Police urge everyone to be vigilant

Police say that over the last two weeks there has been a 'noted increase' in offences of burglary and and motor vehicle related theft in the West Acton area.

Offences have been recorded in a number of locations including Saxon Drive, Northfields Road, Canada Crescent and Wilfred Gardens.

They're appealing for extra vigilance in the area and ask that any suspicious activity be reported straight away.

Ealing Borough Police are aware of this pattern of offences and say they have already employed numerous tactics to tackle and disrupt this activity.

Acton Safer Neighbourhoods Team and Ealing Police would like to offer some crime prevention advice, to hopefully reduce the likelihood of any further offences occurring:

Home Security:

If you have more that one lock on your front door, for example Yale and Chubb type locks, please ensure that they are both locked when leaving your home
Ensure that windows and doors are locked, however small the window or out of sight the door
When at home, try to make use of any additional security features that you might have (for example night latches). Please note that it is not safe to lock deadlocks with keys from inside - this is a fire hazard and should be avoided.

Motor Vehicle Security:

Please double check that you have locked your vehicle before leaving it. Some automatic locks will not activate if a door is left slightly ajar.
Do not leave any valuables in you car, particularly on show
Wipe Sat Nav marks off windscreens after use
Do not leave spare keys within reach of any access point to your home (in a drawer or locked away is safest)

If you see something suspicious, please challenge it or call 999 immediately. If you are not sure, or wish to discuss the matter, please dial the Metropolitan Police non-emergency number on 101. If you are not happy to speak to the Police direct you can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

If you would like further crime prevention advice, someone from your local Safer Neighbourhoods Team would be happy to contact you and visit upon request.

They can be found by inputting your postcode on the Ealing Police website, which can be found at the following link http://content.met.police.uk/Borough/Ealing

31st July 2012