Man Questioned Over Metal Thefts In Malvern Hills
Issued 24-1-12

A man has been arrested in Malvern and questioned by detectives about a series of
thefts where air conditioning units were stolen in the Malvern Hills district in
December and January. The man, who is in his 30s, was stopped by patrolling
officers on
Spring Lane at 9.50pm on Friday 20th January as he loaded
a white Peugeot Boxer panel van.
He was in the possession of items that were believed to be stolen and arrested.

He was questioned not just about this incident but also about six similar cases
where local businesses and amenities were targeted by metal thieves
in recent weeks. They were:

1. 18 January: Tenbury Swimming Pool, Kyrewood Road, Tenbury Wells;
2. 12 January: Malvern Splash Leisure Pool, Priory Rd, Malvern;
3. 12 January: Wilkinson's, Edith Walk, Malvern;
4. 20 December to 5 January: The Chase School, Geraldine Road, Malvern;
5. 19 to 22 December: Nat West Bank, Church St, Malvern;
6. 19 to 20 December: Malvern Splash Leisure Pool, Priory Rd, Malvern

Inspector Jane Francis, who leads local policing in Malvern Hills, said:
"Like the rest of country, Malvern has seen a large increase in the number of
metal thefts in recent years and we are aware of the negative impact
they are having on the community. This series of air conditioner thefts
has been a serious setback for the properties affected, not just because
of the cost to replace them but it affected their ability to operate.
Our officers have been proactively patrolling areas of Malvern Hills
identified as vulnerable to metal thefts and it was because of their activity
this man was stopped and arrested. He has been released on bail as we
continue to investigate. We are doing all we can to counter metal thieves
in Malvern and I would like to ask the public to do what they can to help.
Please contact West Mercia Police if you see any suspicious activity, in
particular any work vehicles that seem out of place or unusual activity
around public buildings and local infrastructure such as railway lines
or electricity substations."

If you have any information about these or other metal thefts,
West Mercia Police can be contacted via the non-emergency police number
101
or information can be passed on
anonymously through
Crimestoppers
on
0800 555 111

LOVE YOUR HOME WEEK
Tuesday 14th February - Saturday 18th February

Neighbourhood Watch have been given the opportunity to take part in the
"Love Your Home Week" event in Worcester City. One of the empty shops in
Crown Gate, Worcester is being made available to a number of different organisations
of which Neighbourhood Watch is one where we will be able to talk to members
of the public about Neighbourhood Watch, home security and other related topics.
A similar event last year was very successful with a great many people visiting the shop
to obtain information about Neighbourhood Watch and crime prevention advice.
We need a number of Neighbourhood Watch members who can provide some
time to staff our stand. If you can spare some time and would like to take part please
let us know by clicking on the "Contact Us" button on the left and fill in the form
that will come up on the screen showing which times of which days you can attend.

NEW BBC TELEVISION PROGRAMME
"DOORSTEP CRIME 999"

Objective Productions are making a new BBC1 Series called
" Doorstep Crime 999".

The makers of the series are keen to talk to people about their views on
doorstep crime.

They have been filming all over the UK, looking at ways of combating rogue
traders, distraction burglars and other con tricks and are keen to include
thoughts and tips from members of the public, particularly those who are
doing their best to fight back against doorstep crime. They would like to hear
from coordinators and Watch members who have feedback or tips to share.
All comments are welcome.

The best way to get in touch with the company is to send an email to
the presenter Gloria Hunniford.
If you have a view or an experience which you would like to pass on
please contact her on
Gloria@objectiveproductions.com
If you know of others who maybe do not have access to the internet
but who may have something useful to contribute on this subject
please pass this information on to them.

NEW NON EMERGENCY NUMBER
FOR CONTACTING THE POLICE

The West Mercia Police Call Centre can now be contacted in respect of
Non Emergency matters using a new numer which is
101

To see more about this new facility please click on the logo below.

MAKE SURE YOU DON'T GET YOUR CAR STOLEN
THIS WINTER

The car thief's
" Defrosting Modus Operandi "

• October to March;
• very cold/frosty weather;
• Monday to Friday between 6.00am and 9.00am;
• affluent residential areas;
• high value/specification vehicles such as Mercedes, BMW, Audi, etc;
• vehicles are left running on the driveway with the keys in the ignition;
• owner goes back inside house while car warms up/windscreen clears;
• offenders identify a target vehicle and approach in another vehicle, one person is
dropped off nearby;
• offender gets into the running vehicle and simply drives away.

The number of vehicles taken in this manner has consistently risen year on year.
Many of the vehicles are never recovered and it is believed that many are shipped overseas.

Offenders who have been convicted of this crime are also active car key burglars
who appear to downgrade their offending from burglary to theft of a
motor vehicle during this winter period.

Don't make it easy for the car thief
sit in your car whilst it defrosts.

CIRCULATION OF CRIME ALERTS

As you are aware things are changing in respect of the way that West Mercia
Police are providing support to Neighbourhood Watch. Whilst the details of
these changes are being sorted out the opportunities for Adrian Symonds our
Community Volunteers Co-ordinator to spend time circulating Crime Alerts
has become somewhat limited due to the extra tasks that he now has to deal with.
As a temporary measure in order to keep people up to date with issues that they
should be aware of in their neighbourhood it is being recommended that you
register with West Mercia Police to automatically receive the news messages
generated by the Press Department. To do this click on the Logo below which
will take you to the South Worcestershire page of the Force web site where
you can "subscribe" to automatically receive the messages by e mail.
It should be noted that the messages you will receive will not necessarily be
particularly local to your home but will relate to the whole of South
Worcestershire i.e. Malvern Hills, Worcester City and Wychavon. Work is going on
to ensure that the former much more localised system of sending out Crime Alerts
will be resumed as soon as possible.