THE partnership is a great believer in preventative measures and the sort of things that local people can do to help keep themselves and their property safe and secure.

As we have seen before in January, there has been an increase in burglaries, with opportunist thieves targeting the latest gadgets and valuables recently received as gifts.

I would like to remind residents that you can reduce your chances of being burgled by remembering basic crime safety advice:

  •  Don’t leave valuables on view inside your house.
  •  Use timer switches to turn lights on while you are out during dark evenings.
  •  Lock windows and doors and keep gates well secured.

We are encouraging everyone to get their valuables and in particular, their Christmas presents, property marked and registered on Immobilise, the national property register.

Property marking is a great way to help protect your valuables. It makes it more difficult for thieves to sell on items and it also helps the police return your valuables to you, if your stolen belongings are recovered.

We have a property-marking pack which consists of an ultra-violet (UV) pen, which leaves a mark only visible under UV light, together with a security sticker for display on a door or window, which acts as a deterrent and lets potential thieves know that items have been marked and are traceable.

If you would like a property- marking pack, please e-mail community.safety@wyreforestdc. gov.uk or telephone 01562 732903 and leave your name and address.

Bill Longmore, the new West Mercia Police and Crime Commissioner, is now in post and the draft Policing and Crime Plan for 2013-2017 is now out for consultation.

You can view the plan and express your views by visiting: www.westmercia-pcc.gov.uk.

The partnership is working with ContinU Trust to support Safer Internet Day, which is an annual campaign to promote safer and more responsible use of online technology and mobile phones, especially amongst children and young people across the world.

Safer Internet Day 2013 will be the 10th time the event has taken plac e and will be held on Tuesday February 5. The theme for the day is ‘online rights and responsibilities’, when we will encourage users to ‘connect with respect’.

For more information, please visit www.saferinternetday.org where you can find out more about the many exciting activities and events that are planned across the globe to celebrate the day.

HELEN DYKE Chairman Wyre Forest Community Safety Partnership