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Police Service of Scotland

Community Council meeting

Name of
Community Council: / Greenlaw Community Council
Force Production
Register No:
Foreword: /
Potential Phone Scams
Police Scotland has been made aware of the 2 following telephone scams, which could potentially affect residents in the Scottish Borders area.
·  A male cold caller with an Asian accent phones a number of a house in Selkirk and offered the occupant a box to attach to their phone which would block all unwanted calls from the UK and abroad. It was to be connected to the phone line to monitor nuisance calls. There are a number of legitimate phone products on the market which block withheld numbers and calls from abroad; however, they would never be sold in this manner. Police advice is never to engage with any type of cold caller.
·  A number of residents in Dumfries and Galloway have been targeted by telephone banking scams. In one instance a resident received a call claiming to be from the Bank of Scotland Security, informing him that his money was under threat from someone trying to hack his account from Spain. The resident was instructed to transfer money into another account resulting in the loss of £15000. In a similar incident another resident was scammed into moving £12000 to another account. Banks will never contact customers in this way.
Beat Doorstep Crime
From bogus callers to rogue traders, doorstep criminals are cunning, creative, and very skilled at deception. They will use a number of ways to try and gain entry to your home to steal and trick you out of money.
Anyone can be fooled as these people are professional con artists. However, the over 60s are often specifically targeted.
What is Doorstep Crime?
Bogus callers try to get into your home or obtain personal details by pretending to be someone they’re not. They may claim to be:
Council staff.
Meter readers.
Charity collectors.
Police officers.
In reality, they are criminals trying to steal cash and valuables.
Rogue traders usually cold-call, claiming to be workers offering to make repairs or carry out work on your house, garden or driveway. In reality they charge inflated prices for shoddy or unnecessary work.
We DO NOT recommend dealing with cold-callers for property maintenance and repairs to your home.
There are a number of things you can do to help yourself from being caught out:
Be on guard if someone turns up unexpectedly.
Use a door chain or bar.
Always put the chain on before opening the door.
Keep it on while talking to callers.
Don’t feel embarrassed - genuine callers expect you to be careful.
If you don’t have a door chain, check from the nearest window. Remember, door chains can be easily fitted.
If you’re not sure, don’t answer the door.
Nominated Neighbour Scheme
The Nominated Neighbour Scheme has been created to help deter doorstep criminals and protect older and vulnerable members of our communities.
So, how does it work?
As a Nominated Neighbour you agree to help verify the identity of any person calling at your elderly/vulnerable neighbour's door.
The caller will be sent to your door, you check their identity and if you're happy that the caller is genuine, you return with them to your neighbour's house. You stay with them until the caller leaves.
To find out more about the scheme, contact local police on 101 and/or download the leaflet about the Nominated Neighbour Scheme below.
Nominated Neighbour Scheme
The Nominated Neighbour Scheme has been created to help deter doorstep criminals and protect older and vulnerable members of our communities.
So, how does it work?
As a Nominated Neighbour you agree to help verify the identity of any person calling at your elderly/vulnerable neighbour's door.
The caller will be sent to your door, you check their identity and if you're happy that the caller is genuine, you return with them to your neighbour's house. You stay with them until the caller leaves.
Police Scotland launches Wildlife Crime campaign
Police Scotland has launched a new awareness campaign to tackle wildlife crime in Scottish cities, towns and rural areas.
Police Scotland works with partners across the country to tackle wildlife crime and in the new campaign, it calls on the public to be aware and to report suspicions of criminal activity either direct to the police or through the Partnership for Action Against Wildlife Crime in Scotland (PAWS) app.
The campaign, featuring birds of prey and other protected species, will run on Police Scotland and partner websites, on posters and in newspaper ads and will be pushed out across social media channels. The campaign will run throughout the year.
For more information on what wildlife crime is and how you can report it visit our page on'Report Wildlife Crime'.
CBO Suzanne Jacobs
East Community Policing Area
Mid Berwickshire
Duns
Ward Priorities / Mid Berwickshire MMW Plan.
Following the most recent public consultation, the following priorities have been identified for Mid Berwickshire.
Road Safety
Speeding motorists have been identified as an issue, particularly in built up areas. We will continue to take a robust stance against speeding by enhancing our enforcement activity and Community Officers will continue to pay attention to hotspot locations to prevent speeding and offer road safety awareness advice.
Inconsiderate Driver Behaviour
Careless and inconsiderate driving was identified as a concern. We will continue to target drivers who do not heed warnings and advice provided by Officers. ASBO warnings will be issued to drivers and vehicles will be seized where appropriate.
Antisocial Behaviour
Youths gathering, rowdy behaviour and damaged property has been identified as having an impact on the community. We will continue to work closely with our partners to identify innovative solutions and make best use of antisocial behaviour legislation to reduce such incidents and we will continue our robust stance on such behaviour, challenging offenders and issuing fixed penalty tickets where appropriate.
Other Incidents of note/relevant Community Council information. / From 01/04/2015 to 30/04/2015, there were 14 calls made to the Police for the DU08 beat code, which encompasses Greenlaw. Details of these incidents relating to the Community Council area are noted below.
01/04/2015 – a resident from East High Street contacted police to report concerns over the speed travelling along the street outside their house. Roads Policing Officers discussed the issue and arranged to monitor the speeds of vehicles and report back.
06/04/2015 – a resident from Blackadder Crescent contacted police regarding loud music coming from a neighbouring property. The music was intermittent and the caller only wished to have the matter logged for information.
08/04/2015 – a resident from Blackadder Crescent contacted police to report inconsiderate parking by a neighbour. They had parked their car on the opposite side of the street from all other residents, making it difficult for cars to pass by. On police attendance, no issues with parking were observed.
09/04/2015 – complaint received regarding off-road bikes being driven in the school grounds and adjoining fields. Male responsible traced and spoken with, along with his mother, regarding the matter.
11/04/2015 – a resident from Blackadder Crescent contacted police regarding loud music coming from a neighbouring property. On police arrival, music could be heard coming from within the address, however, it was not deemed to be excessive. Both parties spoken with and advice given, as this appears to be an ongoing issue.
14/04/2015 – a complaint was received regarding parking issues at West High Street as the access to business premises was being blocked. Both parties spoken with and matter resolved.
16/04/2015 – a two-car vehicle accident occurred at East High Street, where a vehicle collided with a motor home. Details exchanged between parties and no offences identified.
19/04/2015 – a single vehicle accident occurred 3 miles east of Greenlaw heading towards Duns. Male treated by Ambulance at scene for minor injuries.
29/04/2015 – the owner of two tractors, parked at Greenlawdean, attended at Duns Police Station to report that overnight, CB aerials and orange flashing lights had been removed from them. He wished this to be reported for information purposes only.
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