Newsletter -
2005 September
If you have any information that you consider worth including
in a future Newsletter, then please Contact
us.
Download a pdf version of the original newsletter, whose text content
is below.
Merchiston Community Council
NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH
Chair: Bridget M. Stevens
4 September 2005
Dear Neighbour,
This is the third of our Neighbourhood Watch
Newsletters. If you are new to the area and would like to see the first
two issues (dated August 2004 and May 2005), please let me know. The streets
which we cover are given at the end of this letter.
1. Next Meeting/Social Event
Sunday 25 September 2005
4.00pm
The Royal Ettrick Hotel, Ettrick Road
Guest Speaker:
Best-selling writer, creator of Detective Inspector John Rebus
IAN
RANKIN
Also present at this meeting to answer your
questions will be the real PC Alan Hopper, Community Beat Officer for
Merchiston
2. Update on events/developments since last
Newsletter
A meeting was held on 24 April, with talks on
several aspects of crime prevention and a display of locks for houses,
garden sheds, garages etc. A locksmith was in attendance to advise on
the fitting and use of these. Free Personal Alarms for the over 60’s,
donated by the South Edinburgh Crime Prevention Panel, were eagerly claimed.
On 14 May, following a spate of burglaries in
the area, police teams carried out a house-to-house “blitz”
of properties in selected streets, advising home owners on security and
crime prevention generally. This was much appreciated by residents, and
we are pleased to hear that it may be repeated.
Requests for improvements in street lighting,
notably in Polwarth Terrace, have been lodged with the City Council. A
letter from John McFarlane, Street Lighting Manager, suggests that this
may not happen before 2007! We will continue to press through local councillor
Sue Tritton for this to be speeded up. Dark streets are a gift to criminals.
Street Co-ordinators continue to collect Emergency
Contact Forms. These are a means, entirely voluntary of course, of providing
details of any relatives/lawyer/other contact whom you would like to be
informed in the event of emergency. Completed forms are passed on to the
police. Many people have commented that this is an excellent idea. Ask
your Street Co-ordinator if you’d like a form.
The Friends of Harrison Park in association
with the City Council are now doing good work in the way of cleaning up
(literally and metaphorically) the park, which had become a haunt for
(mostly young) people up to no good. Harrison Park and the Union Canal
are a fantastic local resource and we want them to remain pleasant, clean
and safe. FOHP can be contacted through Kay
Smith. The Friends’ website is www.harrisonpark.org.uk
3. Police Reports
These continue to be received on
a monthly basis. Issues for April, May, June and July are either attached
now, or your Street Co-ordinator (details at the end of this letter) may
have been forwarding them to you on a regular basis. Again, please ask
us if you would like to see back copies.
4. Incident
Reports
Quite separately from the Police Reports, we encourage people in our area
to let us know of any crime-related incidents in which they have been
involved or which they have heard about. These may or may not have been
reported to the Police but neighbours can often learn from them. Two such
incidents have been reported by Gillsland Road Street Co-ordinator Ian
Doig. The first, in March, concerned someone’s garage which was
broken into in broad daylight. The owner returned to find that quantities
of petrol, butane gas, meths etc had been used up and various receptacles
left blackened from, presumably, substances having been burned in them.
All this would appear to point to intruders (ab)using the premises as
a place to smoke dope. We should all be on the lookout for this kind of
thing. The second incident, in July, concerned a suspicious-looking man
found roaming in gardens in Gillsland Road. When challenged separately
by two residents, the man muttered the name of someone he claimed to be
looking for. It was discovered later that several house windows had been
partially forced (but good window locks had prevailed), and a number of
items stolen from the garden. Both incidents were reported to the Police,
who attended promptly and took details. Later a man in his thirties was
apprehended. It transpired that he had carried out several burglaries
that day in the Merchiston/Churchill area. Some of the stolen items were
recovered. Neighbours, who had been alerted by Ian Doig, have written
to say how pleased they were with the Police’s handling of this
incident. We are happy to pass on the commendation!
Again, the important thing is to be vigilant
at all times, and to report anything suspicious you see not just in your
own home or back yard but in your neighbour’s as well. Looking out
for one another is what Neighbourhood Watch is all about. The number to
ring is 666 2222 (Howdenhall Incident Centre) or in the case of serious
emergency 999. Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 is the number to ring if
you want to talk confidentially about your suspicions of a particular
crime or a particular individual.
Another way of looking out for one another is
to let your neighbours know if you are to be away from home.
5 Fire Safety
Checks
Lothian & Borders Fire Brigade are still providing these free of charge.
Telephone 0800 169 0320. In this connection, we have been warned that
some elderly people in the area have received bogus telephone calls purporting
to come from the Fire Brigade. Please note that the genuine Fire Brigade
personnel never make contact by phone and always carry official ID. There
are other checks you can carry out – please ask us for details
6. Home
Security Checks
These too are free of charge. Telephone PC Andrew Cameron on 221 2050
or PC Jim McKenna on 221 2051.
7. Whistles
Residents in a remote village have been issued with whistles to alert
neighbours after a spate of break-ins. We doubt if Merchiston could be
described as “remote” but it’s an interesting idea!
8. Cycling
on Pavements
Following complaints from a number of residents, it is confirmed that
cycling on pavements is illegal and should be reported to the Police.
Ask us if you’d like to see the wording of the Roads (Scotland)
Act 1984. Thanks to PC Alan Hopper for doing the research on this one.
9. New NNWA
Website
The National Neighbourhood Watch Association has announced its new website
at www.neighbourhoodwatch.net
It contains a range of information and a discussion forum for the sharing
of good practice and issues relevant to neighbourhood watch.
10. And finally…………………..
A little reminder that Neighbourhood Watches are voluntary schemes, run
by volunteers who personally bear the costs involved. We receive no funding
and are therefore always on the lookout for ways of minimising these costs.
In this connection, we want to be able to communicate with as many of
you as possible by email so, if you haven’t already given us your
email address, please do so now. If you do not have email, please don’t
worry – we are delighted to continue providing you with a paper
copy. I should add that any contributions towards printing, xeroxing etc
costs are always gratefully received.
Thanks to you all for your feedback and support.
And we look forward to seeing you at our Ian Rankin event on 25 September.
With best wishes,
Yours sincerely,
Bridget M. Stevens
|
