A Cheshire police spokesperson said: “This type of crime is despicable; victims of distraction burglary can suffer terribly both emotionally and physically and  it can seriously affect their trust and faith in people afterwards.

“I would urge residents to be extra vigilante when answering the door to strangers no matter who they say they are. People should always ask to see identification before letting anyone into their home and should not be worried about offending them.

A genuine caller should not have any problem producing their ID.

“Residents should also make use of door chains if they have them, make a call to the organisation the caller claims to be from to double-check who they are, and if you are still in doubt, ask them to come back another time when you have someone else with you.”

“It is vital people remember to check the identity of any stranger who calls at their home, genuine callers will not mind waiting. Help and support is available from the police, local authorities, and utility companies so please make sure you use it.”

“I would also ask that people keep an eye on who is visiting or knocking of the doors of their elderly or vulnerable neighbours.”

Many people who call at your door are genuine but some are not. Therefore it is vital to take precautions when people call at your home:

·    Always make sure visitors to your home are who they say they are by asking to see their identification.

·    Do not let people into your property that you do not know. These type of people may pretend to be an official or may just ask for a drink of water or if they can use the toilet. Remember ‘if in doubt, keep them out’.

·    Remember to close and lock the back door before answering the front door.

·    The best defence against a bogus caller is to have a viewer or spy hole and a stout door chain fitted to your door.

·    If the caller claims to be from the electricity, gas or water company, ask them to quote your customer reference number.

·    A genuine caller from these utility companies should be able to quote these numbers.

·    If you’re not sure who is at your door, don’t open it.

·    Check the identity of the caller by calling the company they are purporting to be from i.e. Police, Council or Gas, Electricity, Water companies.

·    Use the telephone numbers listed in your local directory or provided independently by your service provider.

·    Do not use any telephone numbers provided by the caller, as they may be bogus.

Many utility service providers like gas, electricity and water, provide password schemes for customers, sign up to these.

·    When unannounced callers claiming to be from these utility providers call at your door they should know the password if they are genuine.

·    ‘Water Boards’ no longer exist, it is an obsolete phrase used only by bogus callers.

·    Don’t keep large quantities of cash at home, put it in the bank where it is safe.

·    Ensure that if you do let somebody in to your home, that you close the door behind them - distraction burglars often work in teams, where one will distract you whilst others sneak in through the insecure door.

·    If somebody asks for your help (i.e. needs to make a telephone call, lost a ball in your garden, needs a drink or pen and paper) refer them to a younger neighbour or assist them through a closed door or call a friend or neighbour to come and help.

Police are urging residents to contact the police if they think a bogus caller has deceived them, don’t feel ashamed or embarrassed - these offenders are convincing liars and anyone can be misled.

Help make sure no one else becomes a victim by telling the police about what happened to you. We can only catch bogus callers with your information.

For further crime reduction advice about bogus officials, please telephone your local Police. The number will be in the phone book and ask to speak to your local Crime Reduction Officers.

Anyone who has information about this kind of burglary is urged to contact Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

During the last two weeks while temperatures have risen and the weather has improved, there has been an increase in burglaries in the area which, police said are the result of household insecurities.

Police have increased both uniform and plain clothes patrols in hot spot areas at key times and are urging residents to make sure doors and windows are locked.

A police spokesperson in Cheshire advised, “We have had a number of incidents where thieves have gained access to homes because they haven’t been locked and personal property has been stolen. Our advice is to keep your home secure, whether you are going out or not. If you are leaving it unattended, use a timer alongside a light or radio to give the impression someone is home. If you are going on holiday, ask a trusted neighbour to check your property as well as open and close curtains in the morning and evening respectively.”

Police also advised that people need to make sure they are putting vehicle keys somewhere secure and locking front doors.

“We don’t want to make people scared in their own homes because the simplest of things could prevent it from happening.”

Offenders have been gaining access through unlocked doors, open windows and taking keys when they are on display or easily accessible to thieves.

Personal safety and safety awarness should be in the forefront of people’s minds, shop keepers should be vigilant and home owners taking home security seriously, don’t make yourself or your business an easy target.

Downsize your bag and the amount of information you carry, what do you really need to carry about your person?  

If you really need that oversize bag, carry the bag in front of you and if you are with someone, then make sure the bag is between you.

Home Office figures released show that there were 69,000 burglaries between July and September 2008, a 4% rise over the same period in 2007. The BBC home affairs correspondant Daniel Sandford stated that “over the last 30 years, burglary rates appeared to have peaked at times of economic hardship, like the mid-1980s and the early 1990″. 

This increase in buglaries is alarming given that the initial figures reported were at the very start of this downturn, it will be interesting to see the figures for October to December 2008 which are due to be announced.

What can you do to avoid becoming a victim of burglary? A few tips:

• Install a monitored alarm system
• Upgrade window and door locks (and use them!)
• Avoid leaving keys within eyesight or reach of the door/window
• Leave lights on timers to operate when you are away from home
• Inform neighbours if you are away from home
• Watch for unknown individuals hanging around as you approach or leave your home
• Report any suspicious activities 

Stand Security Solutions Worldwide will conduct an audit of your security arrangements covering all aspects of your home and lifestyle. For more information contact us on 0845 130 4699.

