Category: NEWS

Weekly Policing Update – Fenstanton District

Good Afternoon, Fenstanton District Members –

Very happily, there are no offences or incidents affecting your community to mention in this week’s Policing Update, covering the period 6th to 12th February.

However, here is some advice from the police on how to keep your dogs safe:

There has been an increase in reports of dog thefts both nationally and locally during the pandemic.

Here’s some of our key steps in keeping your pets safe:

– Keep an ID tag on your dog at all times (your surname, mobile number and address only).

– Secure gates using bolts at the top and bottom, along with a heavy-duty padlock and gate alarm.

– Never leave your pet in the garden unattended.

– Make sure your dog is microchipped and their details are updated so that they can be returned if they are stolen and subsequently found.

– Avoid leaving a dog tied up outside a shop or left alone in a car, even for a few minutes.

There is more advice on how to keep your dog safe on the police web-site at:

https://www.cambs.police.uk/A-Z/Dog-theft

Here is our weekly summary of offences and incidents affecting your community, reported to police during the period 27th January to 5th February:

Chequer Street / Bourdillon Close / High Street – Police received several reports of cold-callers operating in St Ives and surrounding villages on Wednesday 27th and Thursday 28th January. The door-to-door sellers claimed to be reformed offenders on a rehabilitation scheme. A police patrol later located cold-callers operating in Bluntisham and gave words of advice regarding their activities and behaviour.

There is no genuine scheme that involves selling items on the doorstep, and police advice is never to buy items from such persons. (Refs CC-28012021-0118, CC-28012021-0246 and CC-28012021-0307)

To see details of Policing Summaries for neighbouring areas, please click on the following link and scroll down the page to select areas of interest:

https://www.ecops.org.uk/alert_archive

Thu 28/01/2021 11:29

Nottingham Knockers

We’ve recently seen a rise in doorstep callers often referred to as ‘Nottingham Knockers’.

These individuals will offer household goods for sale, at inflated prices, but often this sale is a ruse for checking out a person’s home. They may claim to be on a rehabilitation scheme trying to find work and may have a false trading permit or some other kind of official-looking identification.

However, they are not part of any legitimate rehabilitation scheme. There is a Government-backed ‘Community Payback’ scheme for offenders who have been sentenced to carry out community work, but this does not involved door-to-door sales.

Please be vigilant when answering your door and do not feel compelled to enter into any conversation with them, if you do not wish to. If you have elderly friends, relatives or neighbours, it’s important to keep a lookout for them too and report any suspicious activity to police.

If you are concerned and wish to report any instances of this behaviour, please let us know online or call 101.

As always, if it is an emergency please call us on 999.

Sergeant Dominic Carminati
Huntingdon Neighbourhood Team

Here is our weekly summary of offences and incidents affecting your community, reported to police during the period 20th to 26th January:

Chequer’s Close – There was an attempted break-in to a shed in the garden of a house on Chequer’s Close at some time between Friday 8th and Friday 22nd January. The owner discovered that the door handle had been interfered with, but no entry was gained and nothing was stolen. (Ref 35/4155/21)

A14 Eastbound – Police seized and towed away a black BMW car spotted on the eastbound A14 on Monday evening, 25th January, when checks showed that it had no valid insurance. One person was also arrested for immigration offences. (Ref CC-25012021-0387)

Reports of Covid-19 Regulation Breaches:

Officers are out on patrol across the County day and night responding to reports of Covid-19 breaches.

Paying rule-breakers a visit could cause delay in officers reaching people who really need their help. Thank you once again to all the wonderful people in our community who are keeping to the rules, and our appreciation to the army of other key workers out there doing an amazing job.

In the St Ives District, police have continued to respond to reports of potential breaches of the Covid-19 Regulations this week, including:

• A gym found to be continuing to operate. (Ref CC-22012021-0222)

• A person believed to have travelled from Scotland to stay with friends in St Ives. (Ref CC-22012021-0222)

• Customers reportedly being admitted to a shop without wearing face masks. (Ref CC-22012021-0479)

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To see details of Policing Summaries for neighbouring areas, please click on the following link and scroll down the page to select areas of interest:

https://www.ecops.org.uk/alert_archive

Please be aware that these reports do not contain all details of all reported crime. We do not publish details of domestic related offences or anything which may put a person at risk if information regarding the crime was made public.

We’re urging pet owners to be vigilant and review their security after reports of a rise in dog thefts in other counties.

The demand for dogs has soared across the country due to more people working from home and having extra time on their hands.

DCI Chris O’Brien said: “Dogs are often part of the family and having them stolen can be absolutely devastating.

“Whilst we are not currently seeing an increase in dog thefts in Cambridgeshire, we’d urge pet owners to consider taking extra precautions to help deter thieves and protect your pets. You can never be too careful.”

Extra precautions include:
• Keep an ID tag on your dog at all times
• Lock gates using bolts at the top and bottom, along with a heavy-duty padlock
• Ensure there are no places where dogs or other animals can escape or be pulled through, if they are left in a back garden
• Never leave your pet in the garden unattended
• Fit a bell or gate alarm so it makes a sound when someone opens it
• Purchase a driveway alarm so you are alerted to any visitors, these can also be used in rear gardens
• Make sure your dog is microchipped and their details are updated so that they can be returned if they are stolen and subsequently found
• Avoid leaving a dog tied up outside a shop or left alone in a car, even for a few minutes
• Take lots of photographs of your dog to prove ownership if it’s stolen and then found
• Report dog theft to police straight away
Always report stolen dogs to us, as sometimes officers have been able to reunite owners with their pets.

Anyone with information about a stolen dog, or suspicious behaviour, can report it via the force’s web chat service: https://bit.ly/2D9KFKH or by calling 101 if they do not have internet access.

For more advice, visit the force’s dedicated dog theft page: https://bit.ly/3iDogWH

Vaccination Scams – A Warning from the NHS:

Criminals are using the Covid-19 vaccinations as a way to target the public by tricking them to hand over cash or financial details. They are sending convincing-looking text messages letting people know they are eligible for the vaccine or phoning people directly, pretending to be from the NHS or local pharmacy.

People are warned to be alert to these scams:

The NHS will –

• NEVER ask for payment – the vaccine is free;
• NEVER ask for your bank details;
• NEVER arrive unannounced at your home to administer the vaccine;
• NEVER ask you to prove your identity by sending copies of personal documents such as your passport.

Be alert to:

• Fake Text Messages;
• Fake Phone Calls;
• Fake web-sites;
• Fake visitors calling in person.

Meanwhile, here is our weekly summary of offences and incidents affecting your community, reported to police during the period 13th to 19th January:

Low Road – Police closed Low Road due to flooding on Friday evening, 15th January. Officers assisted the Highways Authority in placing warning and diversion signs. (Ref CC-15012021-0357)

Covid-19 Regulations – A Message from Cambridgeshire Constabulary:

Across the County, police received 152 calls over the weekend relating to potential Covid breaches. Many of these related to large groups gathering in public spaces as well as inside people’s homes.

Officers dealt with these calls whilst managing serious crimes including violent assaults, collisions, domestic abuse incidents and more.

As ever, thank you to those who are sticking to the rules – but if you are one of those still breaching the regulations, please re-think and work with the police to help protect our fantastic communities from this virus.