This gives a total of 181 offences for the calendar year 2003. This is a slight drop in crime from the previous year’s total.

Please be aware that there is again a spate of burglaries taking place in the early hours of the morning.

This seems to be for keys to vehicles. Please try to ensure that where you have it you zone your alarm downstairs when you go to bed.

I am pleased to see that the advice not to buy at the door has taken hold in Brookmans Park and Little Heath.

It has been gratifying to receive calls advising that you have had these callers and sent them on their way. It sends the message out far and wide that they are not welcome.

The range of such callers extends from the drive ‘bodgers’ to the tea towel salesmen. Remember you are not getting a bargain.

Again can I ask you to keep an eye on the elderly in your communities, they are vulnerable to these people as invariably they trust everyone. They are also vulnerable to the ‘bogus official’, come to read the meter, water emergency etc.

If you have elderly neighbours, or care for an elderly relative, please reinforce the message to them about asking for identification and using the chain on the door when they answer.

The lighter nights are upon us and we will soon be out in the garden again. Make sure that your sheds are safe, lawnmowers, strimmers and hedge clippers are not cheap to replace.

Road Traffic

The same issues.

• Speeding, those people who have no consideration for other road users by doing so.
• Parking, those who do so in such a way as to have no consideration for others.
• Seat belts, those who chose not to wear them.
• Mobile phones, those who chose to use them whilst driving.

People are killed on the road often as a result of excess speed, driving too close, or inattention caused by various means.

When you are driving you are in charge of a potentially lethal weapon, if you do not use it properly you may be responsible for killing someone.

General Matters

For those of you who visit the website for Brookmans Park you will notice that the editor very kindly publishes the newsletter on the site.

Many of you may be aware of the incident that took place in Gobions Wood. As a result of this I took the decision to alert people using the co-ordinator set up and access to the website.

I would like to thank all of those people who passed the message out quickly. It is the first time to my knowledge, and to that of the Neighbourhood Watch Committee, that we have had to make such use of the co-ordinator system. It did reveal gaps, which Brenda Harris and the committee moved swiftly to resolve. The following is a message from the Neighbourhood Watch committee.

‘The emergency bulletin was the first ever to appear in 25 years of the BPCG and, whilst the possibilities for cascading information already existed, some short comings have been exposed, which will be rectified. In future any such emergency notice will be directed to area co-ordinators who will, in turn, immediately notify their co-ordinators to pass on information to their households’

I know it is outside of our area, but I have been notified of an incident in the car park at Tesco’s in Potters Bar.Having done her shopping a lady returned to her car. As she was about to start the car, the door was opened by a male, who was clearly surprised not to see her handbag on the seat, or in the passenger well. The male then left very quickly. Please be careful.

For those of you who have access to the Brookmans Park website, I intend to make use of the facility kindly offered to put out current information between newsletters.

Last, but not least, there has been a spate of youngsters in vehicles around the green who see fit to arrive back home late at night and sit there with the engine going and the radio blaring.

I have spoken with some young owners of cars and explained to them what will happen to their cars if it does not stop. We now have the power to seize vehicles if they are used in an anti-social manner. The process is long winded, but if the problem does not stop then I will use it.

To that end, I will be dependant upon residents that are put out by this behaviour to let me know when it happens and what vehicles are involved, it will also mean being prepared to give a statement. I cannot take action without people coming forward.

By the way, Brookmans Park village green will soon be covered by a webcam. I will ensure that this news is passed on the owners of small black and small white cars who are young in age and driving experience, but do live locally.

Vojislav Mihailovic
March 2004

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The community police officer can be contacted at his office on (01707-638112). You can discuss the crime figures and Neighbourhood Watch in this site's forum.

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