York Police issue warning about Email scam

Potentially useful warning from the Police community messaging service

North Yorkshire Police would like to make you aware of the following email phishing scam:
Fraudsters are sending out a high number of phishing emails, mainly targeting email addresses connected to businesses in the United Kingdom, with the message subject heading ‘Notice of Intended Prosecution’ and ‘NIP – Notice Number’ followed by a combination of letters and numbers.

A NIP, used legally, informs an individual of the intention to take proceedings against the driver of a motor vehicle, in accordance with Sec1 of the Road Traffic Act 1988.

The emails purport to come from the Greater Manchester Police.

It is believed that the URL hidden behind the line ‘Check The Photographic Evidence’ delivers the GOZI/ISFP Banking Trojan which is involved in stealing online banking login details from victims.
If you have been affected by this, or any other fraud, report it to Action Fraud by calling 0300 123 2040, or visiting www.actionfraud.police.uk.

Westfield couple honoured at bravery awards

The police service honoured the bravery of members of the public from York and Whitby earlier this week at the National Police Chief’s Councils’ Police and Public Bravery Awards.

Darren Hinchliffe from York was honoured twice for his role in trying to subdue a violent York man who killed his best friend.

binney-award-plaque

Binney award plaque

Darren won a gold medal at the awards which are sponsored by The Goldsmith’s Company. The awards recognise members of the public for actions, which support the police in preserving law and order.

In addition to this, Darren was also the recipient of the Binney Award, a special award, named after Captain Ralph Binney, reserved only for the ‘bravest of the brave’. To celebrate this, Darren will now be invited to an all-expenses paid celebration of bravery every year with other Binney award winners.

Darren’s partner Claire also received a certificate for her brave actions during the incident.

Here’s Darren’s story:
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Fewer drunks on York City centre streets?

According to community safety officials problems with drink related crime in the city centre reduced last year.

York drunkA new report says, “alcohol-related occurrences have decreased by 3% (50 incidents) in 2015 .

ASB nuisance reports decreased by 11% (172 incidents). These reports include: begging and vagrancy, buskers, street urination, public order behaviour such as fighting or drunkenness and verbal abuse. Theft related incidents were also down”.

However, “Violence-related reports increased by 18 incidents in 2015”. Violent crime covers a wide spectrum from minor assaults, harassment and abuse that result in no physical harm to the victim through to incidents of wounding and murder

Most of the problems occur in Coney Street, Micklegate, Blake Street, Blossom Street and Clifford Street.

The highest levels of reported occurrences are during the summer months of July and August, together with December. Calls for police service are at their highest on weekends; Saturday and Sunday. This was consistent across 2014 and 2015.  Activity is highest between 1pm-6pm and midnight-4am.

In response to a small survey of City centre visitors by the Police, 52% felt that York was not family friendly on a Saturday afternoon, 50% felt that partner agencies were working well together to make York safe on Saturdays and 94% felt that seeing a police presence in the city made them feel safer.

The Police blame visitors from the North East and South Yorkshire for many of the issues.

More patrols are now operating on Fridays and Saturdays.  In addition, the Council are in the process of recruiting two full-time Licensing Enforcement Officers who will work evenings and weekends and whose duties will include visits to licensed premises to ensure they are complying with the Licensing Act 2003 and any additional licence conditions.

Unfortunately, the report makes no mention of the increased anti-social behaviour problems evident in some sub-urban areas over the last 12 months

Courage of Acomb Police Officers recognised

Winners announced at North Yorkshire Police’s second Annual Awards ceremony

Single-handedly dealing with a double knife threat, raising thousands of pounds for local youth charities, and supporting a woman in severe distress to get the life-saving help she needed – those were just a few of the stories from North Yorkshire Police’s second Annual Awards ceremony, which was held at the Hospitium in York on Friday (4 November).

The second Annual Awards event, which was introduced to celebrate the achievements of officers and staff who embody the Force’s values of courage, compassion and inspiration, was attended by winners, their families and senior officers.

