Sir Ian (56) will take up his post on a part time basis, he will have his work cut out as many people do not believe that SOCA has come to grips with how big a problem crime is in this country. Many senior Police officers are not happy at the ‘top heavy’ structure of this organisation and are disgruntled at the way it has been run in the past, saying with all the secrets, it was run more like MI5 than a law enforcement agency.

At the moment there are an estimated 4000 organised crime groups in the UK, from teenage gangs defending their turf to highly organised drug gangs which deal in hundreds of millions worth of pounds. The job of SOCA is to co-ordinate with agencies and the Police to target criminal gangs. Sir Ian Andrews will take over from Sir Stephen Lander who was the former head of MI5 who retired this week.

Sir John Sawers, the new Head of MI6, had his position compromised as his web-savvy wife put certain information about himself and the whereabouts of their 3 children on the popular social networking site Facebook. Not only did his wife post information about her husband, she also put up pictures of family and friends which included a former diplomat and senior politicians. Lady Sawers also put ‘no privacy’ on her account which means that any of 200 million users could have accessed
her information entered.

Some politicians are dismissing this, saying it was a simple lapse on the part of Lady Sawers. Others, including Edward Davy the Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman, want Gordon Brown to launch a full enquiry. David Miliband the foreign secretary played down the significance of the photos saying, “We all know that John wears Speedos on his holidays”, Miliband denied that any secrets were leaked and was critical of the press for blowing the whole situation out of proportion.

With social networking sites becoming a way of life for most people, perhaps we should update the ‘protection of personal information‘ mantra we are fed to help people become more aware of just how powerful these social sharing sites are and also remind us all to be more careful about what information and pictures we post online. Who knows just who is reading them : a long lost relative, a future employer, an expert forger, your local burglar?

Police forces recognise this and some have started to make regular trips past known underage drinking ‘hotspots’. Only last week, the Police in Port Glasgow, had a clamp down on underage drinking. Commiting a large presence to the streets the Police force rounded up 15 youngsters who were caught drinking alchohol.

The collared youths were not taken to the Police station but to a temporary HQ set-up at a local school where various groups where waiting to help offer assistance with activities that were on-going throughout the Summer.

Inspector Graeme McDiarmid says “Friday’s, operation saw 15 youngsters aged between 12 and 16 being brought in and a further 42 had turned up due to a leaflet drop”. Some of the groups present included a boxing club, a break dancing club and The Princes Trust.

Some of the kids that had been caught drinking had their parents called and upon arrival were shocked and embarrassed to see their children receiving counselling about the dangers of young drinkers becoming involved in crime. Inspector McDiarmid says a total of 79 litres of alcohol were confiscated off the streets, including bottles that belonged to 9 adults. With the school holidays just around the corner and many parents left with no option but to continue working, are we really sure we know what our children are up to?

Remember, thieves will always look for an easy option into your home, garden or vehicle. Think about it, why waste the time and energy trying to break down a door or catch a car door latch when all they need do is wait for the homeowner to open it for them as they help cool down the house or get the car ready for a well-deserved wash.

Seemingly, if you want to cool down the house during a heatwave then the best advice is too close all doors and windows NOT open them. By opening doors and windows you are allowing the warm air to enter into the house. Also shut curtains or blinds to help shade indoors to properly cool down your home.

However, there are many things that can be done to protect your property and vehicles. If you decide to do a bit of relaxing in the garden, make sure you lock your front door, put your windows on the safety latch and remove the keys. Another good point is to put on your house alarm … home alarms are one of the best way to deter thieves from your property, some alarms have zone selection, so rooms, you are not using, can be easily alarmed.

Other precautions include protecting your car, again with the weather being very hot we all tend to leave the windows down on our cars, well who wants to get into a boiling hot car? Thieves love this time of year as all they have to do is walk past a car with the window down and help themselves. It happens in seconds, so don’t give the thieves a chance, roll your windows up and always keep your valuables out of sight.

On your holidays, if there is safe in your accomodation, then use it! There might be a slight charge but it is worth it when you consider the alternative. When going to the beach make sure you have no valuables showing, only take a small amount of money out with you.

As we all know, as the sun goes down the drinks start flowing, if you are going out, stay in a crowd, try to keep your money in an appropriate money holder, for men carry your money or wallet in your front pockets, you’ll know if someone is attempting to pickpocket you – never, keep your wallet in your back pocket! Always tell someone where you are going – golden rule!

If you have to venture out alone there are various personal alarms, bag alarms and attack alarms that can be used to protect you and your possessions.

