Dinnington Safer Neighbourhood Team
The Police have set up a 'Safer Neighbourhood Team' at Dinnington Police Station. The team operates at a neighbourhood/area assembly level. It is a multi agency team that is able to work together on the basis of shared information and a commitment to tackle local crime, grime and disorder issues.
The team is headed by a Police Sergeant and Housing Manager Sneh Soni and consists of local Police Officers (Police Constables, Special Constables and Police Community Support Officers), Housing Champions, Rotherham Wardens, Neighbourhood Enforcement, Streetpride staff, Antisocial Behaviour specialists and Young People's Service staff. The team also has good local links to the communities they serve.
The Police Constable who covers our Parish is PC Shaun Rhodes, who can be contacted on 01709 832720.

Protect Your Car Keys
The Police have asked us to give out the following advice regarding your car keys. There is a new trend in which burglaries are committed in order to steal ignition keys from within the home and consequently steal desirable vehicles. This is a recent crime trend which has arisen as the result of significant improvements in vehicle security technology.
Use simple, common sense ideas to keep burglars out of your home and away from your car keys:

As soon as you get into the house, lock your door and always make sure your windows are securely locked.

Most of these car keys are stolen in sneak-in burglaries where entry has been gained through insecure doors and windows.

Do not be tempted to leave your car unlocked just because it is on your drive - don't make it easy for the burglars.

Make sure your car keys are hidden and out of sight, not in view of windows or doorways.

Keep keys away from access points such as windows or letterboxes, choose a drawer or a shelf, which is not obvious and encourage all the family to use it.

If you have more than one car in the family, park the most expensive furthest from the road, burglars may think twice about taking two cars, especially if there are two sets of keys to find.

Invest in security equipment for your car or your driveway.

Bogus Callers
The Police have asked us to give out the following advice regarding bogus callers. Unfortunately, you can't always be sure that people turning up on your doorstep are who they say they are.
They may say that their car has broken down and they need to phone someone for help. They may pretend to be a workman, saying that they need to check your electricity or water. They might even claim to be from the council and that they are carrying out a local survey. Whatever reason a caller gives, you need to be sure that they aren't just trying to get into your home to steal something.
There are around 12,000 incidents of "distraction burglary" each year, where callers get into homes
and then steal cash or valuables while the occupier is distracted in some way. Sometimes they work in pairs, with one doing the talking while the other is stealing and they often target the elderly.

Be on your guard every time the doorbell rings, or there's a knock at your door. Look out of your window to see who's there first and if you don't know who the person is, open the window slightly and talk to them that way, rather than opening your door. Alternatively, have a viewer fitted in your front door so that you can take a good look at who's there first. If your eyesight isn't so good, don't worry as you can now get wide-angle viewers to help you see better.

Put the door chain or door bar on before opening the door and talk through the gap. You could even fit a small mirror to the wall next to the door so that you can easily see the person you are talking to. When the caller has left and you've closed the door, don't forget to unhook the chain so that any friend or relative you have given a key to can still get in.

Make sure your back door is locked if someone knocks at your front door. Sometimes thieves work together with one coming in the back way, while the other keeps you talking at the front.

Keeping the chain on the door, ask callers from the council or any other organisation to pass through some identification. If you need your glasses to check this don't think it's rude to close the door and go and get them. A genuine caller won't mind. If you're still not sure, ask the caller to leave and tell them to write and make an appointment so that someone else can be with you the next time they call.

The basic rule is if you don't know the person at your door don't let them in.