The officers and staff who received awards included:

  •  PCs Gregory, Ellison, Harvey, Scott and Churchward, and PSCOs Lewis and Taylor from York, who were awarded the silver Courage Award for being first on the scene at a dramatic fatal stabbing incident at a house in Acomb
  • York PCSOs Dowson, Warburton, Harris, Calpin, Martin and Burgoyne who were awarded the bronze Courage Award for entering a burning building to stop a fire spreading to neighbouring buildings

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Difficult week for law and order in west York

The Police were out and about in numbers on some estates last night.

Complaints ranged from youths throwing fireworks to damage to parked vehicles.

The problems cannot be put down solely to “Mischief Night”

Pressure is growing on the Crime Commissioner and the Chief Constable to allocate more policing resources to the City on a permanent basis Click here

tell-julia

 

Crime prevention operation to keep dark night burglars away from York

Light up, lock up – that’s the message from York Police as they re-launch the city’s biggest ever crime prevention campaign.

With the clocks going back and the nights drawing in, officers are concerned that opportunist burglars could target homes left obviously empty and in darkness.

Throughout the month of November, York Police will be undertaking Operation Joypad, an initiative that will see officers and PCSOs on high-visibility patrols around key areas of the city.

Any premises that are in darkness and appear empty will be identified, and crime prevention advice given to ensure that residents are aware how to better protect their homes.

Over the summer, officers on Operation Joypad checked 21,000 homes in York, to ensure they hadn’t been left vulnerable to burglars with insecure doors and windows during the warm weather.

nyp15-0028-poster-leave-a-light-on-86-pSergeant Colin Sutherland, of York Police, said: “The darker nights are well and truly here, and this can catch residents out when it comes to home security. Too often, householders are making their properties an attractive proposition for burglars and thieves by leaving them in darkness.

“However, a few simple steps are all it takes to counter this risk – and this is where the police can help.”

Key ‘dark night’ crime prevention advice includes:

• a well-lit home gives the impression that someone is in
• use timer switchers to turn lights on while you are out
• don’t leave curtains closed during the day, only in the evening and overnight
• lock all windows and doors
• keep valuable items out of view
• keep gates well secured

Officers will also have dot peen property marking equipment available at locations in the area where the operation is taking place.

Visibly marked property acts as a deterrent to thieves, and if it is lost or stolen, helps the police identify its rightful owner and provide evidence vital in securing prosecutions.

Sgt Sutherland added: “We will highlight the locations of our property marking sessions on our social media feeds, and I would encourage residents to take advantage of this and attend if they have property and valuables they wish to have marked.”

To find out when your next property marking event is taking place in York, contact your local police team via 101, or follow them on Facebook, or Twitter at @snayorkcityeast, @snayorknorth or @snayorkwest – the service is promoted with the hashtag #whatisdotpeen.

For more information about home security and property marking, visit www.northyorkshire.police.uk/homesecurity. You can also download the North Yorkshire Police interactive home security iBook, available for free on iPhone and iPad – just search for “Securing your home” on iTunes.

Police seek views on their priorities

The Police and Crime Commissioner is asking residents to tell her what the policing priorities for the next few years should be.

While the decline in police visibility over recent years may lead some to be cynical about the surveys value, generally we think that residents should take every opportunity to highlight this important issue.

You can do so by clicking here or here

In completing the form, residents will no doubt bear in mind the increase in anti social behaviour seen over the last couple of years in parts of the City.

This has mostly been blamed on the decision of the police to centralise anti social behaviour officers in the York Councils HQ building; robbing local communities of both named Police Officers and Police Community Support Officers.

Taking one estate (Chapelfields) as an example, stats show crime is on the increase with  229 instances of anti social behaviour reported in the last year

chapelfields-crime

Residents complain that, despite CCTV cameras being in operation, youths routinely harass passers by.

So we need to make tackling anti social behaviour the priority that it was until 2011.

