Metheringham Area Police News Autumn 2008

This year seems to be flying. Summer holidays over already. My experience is that for a short time after the schools break for the summer holidays, things are fairly quiet.

However, after a few weeks, incidents of vandalism and 'anti-social behaviour' tend to increase. The usual response from the offenders is that they are bored. Tragedies can also occur, when youngsters start playing on building-sites, railway-lines, or around ponds or gravel-pits. I am really pleased to say that we have had an almost trouble-free Summer holiday period. Youngsters will always gather somewhere, and in fact they have every right to. It is only when they behave in an anti-social manner that they start to cause problems.

I'm pleased to report that our villages continue to be very safe places to live. One would have to be a hermit not to be aware of the increase in incidents where knives have been used in Britain today, often with fatal-consequences. Because of the seemingly constant bad news, it is easy to become overly-concerned, or even frightened to go out, or walk past a group of teenagers.

The great majority of these incidents occur in our large inner-cities, like London, Birmingham or Glasgow. It is also usually 'gang-related'. I have yet to deal with a single incident involving a knife since I became the community officer for your area.

BE AWARE that, due to the ever increasing value of any sort of metal, thieves are driving around stealing almost anything that is not 'nailed-down', and even some things that are. Lead from church roofs, scaffolding, metal sun-dials from gardens, to name but a few. Aluminium street-signs have even been stolen, along with the drain-covers from the roads. Please be vigilant, and report any suspicious activity. Details of the vehicle registration numbers are obviously a great help. With the price of oil at an all-time high, your oil-tank is a target for thieves. Syphoning of oil from tanks is very much on the increase. If your oil-tank is at the bottom of the garden, with no lock of any sort on it, you are in danger of losing it.

Petrol-syphoning from cars and lorries has increased, and has become a national problem. Get a robust locking fuel-cap. If you are lucky enough to have a garage for your car, use it! If your car is garaged, it is very unlikely to be, stolen, vandalised, tampered with, driven into, or anything else. I have been to so many homes where the garage is brimming with all sorts of 'junk', and the £20,000 car lives on the driveway, or the road.

To anybody who is interested in the real police crime-figures, these can be viewed on the Police website or village site

PC Simon Gordon