National Neighbourhood Watch Week 2010 in Flintshire
Flintshire Neighbourhood Watch Association organised events during that week throughout the country.
A page dedicated to these events is available here, with photos and details.
Doorstep Crime Major Campaign Under Way
A new website has been created as part of a campaign to highlight the problem of cold calling and rogue traders. You will find information about the different tricks that cold callers use, how to deal with rogue traders and distraction callers, read about real-life stories and see how it can affect lives, and find out what you can do as a community to deal with this problem.
The Welsh Assembly Government has provided funding for the provision of eight new schemes in Flintshire.
Find out more about No Cold Calling Areas and this funding in our newsletter.
The Idea Behind No Cold Calling Areas
Many traders calling at your door will be genuine. However, some people calling door-to-door are bogus workmen, high pressure salespeople, bogus officials or distraction burglars. It is now well established that distraction burglaries and rogue doorstep trading are interlinked - all too often, the seemingly innocent doorstep seller is actually checking things out for a re-visit to carry out a burglary or distraction burglary.
The concept behind No Cold Calling Areas is to clearly identify areas within the County where residents have expressed the view that they would prefer not to receive uninvited visits from traders selling goods or services.
How is it implemented?
Agencies involved with the Flintshire Community Safety Partnership have been working together over the last few years in an effort to reduce doorstep crime. As part of this initiative the Partnership fully supports residents' rights to request no cold callers.
No Cold Calling Areas is about local residents or communities having the confidence to say "NO" to uninvited salespeople or to warn rogue traders and cold-callers that they are being watched.
There are two main types of zones:
1. No Cold Calling / No Uninvited Sellers 2. A zone where cold calling is permitted but is monitored by the residents.
In both cases the zone area is clearly defined by notices on lamp posts, walls, etc. These signs ask that companies or individuals do not call at the door of residents in the zone without prior appointment to do so.
‘No Cold Calling Areas’ are similar in concept to a Neighbourhood Watch area and indeed, the two can work alongside each other and perhaps with a shared coordinator role.
In practice
Whilst No Cold Calling Areas have no force in law, it is hoped that such schemes will give householders the confidence to say “NO” and direct cold callers out of the area.
If residents do receive calls from uninvited trades or sales people they will be able to contact North Wales Police or Flintshire Trading Standards where appropriate via the organiser.
Trading Standards will write to callers requesting that they do not operate within the zone. The Flintshire Community Safety Partnership is keen to support local schemes but success will depend upon enthusiastic Neighbourhood Watch Co-ordinators, Community Support Officers, Community Wardens, or indeed anybody willing to give a little of their time to help their local community.
However, No Cold Calling Zones should generally only be considered when supported by a real local need to stop all sellers/callers. The Trading Standards Institute has produced an information pack to help local communities and local authorities set up their own No Cold Calling Areas.
What you can do
If you think your area may benefit from a No Cold Calling scheme and would like further information please contact Helen Griffiths, Safety & Assurance worker at Flintshire Neighbourhood Watch Association at the following address: helen.griffiths@fnwa.org.uk. Packs are available that contain all the relevant information to set up a No Cold Calling Area, stickers to put on doors and windows, details on the rights of members of such Areas, and contact numbers to all the agencies that are part of the Flintshire Community Safety Partnership.
The Good Neighbours Catalogue Crime Prevention Products for a modern society.
The Good Neighbours Catalogue
In partnership with our sponsors, we are offering you access to a range of security items available through Flintshire Neighbourhood Watch Association.
We have various crime safety products available which will enable you to guard against theft, to you, your property or vehicle.
THESE ITEMS ARE AVAILABLE AT VERY REASONABLE COSTS.
All proceeds from resale items are used to support the delivery of community safety campaigns in Flintshire.
You can browse through this list and see if any of these items can help. When you have found something of interest, you can contact us in the usual ways.
We have now a "Web Book" version of the catalogue. If you would like to see it, click here. Instructions on how to use this digital book are available. We think that this format is a good idea, but you are the ones perusing this catalogue, so let us know what you think about this way of browsing by dropping us a line: sylvain.jacquin@fnwa.org.uk.
We also attend various safety and security events around the county and carry with us a selection of resale equipment. One such event was the Airbus Anniversary show. As well as offering crime prevention advice, we had target hardening products available for people to buy.
One of the best selling items at this and other events is the new Alarmed Padlock, an absolute must if you have central heating oil tanks. These sell at £12.50, a lot cheaper than a tank of oil.
Another best seller is the Driveway Alarm, which has a receiver
in the home and warns of anybody approaching your home, garage or car. These sell at £32.00 but again, if it prevents any theft, it is money well spent!
We have various security items for sale, at a lower price than other outlets, and they can be found in the catalogue above, or by calling us on 01352 708118.
This year sees the re-launch of the ICE Campaign, a scheme that was first promoted in 2005.
ICE stands for "In Case of Emergency". The idea behind this acronym is that everyone with a mobile phone could have a person in their list of contacts listed under "ICE".
That person could be a next of kin or friend. They would be the first to be alerted in case the person carrying the mobile phone was involved in an incident that would render them unable to talk, such as a car accident leaving them unconscious, or a stroke that would impair their speech.
Even if you carry ID , such as a driver’s license, it doesn’t contain your emergency list of contacts, medical history, doctor, etc, which your ICE contact persons should have on hand. This information could be invaluable to emergency personnel in providing care.
Sponsored by SOLON SECURITY One of the UK’s leading suppliers of quality Crime Prevention & Community Safety Products Lisa Bartoletti Business Development Manager for Solon Security.