Not only on holiday but if your property is vacant tell someone that you are away and get them to check your home. Think about purchasing security timers for your indoor lights, make sure all your windows are secured and the family car is alarmed or has a deterrent, for example a wheel clamp or steering wheel lock. It’s worth remembering that criminals don’t take holidays, using your common sense will save you a lot of heartache and keep you and your family safe.

Britain has more CCTV per head than any other country in the world, so this act is being used by people to deter them from using their CCTV cameras. The Data Protection Act does not apply to domestic property. What the act does protect is the use of peoples information obtained through CCTV including car number plates. The use of CCTV cameras are still a major deterrent against burglary and attempted burglary in the home.

Are you breaking the law if you put CCTV cameras round your property? NO! There is no law that says you cannot use CCTV – fact, is the Police use it as evidence if a criminal act has been committed. However, a different set of laws will be enforced if your camera is being used as a way of spying on your neighbours.

Police in England and Wales will soon receive up to 6000 extra stun guns after a successful 12 month test period. The stun gun has two darts on wires which when fired can contain up to 500,000 volts. There are strict guidelines for the use of taser guns in this country.

Today’s binge drinking culture, lack of respect for authority & pubs selling alchohol through the night can sometimes make a City Centre resemble a war zone. It’s understandable that Police need more protection and Tasers might be the way forward. Knife crime is a problem amongst the young but mix alchohol and drugs into the equation and we have a recipe for disaster waiting to boil over within our City Centres over the weekends.

Below are images taken by Polish photographer, Maciej Dakowicz, highlighting what goes on after the sidewalks have been rolled up and the late night revellers take over.

Eating Out

Man After Being Attacked

Typical Saturday Night

End Of A Long Day

Let's Do It All Again Next Weekend

Most gangs have rules and regulations that have to be followed by every member, some rules may
include, don’t fight with fellow gang members, don’t steal from fellow gang members and don’t have sex relationships with fellow gang members.

In a resent survey it was reported that 13% of gang members admitted to carrying a knife and 1% a gun (source). Many young people believe that being part of a gang is a glamorous lifestyle full of adventure, the fact is, this increases their chances of committing serious crimes, being involved in gang fights, violence prison and even death.

Many gang members have a sense of ‘belonging’, therefore object to other gangs entering their territory. If they do, that’s when trouble flares and others suffer as a result. Innocent Passerby’s are often injured as running street battles ensue. It has been reported that there are almost 257 crime linked gangs in London
(Metropolitan Police don’t recognise this number), but do admit that a major gang of 40 members can have an effect on the lives of 6000 people (source).

Gang culture is gripping our young, if you ever wondered to which levels gang participation can reach, then watch this video of ‘The World’s Most Dangerous Gang’ to give you a better understanding of just how powerful a ‘gang’ can become :

Crime Stoppers are an independent charity working to fight crime, they encourage people to phone, text and go on line to tell (anonymously) about any crime or persons they suspect of committing an offence. Crime stoppers are run independently from the government and the police and all information passed on is kept
confidential, even crimes where a reward is given.

This month Crime Stoppers reported that since April 2009, over £900,000 of illegal drugs have been taken off our streets, nearly £500,000 of stolen goods have been recovered, 568 criminals have been arrested and charged and more than 6,500 anonymously called the Crime Stoppers hotline.

Last year saw 28 teenagers killed in knife attacks in London alone, and 270 in total in England and Wales, Crime Stoppers have running their Stop Knife Crime, project in a hope that teenagers will text in if they see anyone carrying a knife or a similar weapon.

They have their own website where you can access pages which will help you with crime prevention including identity theft and burglary hotspots which can be useful when looking for home and car insurance.
(www.crimestoppers-uk.org/crime-prevention)

With this reliance on technology, people need to become more aware or internet savvy fast, to help stop cyber crime from becoming a booming business.

Personal data is the new currency amongst cyber criminals. We hear of lost CD’s brimming with personal information being misplaced, lost or worse stolen, on an all too-frequent theme nowadays (Google Search). Just how concerned should we really be that our personal info won’t be faked or duplicated for criminal activity? What if I told you an average cyber criminal could earn between $20,000 – $50,000 a day (source) is that concern enough?

At Crime Prevention Products we have hundreds of products and devices to help you keep safe in the real world from home security to personal alarms but for online activity all we can offer is some helpful tips and advice from the following links to help protect yourself online.

Help Stop Identitiy Theft
Protecting your identity
Identity Theft