Cookham Discussion Board

A BRILLIANT 48 HOURS.

ONLY 2 ‘CRIMES’ TO REPORT.  A THEFT OF CAR INDEX PLATES AND A CRIMINAL DAMAGE, WHERE TWO HOUSE WINDOWS WERE BROKEN !!!

NO BURGLARIES

AND

NO THEFT FROMS

FIRST:  Can we thank all those that have phoned us reporting suspicious people and cars out and about in the community.  We gratefully receive all this intelligence and encourage everyone to phone us or leave an online report about anything they see, while out and about, which they feel is suspicious.

‘What is suspicious’ ?  Anything that draws your attention.  We all live in the world and have instincts.  We know the speed cars drive along our roads carrying out normal tasks and we ignore them – we have seen it so often.  What draws our attention is something ‘out of the ordinary’.  A car driving too slowly, the wrong sort of car in our road.  Someone delivering free newspapers, is paid a small amount to deliver them and do so as quickly as possible – we have all seen that and it doesn’t draw our attention, but someone walking up to a front door, looking down side accesses and into windows, paying too much attention to a house and it’s security – will draw our attention as it is ‘unusual’.

We have instincts for a purpose and we tend to ignore them – rely on them, they have developed to keep us safe.  If your attention is drawn to someone / a car acting / driving in a suspicious manner in your road – please let us know.

Think about a jigsaw.  You have a piece in your hand, but you have no idea where it fits into the whole – you haven’t got the box lid with the picture.  It may be the wrong sort of car in your road, parked up in a quiet corner.  They may be waiting to carry out a crime, or hiding and waiting for things to quieten down, after committing a crime.  The crime may not even have been reported to us at that time.

We had a case, we often report, as a perfect example of this.  Many years ago, the NHW Area Co-ordinator for a part of Maidenhead was walking home and as he turned into his road, a car recklessly sped past him.  It was going so fast, his attention was immediately drawn to it and he took down the index.  When he got home, he reported this to the police.  At that time, we took his report, but had no information the car was involved in crime.  A few hours later, someone who lived in that road, returned home from work, found they had been burgled and called the police.  It was then, the jigsaw puzzle piece, was put into place.  We had a possible car index and descriptions of the driver and passenger.  That NHW Area Co-ordinator had done his part and we had a lead.  It did lead to arrests and charges !
We can all ‘do our bit’ to protect our communities.  We do get reports of people walking along rows of parked cars trying car door handles and this helps us enormously.  Technology has also helped.  Many of you now have Video Doorbells.  Please check the footage regularly – even if you do not believe you have been the victim of a crime.  Someone may have walked onto your drive and tried your car door handle, but finding the car locked – walked away.  That footage is also really useful.  It can be the jigsaw puzzle piece which identifies an offender, a time he was out and about and the route he has taken between crimes which did occur.  Any of those jigsaw pieces, will identify an offender to us, for further investigation.  It also means, we can justify organising additional patrols for your area !!

HELP US TO HELP YOU AND KEEP YOU, YOUR NEIGHBOURS AND COMMUNITY SAFE

NEXT: OUR SPRING BURGLARY CAMPAIGN WILL START SHORTLY – WHEN THE WEATHER IMPROVES !!!

Spring is a time when we generally see an increase in shed / garage breaks – offenders target garden equipment and tools.  Spring is a busy time in gardens, as we once again start work in our gardens, tidying up and getting things ready for the summer and there is a large market for mowers, hedge trimmers, leaf blowers etc. etc.  Sheds particularly are never very secure – even with chains and locks.  They are built of flimsy material and are fairly easy to break into.  If we cannot stop offenders breaking in – we can ‘deter’ them from stealing our expensive to replace equipment.

FIRST:  Think about a Shed Alarm.  These are very reasonably priced and often at this time of year are sold, ‘buy one – get one free’.  They are available from all online retail outlets – simply search for ‘Shed Alarm’.  They are wireless – battery operated - and need no installation.  You can simply place them on a shelf at the rear of a shed.  They contain both heat and motion sensors and are simply fobbed on and off, as you go in and out.  They sound at 110 dbls – which is extremely loud in the early hours and offenders will leave immediately.
SECOND:  Think about property marking all valuable items.  Not with an invisible marking system, such as UV pens, but with something bright, so that an offender will see it, as they look inside the shed with a torch.  Postcode items with your postcode and the first 3 letters of your house name – remembering not to use the ‘The’, if you live in ‘The Laurels’ !!!
Sometimes, people do this with their children / grandchildren – painting the items with bright flowers – making them impossible to sell online or at a car boot sale as they are so easily identifiable !  Make it a fun experience for you and them – and – you have a lovely memory, every time you use that piece for years to come !


CRIME
I have attached reference numbers to each crime report. If you live in the vicinity of any of the crimes mentioned and have CCTV or a video doorbell, can you please check the footage. If you have any that might be of interest to the police, can you please make contact with us, quoting reference number given.

I have added a new email address below.  The first email address is directly to your local Neighbourhood Team.  The second is to our investigation team.  Please use it to send any intelligence / video doorbell / CCTV footage you may have, which is relevant to any of the crimes lists below - quoting the reference number.

Alternatively you can call 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or email - www.crimestoppers-uk.org


MAIDENHEAD CENTRAL:
maidenheadcentralgeographical@thamesvalley.pnn.police.uk
SR.windsor&maidenhead@thamesvalley.pnn.police.uk
NO CRIME TO REPORT.

RIVERSIDE & BELMONT:
9/2  Tuesday Evenlode.  2 panes of glass in a house window smashed.  Ref. No:  43210056005

MAIDENHEAD WEST
maidenheadwestgeographical@thamesvalley.pnn.police.uk
SR.windsor&maidenhead@thamesvalley.pnn.police.uk
BISHAM, COOKHAM, HURLEY, THE WALTHAMS, LITTLEWICK GREEN & KNOWL HILL:
9/2 - 10/2  Overnight  Bath Road, Littelwick Green  Car index plates taken.  Ref. No:  43210056777

PINKNEYS GREEN & FURZE PLATT:
NO CRIME TO REPORT.

MAIDENHEAD SOUTH
maidenheadsouthgeographical@thamesvalley.pnn.police.uk
SR.windsor&maidenhead@thamesvalley.pnn.police.uk
BOYN HILL, COX GREEN & WOODLANDS PARK:
NO CRIME TO REPORT.

OLDFIELD, BRAY & HOLYPORT:
NO CRIME TO REPORT.