Last updated: Monday, August 16
The Safer Neighbourhoods Team for Chineham is:
PC Jim Charlton (left) and PCSO Keith Patching (right).
We are based out of the Old Basing Police Office. 
Locally, we work with your community to find out what matters most where you live. We will work with you and our partner agencies to agree the main priorities for the area and how we will work together to tackle them.
The latest meeting of the SCP took place on Monday, February 1 and we are pleased to present statistics showing that crime and disorder had remained low during the final quarter of last year, reinforcing the progress made earlier in 2009, particularly with regards to vehicle crime and burglary.
After reviewing the statistics and discussing the input of the members, the panel decided to maintain the previous quarter’s priorities which were:
The community priorities are:
The latest meeting of the SCP. took place on July 27 and the members voted for the following three community priorities:
- Traffic and parking issues at Four Lanes Schools
- Abandoned shopping trolleys
- Speeding on main roads in Chineham
These are the priorities that people in your local area have agreed with the Safer Neighbourhoods team. You can influence these priorities by contacting your team, attending a meeting or speaking to members of the team when you see them out and about.
Please click here for the latest minutes.
Action we have taken in relation to your priorities
Update by PC Jim Charlton:
Chineham suffered a spate of thefts from vehicles in early August. These occurred in the early hours of the morning in Renown Way, Oakwood and Aghemund Close. Two vehicles had laptops stolen from where they were hidden in the boot.
The other two vehicles were 4x4s which were both forced open. One of the vehicles was empty however work tools were stolen from the other.
Please do not leave valuable property in your vehicles overnight or when left unattended for prolonged periods of time. I have explained how easy it is for thieves to identify vehicles with laptops hidden inside many times. Laptops can emit a Wi-Fi or bluetooth signal even when they are switched off.
Thieves use a mobile phone or similar device to pick up these signals which allows them to identify which cars have laptops hidden inside, and then it’s just a question of 'smash and grab'.
Two sheds have been broken into in the last month by having the hinges unscrewed. These occurred in Guinea Court and Mulberry Way. Nothing was stolen from one shed, but a bike was stolen from the other.
Please ensure that your shed is properly secured. The hinges and locks should be of the type that does not have any exposed screw heads. This usually involves the lock and hinge mechanism folding back over itself to cover the screw heads.
In addition to this, ensure that your shed is secured with a strong padlock, and that criminals cannot enter your garden by padlocking your gate and using trellis and plants to ensure they cannot climb over the fence/walls.
A home was broken into in Long Copse Chase and the TV, laptop, stereo, CDs and jewellery were stolen. The thieves gained entry by removing the wooden beading of the window, removing the pane of glass, and then reaching inside to open the window.
This old style window is fitted to many properties in Chineham and is very susceptible to this method. If you have these types of windows it is worth considering having the windows replaced with UPVC, or fitting additional locks to the frame.
Sunday August 8 at about 7.30pm a suspicious man was seen talking to a teenage girl on the section of Reading Road between Longacre Rise and Morris Rise.
The man was driving an old style Vauxhall Astra Estate that was silver in colour, and stopped when he saw the girl walking along the path.
He spoke to her for an abnormally long time as she did not appear to know him. When the man saw that he was being observed by a local resident, he drove off in the direction of Thornhill Way and at some point performed a u-turn as the vehicle was seen driving back along Reading Road a short time later.
It is very important that I speak with this girl to find out what the man said and did, and would appeal to her to contact me on the details below. She is described as white, in her mid teens, of medium build, about 5ft 5ins’ in height with dark hair. She was wearing a purple dress and had white earphones in. If this was you, or you know who it might be, please get in contact.
Anti-social behaviour update: by PCSO Keith Patching
The summer holidays are here! I am sure that you are all aware of this and have taken time to enjoy the weather (between the clouds passing over), taken a holiday or simply a family day out.
We have also seen levels of anti-social behaviour within the village falling during the summer break. Sadly though, there has been some significant criminal damage caused at Great Binfields School recently.
Damage has been caused to some new interactive equipment within the grounds which will prevent the pupils being able to use these facilities until repairs can be made at a cost to the school – again taking vital money away from other projects.
This damage was needless and reckless and I would like to take this moment to remind parents that children should not be on school grounds out of school term time unless for an approved reason such as an activity club.
Patrols have been stepped up and any person found in the school grounds can expect to be stopped and asked to account for their being there.
I have seen a lot of children both from Chineham and surrounding areas taking advantage of the sports area at the rear of the Chineham Shopping Centre whether playing football, using the BMX track or simply chatting with friends in the seating area.
This goes to show that children certainly do respect the area they live in and can keep themselves entertained during the holidays. I would like to say 'well done' to those who have ensured that they take their litter home or use the bins provided and ensuring that others in their group are respecting the equipment too.
The number of Acceptable Behaviour Contracts in the village has fallen. This is due to a number of the contracts coming to a close. On the whole these contracts have lead to improvements in the individual’s behaviour.
A couple of contracts remain in place and Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, Hampshire Constabulary and other agencies will continue to work closely to support the individual in ensuring they follow the conditions set in place.
Also a gentle reminder that at the start of the new school term I will be resuming the school parking patrols outside Four Lanes Schools. This has been an on-going concern for many residents, the school and some parents about concerns of inconsiderate and at times dangerous parking. The current system we are working with is to educate parents about where they can and cannot park.
Over the past year I have spoken with numerous parents, as I am sure PC Charlton has and Community Safety Patrol Officer Lee Thurbon has too.
Sadly it would appear that education is not resolving the issue so we will be looking at enforcement next. This is something that as a local policing team we would rather not use, however we must ensure that the safety of our children walking to and from school is paramount.
How you can take action
Volunteering
You could also volunteer to help the teams working in your local area and make a real difference to your neighbourhood. Click here for more information about police support volunteers.
Do you have a bike?
How well could you describe your bike?
It only takes a few seconds to steal one
- so keep a record of your cycle details, and keep it secure to deter thieves.
- Mark your bike with your postcode and house number
- Keep a note of the bicycle frame number.
This will add identification should the cycle be recovered by the police. Take a photo of your bike on your mobile or with a camera and store it in a safe place. This will help us return your bike if and when it is recovered.
Please complete the attached Bike Safe form, email it to us and store the details safely.
Your Voice Counts - community priorities
Your Safer Neighbourhoods team wants to hear from you. Have your say on what the policing priorities should be for your area, by clicking here to download a copy of the form and send it back to your local team.
Crime mapping and local performance information
Hampshire Constabulary has joined with partner agencies in the two counties to provide you with local information about crime and disorder, using a system called CADDIE. On the bottom left hand side of this page, you can enter your postcode into CADDIE to view information about your local area.
You can also view details of how we are performing against certain key criteria in your local area. Click here to see your local performance information.
How to contact us
If you would like to speak to any of the officers responsible for policing your local area, please call 101 or email PC Charlton and PCSO Patching.