The message is that Directors and senior managers can no longer afford to be lax about health and safety. They need to take a systematic approach, ensure risk assessments are carried out and proper procedures and training are in place to minimise risks and help protect their staff and the public at large.

Thursday January 8  2009

Small business owners and the self-employed are being sent fake email messages stating they are owed a tax rebate and asking for bank or credit card details so the money can be refunded. Alternatively, they are asked to call a phone line to leave their details.  The line appears to keep ringing even though callers are being charged up to £6 a minute. Revenue and Customs chief executive Lesley Strathie said: ‘This is the most sophisticated and prolific phishing scam that we have encountered.  The messages are being sent out as the January 31 deadline nears for self-assessment forms and when many taxpayers will be due a rebate. HMRC said that concerned taxpayers were forwarding 500 of these e-mails to the authorities a day.  The messages include the HMRC logo and are sent from such addresses as   refundtax@hmrc.gov.co.uk and taxrefund@hmrc.gov.uk 

                                                                                                                                                                               Ms Strathie said: ‘We only ever contact customers who are due a refund in writing by post. We never use e-mails, telephone calls or external companies in these circumstances.

A spokesman for computer security company Sophos said: ‘It’s a trick that works. People are all too willing to enter their details on to websites without thinking twice.’ He advised the public to type in the web address of a site they wanted to visit rather than clicking on links in unsolicited e-mails. ‘Its the most prolific scam we’ve seen’.

The police were called to violent incidents in schools in England more than 7,000 times last year, according to figures from the Conservatives.

Police forces were asked how often they were called to “school premises for an attempted or actual violent crime”.

The survey was based on responses from 25 of the 39 police forces in England.

Head teachers’ leader John Dunford said the survey was “scaremongering” and added that schools were often havens of safety in troubled communities.

‘Worrying’

But Shadow Children’s Secretary Michael Gove said the figures on police calls showed that schools did not have enough power to “nip discipline problems in the bud”.

“The number of violent incidents in schools that lead to police being called is very worrying,” said Mr Gove.

The figures published by the Conservatives were obtained under Freedom of Information requests - with an overall total of 7,311.

There are wide variations between different parts of the country. Police in Warwickshire recorded 73 call outs over violent incidents in school, Merseyside 141, Kent 425 and the Metropolitan Police area 2,698.

How the figures were gathered varies between forces. For example, the figure for the Metropolitian Police applies to “educational establishments” rather than only schools, and the figure for Kent includes incidents in the “vicinity of schools”.

Thames Valley had the second highest figure with 697 call outs, but said that differences in how the figures were compiled meant that comparisons were not valid.

“There are 175 state secondary schools in Thames Valley, attended by 161,000 pupils. The statistics represent an average of four violent crimes per school per year,” said a spokesman.

SCHOOL CRIME DATA   Full data gathered by Conservatives Most computers will open PDF documents automatically, but you may need to download Adobe Acrobat Reader Download the reader here

What the figures do not show is whether this is a small number of schools repeatedly calling the police to tackle incidents or a more widespread changing pattern in which the police are being called occasionally to large numbers of schools.

Nor is there any breakdown of whether the incidents involved pupils or parents, or ex-pupils returning to cause trouble.

But this provides a snapshot suggesting that police are being called to schools hundreds of times each week and that they are carrying out interventions that were once the responsibility of teachers.

Dr Dunford, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said schools were more likely to call the police than in the past.

He said this reflected a closer working relationship between schools and the police which means that schools are more likely to use police assistance.

“Parents and pupils should not be scared by these stories - they should be reassured that, when violence does occur in school, it is dealt with quickly and firmly,” said Dr Dunford.

He added: “Many of these incidents involve young people who are not pupils at the school trespassing on school premises and causing trouble. School sites are often very open places.”

We want schools to work closely with the police as part of the Safer School Partnerships and to take a hard line when dealing with poor behavioure DCSF spokesman

And Chris Keates, head of the Nasuwt teachers’ union, said the figures could be a sign that teachers were more willing to report such violent incidents to the police.

But she urged caution with the statistics, as they do not show differences in how local police forces respond to such school incidents or whether the figures relate to pupil misbehaviour or to other problems such as intruders.

She also rejected the Conservatives’ conclusion that schools lack sufficient powers to tackle misbehaviour.

“In recent years schools have had increasing powers devolved to them to tackle pupil indiscipline. The real issue of concern is that still too many fail to use them.”

Martin Johnson of the ATL teachers’ union said the figures on police being called to schools reflected the worries of classroom violence.

“In February, 29% of teachers told us they have faced physical aggression from a pupil, and over 90% said pupils have been excluded from their school for behavioural problems.”

Mr Johnson also said that more than two-thirds of teachers said “pupil behaviour was worse than two years ago”.

As well as the police being called by schools for assistance, there are 450 schools in England which have dedicated police officers, either based in the school or shared between a group of schools.

A spokeswoman for the Association of Chief Police Officers said the “police service works closely with schools in the prevention of crime and anti-social behaviour”.

The Department for Children, Schools and Families also asserted the value of schools and police working together.

“We want schools to work closely with the police as part of the Safer School Partnerships and to take a hard line when dealing with poor behaviour,” said a spokeswoman.

BBC News Page last updated at 10:15 GMT, Tuesday, 23 December 2008

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