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Belsize Crescent & The Village now has a Neighbourhood Watch,
organised by Roger Montgomery.

To Join - Email: RogerDMontgomery@yahoo.com

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Free security checks and advice from Local Police
Officer Terry Weston is willing to come to ANYBODY's flat to inspect
and advise on locks on doors/windows and a speakerphone system.

Free locks and security for all residents over 60
Camden Council is willing to pay for additional locks for anyone
who is over age 60 and is a resident and pays their annual council
tax! That is quite a deal! CALL 0845 351 0642

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WARNING: FAKE BURGLAR ALARM COMPANIES
The Police say they have received calls from residents in Hampstead stating that a company called either Client Protection Ltd, Crime Protection Ltd or Crime Prevention Initiatives are trying to sell burgla
fire alarms. They state that the installation is free but you have to pay a monitoring charge and they may get you to sign an alarm contract for several years. The caller always withhold their telephone number, they ask you for personal details and try very forcibly to make
an appointment with you JUST HANG UP THE PHONE!

WARNING Plant thief - This woman has been further described
and is clearly stealing stuff from around our area

- Aged 25-30 with dark hair
- Driving a dark blue Combi-Van (van with windows)

This is the brazen sneak thief who has the appearance of a gardener.
she pulls up in a van and takes pots and plants away from outside
your house!

Relevant comment from a local
"Further to the disappearance of flower pots, ours and 
two of my neighbours' have also been stolen from Princess Mews"

Scooter Mugger - Warning from a friend locally
"Walking the dog tonight I ran into a fellow who was at the restaurant
XO last night when a guy on a scooter drove by and tried to swipe his
mobile phone - He managed to grab it just in time"

More thefts - from a friend locally
"My cycle got stolen 2 weeks ago, and the Welsh couple in Belsize
Crescent have lost items from outside their house. Theft is certainly
on the rise in the area.

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Belsize Crescent now has a Neighbourhood Watch,
organised by Roger Montgomery.

To Join - Email: RogerDMontgomery@yahoo.com

BELSIZE VILLAGE NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH ORGANISING MEETING MINUTES - Sept 2010 - Notes from Roger

1.   On Wed 8 September evening, two police officers came to brief us on security in the Belsize Crescent neighbourhood and about how to set up a Neighbourhood Watch. They were officers Terry Weston and PCSO Michael Marshall. The other officers who are assigned to our Flognal/Fitzjohns area include PS Phil Hewetson, PC Rob Wilson, PC Martin Betts, PCSO Georgia Gibson and PCSO Imran Uddin.  But as with all organisations, people get rotated around to new assignments so expect changes.  

If members of the Watch see any of these officers (usually around the Pizza Parlour!) please go up and introduce yourselves to them and tell them you are a member of the Watch.  The more of us as members of the public they know and recognise, the easier their job might be.
 
2.   Neighbours attending included Neil W., Mike and Tina D., Gareth J., Paula N., Marian J., Barbara J., Kyo L., plus Barbara and me.  The three local press outlets were invited but were unable to come.
 
3.   According to the officers, by comparison with other neighbourhoods, we have not had that many incidents.  But I said that what especially concerns us are the violent ones, needless face-smashings such as happened along Eton Avenue, Fellowes Road, England’s Lane a few months back.

Terry brought a lot of reading material.   For those who could not attend, give a shout and I will give you a copy (or a photocopy if we run short).
Terry also brought along a great gadget, a small pocket size siren that works like a hand grenade: pull the pin and it won’t go off until someone puts the pin back in.

(DON'T PUT IT AT THE BOTTOM OF YOUR PURSE).
If we need more pocket alarms, Terry said she can supply them.  Apparently they make a hell of a noise, so she did not demonstrate it in our flat. I believe her!
 
4.  We discussed recent serious incidents (see Ham and High’s article about the string of violent robberies by two people riding on a motor scooter in the Eton Ave, England’s' Lane area, by Ben McPartland, entitled "Rolex Robbers" in their 8 July 2010, plus Camden New Journal article by Charlotte Chambers, "Arrest after ... Solicitor's Chase" in their 19 August 2010 edition. The latter was about the 3 hour long burglary incident right near where we live at the upper end of the Crescent).

Both of these local papers are available on line, with archive editions easily accessed.

Their web sites: www.hamhigh.co.uk and www.camdennewjournal.co.uk

Additional information is always available on Robert Follis's Belsize Village web site also.
 
5.  Terry (and/or other officers) are available to come inspect your locks and security arrangements. Please contact her if you would like an audit.  If several people are interested, it might be more economical if she came to visit a group and inspect a number of properties at once.

CAMDEN COUNCIL OFFERS TO INSTALL A RANGE OF SIMPLE AND EFFECTIVE MEASURES FREE IF YOU ARE A CAMDEN RESIDENT WHO IS AGED 60 OR OVER.
The equipment includes: additional locks, window locks, door bars and bolts, letterbox covers and equipment to deal with people at the door (such as an intercom). The number to call is 0845 351 0642 (according to the Camden Council "Handy Guide", page 30).
 
There may be older, stay-at-home people in your building, unable to go in and out. So if there is someone elderly, can you bring this free lock offer to their attention and help them make the connection, get inspected and locks installed? (Acc to our pharmacist in the Village, there are more than 100 older or infirm house-bound people within walking distance of his Belsize Village pharmacy ... the pharmacist's staff need to make deliveries to that many). Thanks
 
6.  Key points if the meeting
 
A)   If your alarm system is not linked to a control centre that will call you after a reasonable (short) period, it is just about useless.  If the alarm only makes a noise, few of us ever pay any attention (change that to "paid attention in the past; we will now")
 
B)   When you go out, double lock your door OTHERWISE YOUR CONTENTS INSURANCE MAY BE INVALID.
 
C)   There are some hot-spots involving ATM cash points. 
One target appears to be the HSBC bank in Belsize Park.
Another seems to be the Lloyd's Bank on Haverstock Hill. 
A third hot spot appears to be the ATM outside the Tescos on England’s Lane (info from the lady at Odd Bins, passed on from a customer to whom this happened). 
The ATM bad guys seem to work in pairs:  one comes up saying  "you dropped something" and then hands you a card, a bank note, a key, a coin,, something.  The other one comes up and steals your cash while distracted..
GO INSIDE THE BANK DURING BANKING HOURS AND USE THE MACHINE INSIDE.
 
D)   Another typical trick used in the neighbourhood involves someone coming to your door, looking and sounding like they are from Thames Water, maybe even with a clipboard. Their usual line is "there is a water leak in the building ... we need access to shut off the water temporarily".  Then an accomplice comes in too and steals something.  Used primarily against older people.
 
E)  If you really see a crime being committed, don't hesitate to call 999.   Acc to one of the officers:  "Better for the police to have been called by 10 neighbours than by zero neighbours". They need at least one neighbour to call.
 
Summary: They are willing to work with us and help us. But they can't be everywhere.

They need extra eyes and ears. That means us.

Roger Montgomery, No 25
Landline: 020 7794 1254
Mob: 07876 741 783
To Join - Email: RogerDMontgomery@yahoo.com

This page is under construction as of 11/6/11