In Acomb this will mean:

  1. The Police appointing named Police Officers and PCSOs for each neighbourhood and the reintroduction of regular foot or cycle patrols together with attendance at residents meetings
  2. Setting up a police reporting desk in a public building such as Acomb Library (while at the same time abandoning plans for an expensive and unnecessary replacement police station in Lowfields)
  3. Proactive communication with residents telling them about crime trends and the action taken by police to address concerns. Use of local newsletters and noticeboards should be reintroduced.

We will then be able to get back to the Police and community working together to improve community safety

Residents have until the 18th November to complete the survey

 

Crime levels increase by 11% in York in one year. 

The figures have been released today by ONS reveal that in the York safer partnership area 11,997 offences were recorded.

This compared to a total of 10.794 in the previous 12 months.

The latest results cover the period to June 2016.

Overall crime in North Yorkshire increased by 6%.white-collar-crime-1

The largest increases were in

  • Bicycle theft up 35%
  • Vehicle offences up 28%
  • Violence up 26% and
  • Non domestic burglary up 25%

There were reductions in

  • Possession of weapons (down 32%)
  • Theft from person (down 19%) and
  • Shoplifting (down 6%)

There was also a small reduction in domestic burglary

The were 408 public order offences recorded in the City.

The figures are bound to increase pressure on the North Yorkshire Crime and Police Commissioner who was criticised for delaying the recruitment of additional police officers because of budget concerns. Those concerns didn’t materialise, leaving the  force under manned. Recruitment has only recently started again.

With a third of all crime in the North Yorkshire area taking place in York, Councillors should be asking for more officers to be allocated to the City and for the tried and tested Community Constable policing model to be brought back.

Community Constables were allocated to specific wards and got to know local residents and neighbourhood crime black spots. The system was abandoned in favour of centralised units around 3 years ago.

In response to a recent survey in the Westfield Ward, only 15% of residents were able to name a neighbourhood Police or Community Support Officer.

crime comparison 2016

ONS crime comparative figures 20th Oct 2016

 

Acomb team in “Top Cop” poll bid

Voting opens on the North Yorkshire Police Public Choice Award

Keep calm NYPMembers of the public are being invited to cast their vote, and decide who will win this year’s coveted Public Choice Award at the North Yorkshire Police Annual Awards event.

Over the course of the last year, a number of police officers, staff and volunteers have been nominated for a commendation, for demonstrating courage, compassion or inspiration, over and above the call of duty.  From these commendations, eight finalists have been selected, and members of the public are now being asked to vote for the individual or team that they want to receive the Public Choice Award for 2016.

The winner of the Public Choice Award will be announced by the Police and Crime Commissioner, Julia Mulligan, at the North Yorkshire Police Annual Awards event in November.  The event will also include awards for Lifetime Achievement, and the presentation of the Glenn Goodman Trophy for the most outstanding Special Constable.

The 2016 Public Choice Award finalists are:

  • PC Xavi Lopez from Harrogate, who prevented two girls from jumping from a railway bridge
  • PC Michael Tinsley from Scarborough, who single-handedly dealt with a double knife threat from two violent and intoxicated women
  • PCs Gregory, Ellison, Harvey, Scott and Churchward, and PSCOs Lewis and Taylor from York, who were first on the scene at a dramatic fatal stabbing incident at a house in Acomb
  • York PCSOs Dowson, Warburton, Harris, Calpin, Martin and Burgoyne who entered a burning building to stop a fire spreading to neighbouring buildings
  • DC Chris Ryan from Selby, who tracked a violent criminal all the way to Costa Rica and negotiated his return to the UK to face justice
  • PCSOs Di Smith and Ange Kaye, based at Catterick Garrison, who worked both on and off-duty to help a woman in severe distress to get the life-saving help she needed
  • Acting DI Steve Menzies from Craven, who has raised thousands of pounds for local youth charities
  • The Serious Crime Team, whose painstaking work secured a conviction in a “first of its kind” landmark manslaughter case

 

To cast your vote in the North Yorkshire Police Public Choice Award 2016 click HERE to vote.