Police update
From Acting Inspector Tony Walker, Essex Police
"I am pleased to report that at the time of writing this article there has been a significant reduction in reported crime within the Epping Forest district in comparison to the same time last year. Two hundred less crimes have been reported to police reducing victims of crime.
Following several recent court hearings the planned council eviction of travellers from the Dale Farm site in Crays Hill has now started. Basildon Council and the bailiffs are taking the lead role with Essex police preventing any disorder. Officers from this area are supporting the operation, however I believe this will have minimal effect on local policing with normal resourcing levels being maintained.
We have been working hard to reduce burglaries within the district over the past six months and several operations have taken place to target our more vulnerable areas. Our efforts will continue to reduce burglaries further. With winter upon us I have put a number of plans in place to increase police presence in the area over the Christmas and New Year period, traditionally a busy time with an increase in anti-social behaviour related calls.
Local officers continue to have neighbourhood meetings in areas throughout the district, details of which can be obtained from Loughton police station or from the Essex Police website. These meetings are an ideal opportunity for residents to speak with their local beat officer and raise any concerns they may have. For your local police station dial 101.For Loughton Neighbourhood Policing Team dial 07968 354021.
Finally I would like to take the opportunity to wish the residents of Loughton a happy and safe Christmas and New Year.
Neighbourhood officers continue to run regular neighbourhood meetings throughout the district. If you have any concerns and wish to speak to an officer face to face, the District continues to run Neighbourhood Action Panels, details of which can be found here. These regular meetings are your chance to meet your local Neighbourhood Constable and PCSOs and to discuss any issues or concerns you might have in the area that you live and work in.

Theft from outbuildings
Incidents during the past summer months have seen high quality power tools, hand tools, road bicycles and mountain bikes, being stolen from sheds, garages, farm outbuildings and lock-ups across Essex. As winter closes in, owners are being urged to assess the security of their property.
The police offer the following practical steps that can be taken to reduce the risk of burglary:
l Ensure that all sheds, garages, workshops, lock-ups and other outbuildings are in a good state of repair and that any damaged or rotten sections of their structure, which could make it easier for a thief to gain access, are repaired or replaced.
l Use quality close shackle padlocks which cannot be easily levered or cut.
l If you have a window in the premises, consider whether you actually need it and if not consider boarding it over securely. Otherwise, make the window opaque or cover windows to ensure the property inside is not on display.
l Consider fitting key operated locks to any opening windows or screwing them shut.
l Where the building is a wooden structure, consider lining the property with plywood sheeting to make it more difficult for a thief to get through without proper tools and lots of time.
l Consider fitting an alarm; these are readily available from DIY stores or local locksmiths.
l Chain any tools through their handles to large heavy items such as lawn mowers or cultivators. If you have neither of these, fill a bucket with concrete and, using a masonry fixing, chain your tools to this.
l Mark all valuables within your premises with your postcode and house number; record serial numbers of all equipment and keep the records safe.
l Good security lighting (consider installing a time switch or adding sensor lights).
l Ensure that all sheds, garages, lock-ups or other relevant outbuildings, are securely locked and never left unlocked whilst unoccupied.
For further crime reduction advice, please contact your local Epping Forest Crime Reduction Officer: Tony Ellis phone: 101 ext. 319383 / tony.ellis@essex.pnn.police.uk

Fire Kills
l A fire can destroy a tent in less than 60 seconds.
l In the UK, 79,000 fires are started on grass and heath land every year. (This is an average of 216 every day!)
l On average 1,400 fires per year occur in caravans.
l Avoid, open fires in the countryside. Always have them in safe, designated areas.
l Never, throw cigarette ends or matches out of car windows.
l Don’t leave bottles or glass in woodlands, or anywhere that sunlight shining through glass, can start a fire.
l Remember, barbecues and excess alcohol do not mix. Always ensure that safety guidelines are followed, and that the barbecue is under the control of a responsible, sober adult.
Colin Freeman, Essex Watch Administrator, Essex Police

Essex Watch
Do you belong to a Neighbourhood Watch group or scheme in your area? We are currently in the process of revamping and rejuvenating and, or starting local Neighbourhood Watch activities in Loughton, Buckhurst Hill, Chigwell and the surrounding area.
Neighbourhood Watch worked very well during the eighties and nineties but, due to many coordinators moving on, passing on, and in some cases becoming perhaps frustrated and disillusioned, many Watch groups that were once proactive, have since folded on some areas.
Part of my role as the Essex Watch administrator, is to promote and to encourage membership of the voluntary Neighbourhood Watch organisation. As a retired police officer, with some forty-eight years of community involvement behind me, I know only too well, about the importance of community cohesion and the need to get back to good old fashioned values.
With the ever increasing demand upon our emergency services, their financial constraints during today’s difficult times, and the resultant over-stretching of available resources, there has never been a greater need, for communities to pull together, look out for each other, and collectively to make their environment safer and healthier, in every sense of the words. Our emergency services do their best, with the resources that are available to them.
I recently spoke to people gathered at a meeting, where such issues were raised, and, after a reality check, we agreed that if all of us present were prepared to treble the amount of council tax and other levies that we pay, more money could then be made available to improve the services on offer. However, back in the real world, we just have to help each other, and those who support us as members of our emergency services, to do a good job within the current economic climate.
So, if you would like to make a difference, by joining an existing Neighbourhood Watch scheme, or starting one in your area, please contact me:
Colin Freeman, Essex Watch Administrator on 01279 621862 or email colin.freeman@essex.pnn.police.uk

Social Networking Sites
Before you put information out on Facebook, Twitter, U Tube etc., think very carefully about the possible consequences of using this type of media. In the interest of your safety and peace of mind, it is worth remembering the following advice: