NW START UP PRESENTATION.

Jeffrey Pick Watch Administrator RBWM

HANDOUT 1

COMMUNICATING WITH THE POLICE:

There are only 3 telephone numbers to contact the police:-

999 (Emergency number)

112 (the pan European number )

101 (Non Emergency number for the entire UK)

It is no longer possible to phone Maidenhead or Windsor Police station direct. All calls must go through the ‘Police Enquiry Centre’ (PEC) on the101 number.

When to dial 999 for the police:

1. In an emergency. The minute you feel you are distressed enough to really need a policeman – dial the number. You will not decide whether or not a policeman is sent out. That remains the responsibility of the 999 operator. Bear in mind that the police will respond to a proper 999 at speed. An inappropriate call, could endanger life on the roads unnecessarily. If in doubt - think – do you really want the help and assistance of the police this very minute? If that is the case, dial the 9’s.

2. More frequently, you should dial 999 if you witness a ‘crime in progress’. This could be a burglary, a car being broken into or even criminal damage such as graffiti. Again – if in doubt and something suspicious is happening in front of you that you believe is connected with crime – dial the 9’s.

3. You return home and find your front door kicked in and believe you have been burgled. Do you dial 999? That depends upon whether it is a ‘crime in progress’. If you suspect the intruder is in the building, then dial 999 – if not, then it’s 101

4. To report a committed crime – for example, your car has been damaged or broken into – do not go to a police station. The procedure is to phone the PEC and press the number given to report a crime. If you report it at a police station, you will be directed to a phone in the reception area.

If you are on a Mobile Phone:

112 (the pan European number - so a great one to remember as all EU countries use this. And it is free from all public and mobile phones.

Everything else: 101

That is – reporting crimes, speaking to a named police officer

This number goes through to a call centre with push button controls – to report a crime press 1 etc. To talk to someone you simply hold on.

Please be aware:

There are 4 call centres:

- Milton Keynes,

- Police Headquarters Kidlington,

- Abingdon

- Windsor

When they respond, they do not indicate their location.

I recommend:-

1. You initiate the conversation by asking which PEC you are speaking to. Use the jargon ‘PEC’. This shows you know about Police Enquiry Centres and where they are - you obviously know what you are doing. It will help to speed through your call.

2. If you are speaking, say to Milton Keynes, you will have to help the operator with more local detail: roads in and out, best way of approach for police cars etc. Give them the benefit of your local knowledge.

3. There are some preliminaries to go through. The Home Office requires that the police record various stats about callers and those pieces of information are asked before you can explain why you are calling. Their computer software system is such that they must enter each individual item, before it allows them to proceed to the next. Hence you will be asked for your age, date of birth, and your ethnic status before they can progress your case. The computer will not allow you to bypass this stage, so answer the preliminary questions quickly and clearly.

4. State in this first conversation that you are a member of Neighbourhood Watch. The courts acknowledge NW as a recognised ‘source of information’ and your identity can be withheld in any proceedings. You may be asked if you would be prepared to go to court, and you may refuse. You have some immunity. If the disclosure of your identity is insisted upon by the defence lawyers and the judge, the police will then withdraw the action to protect you.

5. Remember to ask for your ‘URN’ (Unique Reference Number) if you were not given one automatically. It consists of a number and a date. The system resets itself at midnight back to zero, so the date part is essential. The calls remain on the computer and are accessible for 3 months, after which they are archived – but can be recalled. If you want to know the result of a call to the police you can phone me, or the PEC who will go through it with you. Everything the operators type in is recorded. As you speak to them, they enter the essential points of your call and despatch cars (identified by a police car number), policemen (identified by a call sign) etc. All that can be tracked down to the minute. The arrival of a police car at the scene will be recorded as will any action then taken.

6. Not matter whether you get through to Milton Keynes or Abingdon. Every police officer in Thames Valley has access to Command and Control on his desk. Any incoming call automatically appears on his screen. When the operator enters your post code the computer immediately attaches it to the correct Beat Code relayed to us here. While you speak to Milton Keynes or Abingdon, a policeman in Maidenhead police station watches the screen, accepts the call and deals with it, whilst you are still talking. There is no time delay. It is a ‘virtual room’ to which all police officers have instant access.

7. If your call requires a police response, say that you would like the attending officer to phone you upon arrival at the scene to reassure you. You might add that he should not park outside your house, but at a discrete spot. All police officers have a job mobile phone and will comply, which enables you to be helpful and also aware of the outcome – you know that the police are responding and you can give them additional information on arrival., eg a suspect’s hiding place or a detailed description of an offender, vanished under cover of the dark. In the latter case the police will do an ‘Area Search’ looking for the person you have described. Having asked to be contacted, you will be re-assured that the police have indeed dealt with your issue, albeit out of your sight.

8. This is more important late at night. Again specify you wish to be contacted as the police will not generally disturb you in the late hours. It is comforting to be told of the action taken. Having no feedback, many people assume that nothing has been done and are reluctant to phone again, incorrectly shrugging “what’s the point” !

9. Suspicious incidents. What is suspicious? When should you call? Something is suspicious if it draws your attention. You are used to your surroundings. Anything out of the ordinary will draw your attention. Rely on your instinct. If you think it is suspicious, it must be so. You can tell the PEC that you do not expect a policeman to call; you are simply passing them ‘Intelligence’. The police want that intelligence – you are the eyes and ears! A tatty red Ford Fiesta parked up with 3 lads inside, may well be out of place in your road. Phone it through, immediately, while there is still time to do something about it. Description of make, model and index of car – plus identifying features – dent in front wing, details of the occupants. They could be parked in a quiet side road, waiting to do a job somewhere else close by. If you have phoned the details through and a job is done nearby – we may well have enough evidence to track down the culprits. Think of a jigsaw; you do not know which piece of the puzzle you have – you only know you have a piece. The vast majority of suspicious cars phoned through by NW members are suspicious and usually on fake plates, or are known to the police. You get a nose for it.

Jeffrey Pick

NW Administrator RBWM

Sept 2008

01753 835504