For more infromation please go to: http://www.avonandsomerset.police.uk

All customers that purchase electrical goods from the Currys Clearance Centre or any other store on Central Retail Park, on Saturday March 20th, will be entitled to have their new item property marked and added to the Immobilise.com database and it doesn’t stop there!! If you have older items that you would like property marked just bring them along to the store with proof of purchase and we will gladly add them to the data base and mark them, The Immobilise day continues the on going force priority on domestic burglary.

Bring your laptops, mobile phones, ipods and any other electrical goods to the Currys Clearance Centre, Central Retail Park, Ancoats, any time from 0900-1700 on Saturday 20th march 2010.

Immobilise.com is a Home office backed, free to use website where users can create an account of their household goods for free. In the unfortunate event of any of the items being stolen they can update their account and mark the item as stolen.

Immobilise.com is the first port of call for the police when trying to identify stolen goods and can increase the chances of them being returned to their rightful owner.

PCSO Burtoft had this to say about immobilise.com;

it really is a great idea, it increases the chances of stolen property being found by the Police and reclaimed, it also reduces the number of different avenues historically used by burglars to profit from their crime, oh and its free of charge

The website is a free database, which is used by all police forces across the UK to help them return stolen property to rightful owners.

Register your personal property at www.immobilise.com so that, if your valuables get lost or stolen and police recover it, you’ll get it back. It could also help police officers to get the burglar or robber convicted.

It takes a few minutes to complete the registration, allowing you to create a free, private and secure portfolio of all your personal property.

Inspector Sean Hodgson, Force Crime Reduction Manager, said:

We are continuing to urge residents to register their property, it only takes a few minutes to register and if your property is stolen and recovered there is a greater chance of it being returned.

Becoming a victim of crime is an incredibly upsetting experience for people, especially if personal possessions such as cameras or mobile phones are stolen with irreplaceable photos of loved ones and phone numbers of family and friends.

We are asking residents to help us and help themselves by registering all their valuables on the Immobilise database. People can register any item with a serial number.

Police officers may then be able to return any items they find to their rightful owner. It may also enable officers to secure a successful prosecution.

Thames Valley Police is currently running an initiative specifically tackling burglary, called Operation Breaker. This Forcewide campaign received a £143,000 funding boost from the Home Office on 28 December as the national ‘Operation Vigilance campaign gets underway. Operation Vigilance aims to tackle and prevent burglary and personal robbery.

To visit the Thames Valley Police website please go to: www.thamesvalley.police.uk

Did you receive a new mobile phone, camera, bike, MP3 player or ‘sat nav’ this Christmas?

They are recommending that the public should Register your personal property at Immobilise.com so that, if your valuables get lost or stolen and police recover it, you’ll get it back. It could also help police officers to get the burglar or robber convicted.

It takes a few minutes to complete the registration, allowing you to create a free, private and secure portfolio of all your personal property.

Inspector Sean Hodgson, Force crime reduction officer, said:

Becoming a victim of crime is an incredibly upsetting experience for people, especially if personal possessions such as cameras or mobile phones are stolen with irreplaceable photos of loved ones and phone numbers of family and friends.

We are asking residents to help us and help themselves by registering all their valuables on the Immobilise database. People can register any item with a serial number.

He added:

Police officers may then be able to return any items they find to their rightful owner. It may also enable officers to secure a successful prosecution.

To read the source article in full please go to: Thames Valley Police Website

Each year gifts are taken from vehicles or from under the Christmas tree in people’s homes. Chief Inspector Russell Waterston from Cambridgeshire police said:

There are often easy pickings for criminals this time of year.

People are in high spirits and are often transporting and storing lots of desirable goods.

But the same precautions should be taken at Christmas time as every other time of the year.

We don’t want to see expensive gifts disappearing from under the Christmas tree before the festivities begin.

Homeowners are being some simple advice:

• Close the curtains once it gets dark outside, especially if the lights are on inside and not keep presents on show.
• Presents should be removed overnight from vehicles.
• Empty boxes, which could advertise the Christmas goodies inside the house, should not be left outside on view.
• Once Christmas gifts are unwrapped, they can be registered for free at www.immobilise.com, which allows stolen goods to be identified and returned to the owner.

INFORMATION: Any suspicious behaviour should be reported to Cambridgeshire police on 0345 4564564.

