Public Safety and Community Policing
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WNC have welcomed the launch of the latest initiative to improve communications between the local community and the police, which brings together all of the representative groups in a regular forum to be known as the North Team East Panel.
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The new forum will enable even greater co-operation than has existed to date and as WNC Chair, Geoff Smith, commented ‘Any measures which enhance the community’s interface with the police are welcomed, they are doing a tough job in which they need and deserve all the support and input that we can provide’
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Mobile phones - It cannot have escaped anyone in the community that new penalties have been introduced for using a hand-held phone whilst driving. Drivers who ignore the ban now face an immediate £60 fine and three penalty points, with even tougher penalties if the case reaches the Courts. There isn’t much excuse for flouting the law, what can you need to talk about that is so important that you risk your own and other people’s lives?
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Scams - Unfortunately these are becoming an increasingly prevalent feature of our lives. From attempts to persuade us to part with our money to claim prizes in a lottery that we never even entered to phising for our personal details on the internet. The con-men are out there ... and they are after you and your money!
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Never send money to anyone who phones or writes to tell you that you have won a major prize in something that you didn’t enter. Be cautious, the temptation may be great but resist, if in doubt try and get as much detail as you can, dial 1471 at the end of the call (the recorded message that you get might just give you the phone number of the caller) and contact the police. Don’t part with any money or give any personal details.
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Watch out for emails purporting to be from a Bank, building society, credit card company or any other organisation with which you have financial dealings. It will look good, very realistic and possibly even contain some personal information. It will ask you to confirm some or all of your details... DON’T DO IT!
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Financial institutions will NEVER contact you by email asking for details. If it happens to you, contact the organisation the message claims to represent without delay. They will probably ask you to forward them a copy of it to in order that their fraud prevention team can work with the police to apprehend the fraudsters.
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If, like many of us, you buy from Internet suppliers, be cautious. Make sure that you are buying from a reputable company, have you heard of them before?, do they show a postal address on their website?, is their payment system properly protected? (look for the letters ‘https’ at the beginning of the line on your web browser address bar, which indicates that you are connected to a secure site) Internet trading is inherently safe but it does provide opportunities for those less honest than ourselves and whilst we would be the last to discourage anyone from buying online, it never hurts to be careful.
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Whilst we are on the subject of the Internet, when did you last update your anti-virus software? Indeed, are you sufficiently protected? It isn’t expensive and could protect you from any number of circumstances that you might wish to avoid. It is also worth remembering that most Internet security software includes parental control features that will enable you to filter the websites that can be accessed from your computer. If in doubt, visit one of the local computer stores to see what they have on offer.
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