Monday, March 24, 2014

Burglars Want Your Garden Tools, Aylesbury Vale

The number of burglaries go up in the spring, so police in Aylesbury Vale are trying to tackle that with a 'day of action'.Officers say burglars normally target our homes, but when sheds or other buildings are left open in the warmer weather, they go for those as well.

Garden sheds, outbuildings and garages are a popular target as they probably have expensive items like lawn mowers, hedge cutters, pedal bikes and power tools in them.
Insp James Davies said:
"We aim to raise awareness of outbuilding, garden and shed security and we will be working in partnership with Aylesbury Vale District Council to provide local residents with vital crime prevention advice, to help prevent themselves from becoming a victim of crime during the upcoming spring period.
"I would also like to thank local businesses George Browns Ltd, D & A Sheds, and Preston & Bisset Nurseries for their help in supporting the events.
"In addition to these road shows and events, the neighbourhood teams will be carrying out high visibility patrols in the town and the rural areas. The team will also be carrying out a series of Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) operations during the spring period and proactively patrolling burglary hot spot areas to target known offenders.
"We will be about and about, if you have any concerns or just want some advice and information, approach your local neighbourhood officers who will be there to assist you.
"We will also be sending out messages via Thames Valley Alert to residents with crime reduction advice, so I would urge people to sign up."
Here are the events taking place:
  • Burglary non-dwelling shed road show event, which will run from 8am to 5pm at the Old Gaol, Market Square. Officers will be accompanied by members from the AVDC offering shed crime prevention advice and handing out timer switches.
  • Crime reduction event, which will run from 8am to 5pm at Rushmere Country Park, Great Brickhill.
  • Security marking tools event, which run from 10am to 12pm at Haddenham Library, followed by garden centre visits in the local area.
  • Farm Visits, CESAR marking and patrols in the local area of Winslow from 12pm to 9pm.
The town neighbourhood team will be carrying out the following events:
  • A mobile police station will be set in the Aylesbury Market Place from 10am to 3pm, offering crime prevention advice.
  • Crime prevention events from 10am to 3pm at Homebase in Broad Fields Retail Park, B&Q in Vale Hundreds Retail Park and Wickes in Cambridge Close Retail Park.
The neighbourhood teams and ADVC will be hosting some additional events and road shows at garden centres. The teams will be carrying out the following additional events at garden centres:
  • Wednesday (26/3), World's End Garden Centre, Wendover - 11am to 3pm
  • Wednesday (2/4), Buckingham Garden Centre, Buckingham - 11am to 3pm
  • Wednesday (9/4), Homebase, Aylesbury - 11am to 3pm
  • Wednesday (16/4), B & Q Aylesbury - 11am to 3pm
  • Wednesday (23/4), Haddenham Garden Centre - 11am to 3pm
And these are some of the tips the police have for you:
  • Make access to areas where sheds and outbuildings are located as difficult as possible - lock all side and rear gates using a bolt and padlock or hasp and staple lock and make sure fencing/hedging is secure. Prickly plants can be used around the fence line to deter access.
  • Install passive security lighting in gardens.
  • Keep sheds, garage and outbuilding locked with good quality locks - padlock alarms are available from hardware shops that sound if any attempt is made to tamper with it.
  • Consider putting bars on the windows of sheds etc. to prevent break-ins.
  • Strengthen the security of sheds by reinforcing door hinges, fitting doors with non-returnable screws or coach bolts.
  • Not leave tools and equipment in gardens but keep them locked away and consider securing these with cables and chains with robust padlocks.
  • Have power tools, garden implements and pedal cycles security marked with a post code and house
(Reproduced from Mix96  20th March)

Gardien Comment:  All the above is very sound advice - quality product solutions can be found at www.garden-security.co.uk )

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