To view the source article please go to: www.cambs24.co.uk

To combat this Police in Bath have been working hard at Freshers Fayres and talking to students generally about keeping property safe. On Friday 2nd October at Bath University Freshers Fayre thousands of property marking UV pens were given out, advice given on crime prevention and hundreds of students registered their phones on www.immobilise.com, a national property register that records details so property can be returned or traced if stolen.

Sergeant Geoff Cannon part of the Community Safety team at Bath Police Station said:

A student house to a burglar can be a playground to take several high value items in one go. Students can keep themselves safe however by just following a few simple guidelines. Keep all high value items out of sight and away from windows where they can be easily seen. Secure all doors to your property at all times and know who has keys to come and go.

News article source: Avon & Somerset Police

Police from the Bolton Central Neighbourhood Policing Team have been at Bolton University all week, marking property and registering students’ laptops and phones on the Immobilise database.

They have also been giving advice and crime-prevention tools displaying GMP’s new student safety campaign logo.

Inspector Phil Spurgeon said:

Every year, we run safety campaigns aimed at providing students with advice to prevent them becoming a victim of crime.

However, for new students in particular, crime prevention is always going to be the last thing on their minds when they are leaving home for the first time and they are likely to think it will never happen to them.

Local neighbourhood officers were on hand to meet and greet the new students and their parents, to remind them of how they can keep themselves and their valuables safe. Safety messages are also being sent each week to student’s phones in the area.

Students can follow simple steps to help stop thieves, including keeping valuables out of sight, always being aware of what is going on around them, keeping to well-lit areas and shutting and locking all windows and doors, even when they are at home.

To read the source article in full please go to: Bolton News

The handheld device scans the IMEI barcode inside the back of a mobile phone and checks it against the national property register to see if it is registered as stolen.

It can also be used to check mobile phones, laptops, MP3 players and bikes, and for phones where the barcode is not easily accessable officers can simply key in the IMEI number (accessable on all phones by keying *#06#) directly into the device.

Borough commander Chief Superintendent Charles Griggs said:

The operation is one of many throughout the year where we focus on the safety of the travelling public and tackling crime and disorder on public transport.

What is different is the use of Apollo. As a portable handheld solution Apollo offers my officers remote access to the national mobile phone register whether out in the field or in the custody suite and gives us the opportunity to quickly identify stolen property.

Bromley police is encouraging everyone to register with the secure national property register at immobilise.com.

This will help the police to identify items and return them to their owners if they get lost or stolen.

Anyone with information about robbery in Bromley should call the police on 01689 891212 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

To read the source article in full please go to: The News Shopper

As of the 8th June The Carphone Warehouse have extended their trade-in scheme to include iPods and GPS equipment. Every item is checked in real-time on Recipero’s CheckMEND due diligence service.

The system has been integrated with Carphone Warehouse’s EPOS systems in over 800 UK stores, their website, and direct sales channels, allowing them to ensure only ‘bona fide’ customers can benefit from their trade-in offers.

With nearly 50 billion items of serial numbered goods recorded CheckMEND is the world’s largest database of stolen goods, making it an obvious partner for Carphone Warehouse.

For more information please visit the following links:

www.carphonewarehouse.com

www.checkmend.com

www.recipero.com/cpw_expand_checkmend_use

Residents have been advised that a few simple steps can help keep their belongings safe from the thieves;

Crime Reduction Advisor, Jackie Bell said:

In many of these cases a satellite navigation system has been taken. Thieves are breaking into the cars to search the glove box and see whether any items of value have been left.

Leaving sat nav cradles and sucker marks on display is the biggest giveaway that there is something of value in the vehicle.

Our advice is simple, by removing any trace of the sat nav system such as the cradle and sucker marks from the window and by removing valuables or personal items from the vehicle you are less likely to become a victim of vehicle crime.

Drivers should also park their vehicle in a locked garage where possible or leave it in a well-lit area as close to their home as possible. Using a steering lock and securing alloy wheels with locking nuts are also good deterrents.

Other crime prevention tips include marking valuables with your postcode and vehicle registration number, and writing down the make, model and serial number of any items likely to tempt thieves. Drivers are also encouraged to register their valuable items on the Immobilise website (www.immobilise.com).

To report crime call police on 0161 872 5050 or for more information visit www.gmp.police.uk.

To read the source article in full please go to: Greater Manchester Police