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Hi folks,
Welcome to the 21st LNWA newsletter. ACPO, the Metropolitan Police, the
Home Office, The Neighbourhood & Homewatch Network and LNWA are all anxious
that information reaches the "grass roots" of the organisation so we shall
all be grateful if you can do your best to ensure that this newsletter
reaches every house in a Neighbourhood Watch in your Borough. It will
shortly appear on our website, www.lnwa.net so pointing people there is an
alternative to delivering this message electronically or by hard copy.
LNWA ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
The Annual General Meeting of the London Neighbourhood Watch Association
Limited took place on Saturday, 4th April 2009 at the offices of Abbey
Business Centres, St Martin's-le-Grand. Minutes of the meeting will shortly
be posted on the LNWA website, along with this newsletter.
WATCHDOG WARNING AS PUBLIC IS SCAMMED OUT OF £3.5BN
The trading watchdog today warned people to be vigilant about scams which
cost the public around £3.5 billion a year. The Office of Fair Trading said
three million consumers become the victims of mass marketed scams each year,
under which fraudsters use methods such as mailings, email, the internet,
telephone and text message to recruit victims. More than 7,000 scams were
reported last year, the most common of which were deceptive prize draws and
sweepstakes, followed by bogus foreign lotteries. Under both of these
scams, victims are told they have won a large sum of money but are asked to
hand over cash to pay for fees or taxes before they receive their prize,
which never arrives. The third most common scam was advance fee fraud under
which people are asked for help transferring money from overseas and they
are promised a chunk of the cash if they pay the fees involved. This was
followed by frauds relating to homeworking and business opportunities and
property and land investment scams. The figures were released at the
beginning of the OFT's Scams Awareness Month, which marks the launch of a
campaign with 90 Trading Standards Service across the country.
The OFT called on consumers to drop off any scam mailings they receive in
designated 'Scamnesty' bins at local libraries and other public areas across
the country. The information was used to help the OFT and its enforcement
partners identify and develop strategies to combat the worst frauds. In a
similar campaign in 2008, the OFT collected more than 15,000 mailings. The
campaign is being backed by television presenter Angela Rippon, who also
features in a new DVD being launched by the OFT, highlighting common scams
and setting out how vulnerable groups, such as the elderly, can be
protected. Ms Rippon said: "Scammers use psychological techniques to gain
vulnerable people's trust. They exploit fear and insecurity to steal as much
money as they can from those who can least afford it. "Though anyone can
fall victim to a scam it is always the oldest that are hit the hardest."
John Fingleton, OFT chief executive, said: "Scammers are sophisticated at
targeting people who are often the most vulnerable in society. As we enter
tougher economic times it is more important than ever for people to be alert
to prevent themselves, or friends, families and neighbours from falling
victim to these heartless money-making schemes."
HOW TO CONTACT YOUR LOCAL CDRP
If you are a Regional Representative or Neighbourhood Watch Coordinator and
would like to work with your local CDRP or Community Safety Partnership
please contact the Community Safety Team in your Local Authority to discuss
how you can work together.
There is also a facility on Direct Gov that helps you find your local CDRP -
http://direct.gov.uk/en/CrimeJusticeAndTheLaw/CrimePrevention/DG_170965
GAS SAFE REGISTER
You may already be aware of this but it has been poorly advertised, so just
in case.....
"Gas Safe Register" replaced the "CORGI" gas register in Great Britain and
the Isle of Man on 1 April 2009
By law, anyone carrying out work on gas installations and appliances in your
home must be on the Gas Safe Register.
Be gas safe - always use a Gas Safe registered engineer and always ask to
see their Gas Safe Register ID card.
http://www.GasSafeRegister.co.uk
BE AWARE: Unfortunately, the CORGI brand name was not owned by the
Government or Health & Safety Executive (HSE) and CORGI continues to exist
doing other things. It is hard to see that there is no overlap so, to be
clear, forget CORGI for this purpose. To protect yourself, only employ a
Gas Safe Registered gas engineer or plumber!
NATIONAL NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH WEEK
This year's National Neighbourhood Watch Week is scheduled for 15 - 21 June.
NOT IN MY NEIGHBOURHOOD WEEK
This year's Not in My Neighbourhood Week will take place from 2nd - 6th
November. Last year, the Week saw local partners from every region across
England and Wales running activities to showcase the work that is being done
to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour. Not in My Neighbourhood Week
2008 was deemed a huge success. This success is largely due to the
excellent activities run by police forces and partners during the week that
brought professionals and local communities together to say no to crime in
our neighbourhoods. Further information on how to become involved in the
week will be available via the Home Office Crime Reduction website later on
in the year.
NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR VOLUNTARY ORGANISATIONS
Funding is always on everyone's minds but even more so as a result of the
recession. Bromley Neighbourhood Watch Association was contacted recently
by the NCVO about a FREE community membership package tailored to small
organisations. It was claimed that NCVO membership will save your charity
money, save you time and give you access to support and information. LNWA
is not endorsing this organisation but joining is, supposedly, quick, easy
and FREE if your organisation has an annual income under £10,000 a year. If
anyone is interested and for more information on the benefits of membership
go to: www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/membership
That's about it for this edition of the LNWA newsletter; I hope you found
the content of interest.
Kind regards,
Alfred J Kennedy
Treasurer
The London Neighbourhood Watch Association Limited
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