution control; Gypsies and travellers; Abandoned Vehicle on-line reporting; Street Light Faults on-line reporting
• Avon and Somerset Police website Neighbourhood Watch for North Bristol Area Administrator - Wendy Hull, Southmead Police Station, Southmead, Bristol BS10 5DW. Tel: 0117 945 4545