Wiltshire’s Neighbourhood Watch website
National Neighbourhood Watch website – full of useful information
and where you can sign up to local news.
Wiltshire & Swindon Community Messaging You can now sign up for free messages – by email, text or voicemail – about policing and crime matters relating to your area and interests by joining Wiltshire and Swindon Community Messaging. You can also tick a box to join Neighbourhood Watch.
Chippenham Area Neighbourhood Watch Committee Member:
Mike Brandwood, email mike.brandwood@wiltshirenhw.org.
The Chippenham and Rural Villages Neighbourhood Police Officer is Police Constable 2622 Jessica Swanborough. Contact:
Mobile: 07471 029023 Teams: 01225 256536
Email: jessica.swanborough@wiltshire.police.uk
Emergency 999 | Switchboard 101
Wiltshire Police
For information visit www.wiltshire.police.uk
Tel. 101
Hearing or speech impairments – call 999 BSL to use a British Sign Language interpreter.
If you’ve pre-registered with the emergencySMS service, use our textphone service 18000 or text us on 999.
Reporting Crime
Wiltshire Police seeks to enhance online services to the public and is pleased to introduce a new way of reporting crime through the Force website.
If you or somebody you know has been a victim of crime, or you witnessed a crime, in Wiltshire or Swindon you can now report it to Wiltshire Police online. Go to the force website and click on the Report button and select Crime from the menu. In an emergency always call 999.
How Neighbourhood Watch Works
The Neighbourhood Watch scheme covers Kington St Michael. A scheme is generally led by a volunteer co-ordinator whose job is to get people working together and make sure things get done. As well as the co-ordinator, there is often a committee. Committees meet regularly to plan which problems to target and what action to take. Schemes keep in close touch with local police to share information and advice. To help with this there is a quarterly meeting of all Chippenham Area co-ordinators at Chippenham Police Station. Most crime is opportunist, committed on the spur of the moment, or when a car or house is left unlocked. Traditional Neighbourhood Watch activity has focused on the immediate vicinity of homes, with members looking out for anything suspicious, or helping their neighbours as necessary. However, more and more schemes are broadening their range of work. Targeting local problems such as vandalism or graffiti are well within the scope of a well-organised Watch scheme. You may be able to take action yourselves, such as fitting more secure door or window locks in vulnerable homes, or you may need to get others involved. Some schemes now work in partnership with other agencies like Victim Support and Help the Aged to help reduce the fear of crime. Anyone co-ordinating a Neighbourhood Watch scheme can get support from the local bobby as well as the Neighbourhood Watch liaison officer. What does the Neighbourhood Watch co-ordinator do? Put news items on the village website (via the Webmaster) Maintain a NHW within the village. Pass relevant information from the police on crime in the area to members and from members to the police. Act as a link between the scheme, other co-ordinators, local police and local NHW Associations Circulate any newsletters, leaflets, property marking kits etc Encourage members to inform police quickly of any criminal/suspicious incidents.
Neighbourhood Watch
Neighbourhood Watch can help build safer, stronger and more active communities and connect people with their neighbours. The Parish Council is hoping to get a local scheme back up and running in Kington St Michael and would love to hear from you.
If you are interested in joining, or just want to find out more information, then please contact the Parish Clerk, Viv Vines, on (01249) 657695 or 07785 717665, email ksmparishclerk@gmail.com.
Phishing Scams
You can now report phishing emails by forwarding them to report@phishing.gov.uk and the National Cyber Security Centre (part of GCHQ) analyses them and remove the culprit sites.
Cold Callers
Please contact Wiltshire Police on 101 if you receive ‘Cold Callers’. They are interesting in speaking to these individuals, as most will not have a valid Pedlar’s certificate. If someone does knock at your door you may request identification; if the individual does not show you any form of identification or you are not happy with what you have seen you are entitled to just shut the door. All genuine callers will have formal identification and most companies will call prior to visits now. Please do not allow anyone that you do not know into your property.
Hate Crime
What is hate crime? Hate incidents and crimes are targeted hostility or harm towards someone because of an aspect of who they are perceived to be, or their identity, for instance on the basis of disability, race, religion, sexual orientation, or transgender identity. Too many people suffer in silence, not only those directly targeted, but those too who are avoiding places they fear they might be targeted: not going out at certain times of the day; changing the way they look or dress; hiding their true identities.
How Victim Support can help
Victim Support is aiming to support people to identify hate related incidents when they come across them, to name them, to know how to signpost people to appropriate support, and to ensure such incidents are recorded to improve understanding and inform prevention work.
Get in touch
If you would like more detail via a presentation from the team or further information, please contact our Service Delivery Team on 01380 738878, email Wiltshire@victimsupport.org.uk or visit our national website www.victimsupport.org.uk