Santa Watch 2011

THIS year's Santa Watch has been a fantastic success once again. We have had thousands of hits on it and if you missed the big event, this is the enhanced image. We would like to thank all the webcam networks for their help, and the band Pychic Robot. Sorry to the Mums and Dads who now have that tune echoing in their ears, but what a tune! We look forward to doing a few more things with this Southport based band over 2012, so watch this space!

Police Advice as burglaries strike

POLICE in North Sefton are urge residents and businesses to keep vigilant over the New Year and beyond and to ensure their properties are as secure as possible following a spate of burglaries in the area, some of which were by the thieves taking advantage of windows and doors left open or insecure.

Take sensible precautions about adequate locks, and not leaving keys in easily accessible places, but also consider other measures.

Did you receive any goodies for Christmas such as laptops, phones, cameras, or other items of interest to ne’er-do-wells?

Having them marked and registered will make them less enticing and, should the worst happen, then they are more easily traceable and recoverable.

The Police are especially keen to register bicycles. Do yourselves a big favour and have them registered now. Inspector Jim Atherton aims at making it harder for crooks because identifiable stolen goods are less easy to sell on. He also cautions people to think when buying second hand goods.

"The big questions you need to ask yourself are:- Is it stolen? Who am I buying from? Why is it so cheap? Have I got receipt? Buying goods you know, or believe could be buying stolen may mean you are handling stolen goods. This is somebody else’s property and no doubt has led to some anguish being the victim of crime."

There are a variety of ways of making your property traceable, both visually and invisibly, including UV markers, Smartwater, even simply registering the serial numbers; bikes can be electronically clipped. All these things enable Police to check quite easily properties they come across, thieves know about this and that being in possession of marked property increases their chances of being brought to justice. Even simple measures such as always locking up equipment, like bikes, garden machines and furniture, and keeping details of your valuables will help.

Ways to mark and register your property include:-

1. Follow links from Police Web Site to register, for free, on immobilse.com Select Merseyside Police/Sefton Area/Operation Dragonfly which indicates this information derives from Sefton Homewatch.

2. You can register your property at Police Stations, and also receive some property marking and further information whilst there.

3. In particular, note that Formby and Ainsdale Police Stations are holding property registration and crime prevention surgeries between 1 and 4pm on Thursday, 29 December and Friday 30 December 2011.

4. Contact your local Homewatch. If you haven’t got one, consider consulting your neighbours about forming one; you may all even reduce your home insurance premium by doing so.

Help yourself and help the police before thieves get a chance to help themselves!

Also many small business in Southport Town Center have been targeted, with many of the breakings leaving the businesses heavily out of pocket as a result. So if you are offered any cheep items that could be from a shop, please report it to police. Call Crimestoppers anonymously on:- 0800 555 111. Small businesses are being reminded not to leave cash over night in buildings and also to fit Alarms.