Category Archives: Immobilize

Has your bike been stolen?

This is Gloucestershire recently reported that cyclists who have had their bikes stolen had the opportunity to be reunited with them.

A cycle viewing and coding session was held at Cheltenham Police Station in Lansdown Road. The event was put on so people who have reported their bicycles stolen could see if they had been found by police.

It was also a chance for cyclists to find out more about protecting their bikes through the National Mobile Property Register (NMPR) which is accessed by the public via the www.immobilise.com website.

Police community support officer Kim Graham, who organised the event, said:

We now have more than 1,100 people who have registered through us with the NMPR thanks to the local cycle shops and police operations.

Officers were also security marking and encouraging cyclists to register their bikes on immobilise.

By visiting the website www.immobilise.com, a free, private and secure portfolio of personal property can be created and items added to the NMPR.

If the bike, or registered item, is then lost or stolen the website can be used to tell the police, insurers and the second-hand trade to help in finding it and catching the thief.

To read the source story please go to: http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/

BBC features West Midlands Police’s Digi-bike promoting Immobilise

BBC news yesterday reported that the West Midlands Police in Dudley have just unveiled a new tool in their drive to reduce crime. The device is a four wheeled pedal powered “Digi-bike”, providing a multimedia message to passersby, broadcasting Bluetooth and video and audio messages from its screens and speakers.

One of the key crime prevention messages that the digi-bike is promoting is the registration of your valued property on the Immobilise National Property Register (www.immobilise.com).

To view the BBC video go to: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-10947119

To read the expanded BBC news story go to: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-black-country-10944247

CheckMEND officially adopted by phone recycling industry and Home Office code of practice

Today July 23rd it was officially agreed that CheckMEND would be the first approved due diligence service to be used and officially endorsed under a new Home Office/recycling industry code of practice.

The signing of the new code of practice by over 90% of the mobile phone recycling industry means that for the first time there are agreed guidelines for the checking of handsets offered for sale to the industry and this includes using the CheckMEND service to check the National Mobile Phone/Property Register.

Adrian Portlock CEO of Recipero the operator of CheckMEND said:

This is a major step forward for the industry and CheckMEND and we are really pleased the industry has recognised their responsibilities in checking products they are buying, this model needs to be extended to all handlers of used goods and retailers taking trade ins and we will be pushing for this to be the case, but this is an excellent start.

For more information please see the following sites:

Avon & Somerset Police to hold an Immobilise registration event

Avon & Somerset Police have announced that on Thursday 29 April 2010 between 10am and 3pm the Neighbourhood Policing Team will be at Curry’s on Channons Hill to promote Immobilise.com. Members of the public will have the opportunity to register goods, such as mobile phones, iPods, etc and speak with local officers about any concerns they may have.

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

Police want to reunite stolen bikes with their rightful owners

NewsImageNS19075NSU-1LARGEAvon & Somerset Police seized 15 bikes from a property in Burnham-on-Sea in early December, following a search of the premises by officers. The bikes were identified as stolen property and, although five have already been reunited with their owners, 10 are still languishing unclaimed in police custody as their owners couldn’t be traced.

Local officers are keen to remedy this and return the bikes to their owners. An open day is planned at Burnham-on-Sea Police Station on Saturday January 9, 2010 between 4.00 – 6.00pm. Anyone who has had a bike stolen are encouraged to attend to see if any of the cycles are their missing property.

However, PCSO Gill Bawler said:

We are really keen to reunite as many bikes with their owners as possible. I would also like to take the opportunity to encourage people, especially if you have had a new bike for Christmas, to register it on www.immobilise.com or get your property marked. If you get your bicycle security marked it dramatically increases the chances of it being returned should it be lost or stolen.

Further information regarding home security, property marking and crime prevention can be obtained from your local Safer Stronger Neighbourhood team. You can contact them by calling 0845 456 7000 or you can visit: www.avonandsomerset.police.uk and select the Crime Prevention heading.

To read the source story in full please go to: http://www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/

South Gloucestershire Police ‘pedal’ bike security to children and encourage property registration

Top image shows PCSO Rob Hendra talking to a young man about bicycle road safetySouth Gloucestershire Police have been peddling cycle security to children in the run up to a force-wide operation encouraging people to mark their property to deter thieves.

The neighbourhood Police Community Support Officers visited Patchway Youth Club and Filton High School and helped the young people to mark their bicycles.

Neighbourhood Sergeant Steve Ives said:

Bike theft is one of the most commonly reported crimes. Bikes are worth a lot of money, so invest in a good-quality lock and use it.

Marking your bike with your postcode does deter thieves, because it means that police can prove it is stolen. You can also register it for free at www.immobilise.com, a secure property database checked by police across the country.

