Winchester Rural

Summer Newsletter

September 2018 Your Community Priorities: The summer is always a busy time of year in rural . Students have finished school or college, Twice a year we are required to consult the there is an influx of tourists from far and wide, and community and seek your views as to what your numerous festivals attracting tens of thousands of people. communities most want your local policing team to 2018 has been no exception to this. Although year-on- focus on. year we have not seen a significant rise in crime, there are always some incidents of note that I will update you The current priorities are: about below:

In June we had a small series of acquisitive crime which 1. Burglary involved several thefts from vehicles in East Stratton, a burglary and thefts from vehicles in , and the 2. Vehicle related incidents - Speeding same in Shawford, Compton and . There are a number of open lines of enquiry for several of these If you would like to be consulted on the next set of incidents. Two persons from outside of the Winchester priorities please sign up to Alerts in order area were arrested, and remain under investigation at this to receive an email or text notification. time. This series highlighted the need for communities to www.hampshirealert.co.uk work together, and it was noted that East Stratton in particular really pulled together, started locking vehicles and being extra vigilant, reporting several suspicious incidents and looking out for more vulnerable members of their community.

In July we had burglaries at both Sparsholt College, where the ATM machine was targeted, and at Tesco Express in Alresford. The burglary at Sparsholt has been linked to a number of other crimes in Hampshire and the Thames Valley area – Operation Hoggin. One person has been arrested and is under investigation in relation to this. The burglary at Tesco also remains under investigation with a suspect identified and enquiries to locate them ongoing.

Over the summer there have been in excess of 50 thefts from vehicles, 16 commercial burglaries, and 21 residential burglaries (which includes shed and garage burglaries). Ensuring that our community priorities, and most prevalent crime types are aligned allows your local policing team to spend their time effectively policing the local community - responding to crime, undertaking proactive operations, and providing reassurance to the community. Your local team have also spent time engaging with vulnerable groups in the area, educating them about the dangers of fraud, aiming to reduce the risk of them becoming victims. Encouragingly there has been a decrease locally in the number of fraud offences committed against the elderly. If you know a group who would benefit from an input please get in touch with us: [email protected].

As ever, if you do have any questions or concerns please don’t hesitate to contact us, and sign up to Hampshire Alerts to receive regular updates.

Rhys Griffiths PCSO 15822