On Saturday December 12 2009 PCSO Rob Hendra visited Patchway Youth Club. He helped youngsters aged between nine and 13 to mark their bicycles and register them on the immobilise website.

Avon and Somerset police are encouraging people to mark their property with a day of events under Operation Relentless today (Thursday December 17 2009).

Chief Inspector Peter Warren said:

While South Gloucestershire is a safe place with low crime levels, people mustn’t be complacent about security. Most of our reported burglaries are from homes which have been left insecure.

Most thefts from cars are when property like a sat nav has been left on view, and thefts of bikes which have been left unlocked. Criminals are opportunists – let’s not give them that chance.

Officers are running bicycle marking events throughout December and January – and offering the chance to win an £150 voucher towards cycling accessories. Visit www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/cyclecompetition for more details. The competition closes on January 31 2010.

To read the source article in full please go to: www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/LocalPages/NewsDetails.aspx?nsid=18902&t=1&lid=2

Beat the burglars – protect your presents!

Two uniformed PCs facing away from the camera on patrol in BroadmeadPolice in Bristol are giving Christmas shoppers the gift of burglary prevention as part of the forcewide Operation Relentless day.

Officers in the new “cop shop” at The Mall Bristol, in Broadmead, are inviting shoppers to stop by and have their Christmas purchases registered on a national property database, called Immobilise.

Keith Rundle, Neighbourhood Inspector for Cabot and Clifton, said:

At this time of year people are thinking about getting the last bit of Christmas shopping done and all other things festive. But if someone was to break into your home and steal all those presents Christmas would be ruined and you would be very out of pocket.

Items that can be traced and identified are harder to sell and far less attractive to thieves, so registering on Immobilise can be a deterrent, and if the worst did happen it may help us to reunite property with its rightful owner – if recovered.

We want people to take steps to stop themselves becoming victims of burglary. Visiting our officers in The Mall Bristol or at Curry’s in Channon’s Hill and registering on Immobilise is a good start.

There are also all sorts of additional tips and advice we can give to you on other ways to make your home, and everything in it, more secure – so come and see us.

Immobilise is easy to use and completely free. It is the only national property database that will throw up results through Avon and Somerset Police’s standard checks on recovered stolen property if the items have been registered.

It is also a deterrent to thieves because items that can be traced and identified are harder to sell and can be less attractive to thieves.

To use Immobilise anyone can visit the website www.immobilise.com and open an account and put details and serial numbers of items like laptops, cameras, mobile phones and bikes into the account.

If the items are ever stolen the account holder logs on and marks them as stolen. They will then be flagged up on the national database as stolen when checked by retailers or police forces.

To read the source article please go to: Bristol Police

Cambridge: Protect your presents from Christmas thieves

The Cambs 24 website has reported that advice is being issued to Christmas shoppers in Huntingdonshire to help safeguard their presents from thieves.

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

Stolen phone is returned by Police thanks to Immobilise

The Haringey Independent has reported that a stolen mobile phone was returned to its rightful owner thanks to the Immobilise National Property Register.

While on patrol on October 27, in Seven Sisters Road, Tottenham, Haringey police’s safer transport team stopped-and-searched a 31-year-old man.

He was found to be carrying a mobile phone which was traced by the police* on website Immobilise.com to a woman who had reported it as stolen in September.

The man was arrested on suspicion of handling stolen goods and bailed to return to police on Monday, November 9.

PC Matt Fathers, of Haringey Safer Transport team, said:

This shows that by having your valuables registered on immobilise.com, the chances of having you lost or stolen property returned to you, are greater.

The stolen mobile has since been restored to the owner who was very pleased.

The free website allows users to register all of their valuables by serial number inlcuding mobile phones, laptops and even bikes.

If the property is stolen you can use the site to alert police, insurers or second-hand traders so that if they come across the goods they can be returned and help catch criminals.

To read the source report in full please go to: Haringley Independent

* The police search the Immobilise National Property Register and other information via their own search portal the NMPR.

Burglaries, robberies and theft jump as recession hits home – Times Online

The Times recently published an interesting article that is of particular relevance to the Immobilise National Property Register. Richard Ford, a Home Correspondent for the times reported that the latest recorded crime figures support the theory that the in a recession property crimes such as burglary and personal theft increase while violent offences fall.

Keith Bristow, chief constable of Warwickshire, said:

Crime has traditionally increased following periods of economic recession and the three per cent rise in domestic burglary compared to the same period last year is a reminder that we all must remain vigilant.

The Times article contains several interesting facts and statistics and can be found at:

www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article6885455.ece