20 October 2023
With so much public (and local concern) for our young people from the rise in knife crime and organised drug dealing, a professional theatre company ( Justice in Motion) have devised their Odyssey into County Lines and Knife Crime, to help bring awareness of how this is happening.
They will be perfoming it at the Select Car Leasing Stadium, RG2 0FL on Saturday 28 October 2023, at 10.30am and 1.30pm. Each performance will last 45 minutes and is on the stadium's outside concourse.
The performance combines a spectacular blend of physical theatre, parkour*, and trial bike stunts with live rap music. Set on an urban playground, skilled athletes and performers show what is happening to our young people, exploited by organised drug and criminal gangs.
10 October 2023
The North Reading Neighbourhood Policing Team have issued their September Newsletter.
You may also like to read about Friends Against Scams, which is the National Trading Standards Scams Team initiative that aims to protect and prevent people from becoming victims of scams, by empowering people to take a stand against scams. Anyone can become a 'friend'. Their Scam Marshal Newsletter has useful information about the latest risks to you.
Report a Crime or Incident Non-Emergency calls – 101
Emergency calls – 999
On-Line Report – Thames Valley Police
Anonymous reports – Crimestoppers 0800 555 111
Ask the Police is an official police resource that provides Q&A's to a wide variety of the general public's most frequently asked policing questions. It offers an alternative online option, reducing calls to the police, freeing up resources and saving money.
North Reading Safer Neighbourhood Forum
The police divide our area into two, each with its own web page: Peppard and Caversham and Mapledurham and Thames. Both are supported by the same officers.
email: PeppardandCavershamNHPT@thamesvalley.pnn.police.uk
email: MapledurhamandThamesNHPT@thamesvalley.pnn.police.uk
Follow them on social media – Twitter Facebook
Thames Valley Alerts is the new Community Messaging system
for receiving crime and policing updates for your area. The state-of-the-art system allows anyone who signs up to choose what updates they receive and how they would like to receive it; options include receiving information via text, telephone and email. You can also filter the updates you receive by specifying the priority level of the messages.
Thames Valley Police in association with Reading Borough Council and North Reading Safer Neighbourhood Forum have produced a series of guides, each one addressing common problems and specific issues which arise. The leaflets give handy tips and advice on issues including: crime, anti-social behaviour, parking and fly-tipping. There are Council and Police telephone numbers and email addresses for reporting problems, as well as how to contact local community groups, such as CADRA. The guides are:
Reporting Crime & Nuisance - Which is tailored to issues affecting Caversham (North Reading).
Public Space Protection Orders (PSPO) - Dealing with a particular nuisance or problem in a specific area that is detrimental to the local community’s quality of life. PSPOs were introduced under the Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) Crime and Policing Act 2014.
Anti-Social Behaviour Reporting - If you witness ASB taking place, you can report it to the Police or The Council.
Unauthorised Encampments - Providing helpful information about such encampments, describing: what action can be taken, by whom, the civil law with regard to tresspass and the rights of travellers.
If you witness ASB taking place, you can report it to Thames Valley Police or to Reading Borough Council’s Antisocial Behaviour Team can be contacted on 01189 373787 or email ASB.Team@reading.gov.uk. You can also report an ASB using the Reportable app available for Apple and Android devices.
Annual ASB Awareness Weeks are organised by the not-for-profit Resolve, a leading U.K. specialist in delivering effective solutions to antisocial behaviour. It is supported many other Local Authorities.
Thames valley Police have produced several useful documents about Preventing Crime, which includes advice on keeping your homes, gardens and property secure, including this one on Marking Your Property.
The North Reading Safer Neighbourhood Forum (Formerly Neighbourhood Action Group - NAG), on which CADRA is represented, brings together voluntary organisations and partners including residents, the neighbourhood police, local authorities, businesses and schools, and assists in planning local neighbourhood policing tasks, based on priorities identified by the community.
Residents are welcome to attend their monthly meetings to discuss any issues relating to community safety and crime prevention in Caversham. The neighbourhood police produce a monthly newsletter covering current issues.
A new Constitution is to be established with a primary aim of crime reduction. It is hoped that Community Groups will take more responsibility for identified local issues.
The North Reading Neighbourhood Policing Team hold regular meetings at different locations throughout the Caverhsam area, where you can go and discuss any crime related issues or concerns you make have.
Dates and Meetings for each area: Peppard and Caversham Mapledurham and Thames
Nuisance parking and abandoned vehicles, including verge parking has become an increasing problem in some areas. Thames Valley Police provide useful Advice on such parking on ways to resolve the problem, including when to contact them or the Council.
For example, if a person has blocked your driveway and is preventing you from getting your own vehicle out, this could be deemed as antisocial behaviour. In this case the Police may be able to help. See our section on Reporting Nuisance or call the Police non emergency number 101.
For other parking concerns, including permit parking or on road restrictions, such as double yellow lines, the responsibility lies with the individual to ensure the vehicle is not causing an obstruction. The Council web page on Parking, includes a link to report illegal parking.
A part of making Caversham safer is addressing street hazards, such as pot holes, rubbish and overhanging branches on pavements and roads.
We should all check that our own hedges and branches aren't a potential hazard to passers by. However, please remember that March to August, when the trees are growing fastest, is also the main bird breeding season, so extra care is needed.
If you would like to report a problem then go to the Council's Report My Streets or Love Clean Reading web pages. You can also contact your Ward Councillor. Our Reporting Crime & Nuisance in Caversham section provides general advice on dealing with problems in your area.
Several organisations provide information and advice about how to spot the types of scams that are directed against us all, so often these days. We thought you may find them helpful.
The Little Book of Big Scams - Metropolitan Police
Doorstep Pedlars - Safe Local Trades
Door-to-Door and Courier Fraud
Banking Payment, Card, investment and Pension Fraud
Getting Help with Scams - Citizens Advice Bureau - CAB are the recommended first point of call for your trading standards concerns, because they work closely with the Council's Trading Standards team. Get Safe Online’s Check a Website Address
Friends Against Scams is the National Trading Standards Scams Team initiative that aims to protect and prevent people from becoming victims of scams, by empowering people to take a stand against scams. Anyone can become a 'friend'.
The Herbert Protocol initiative is a process to be used where there is a risk that a vulnerable person, particularly if they suffer from dementia, may go missing. There is a two-part form for carers, family members and friends to prepare in advance, which together with a recent photograph, the police will require if the vulnerable person goes missing. If this happens, part two will be completed and the whole form plus photograph are handed to the police. For more infromation: Herbert Protocol Initiative
Neighbourhood Watch is about people getting together with their neighbours to cut crime. The schemes are community initiatives owned and run by their members. They work by developing a close relationship between community members and the local police.
Use this link to find out about Neighbourhood Watch Schemes in your area.
Neighbourhood Watch have developed Toolkits, which provide advice and guidance, not only about preventing common crimes and nuisance, but also other risks, such as: scams, domestic abuse, combating loneliness etc.
Neighbourhood Watch have information about Disability Hate Crime, which you may be interested to read.
Community Speedwatch is an independent pressure group concerned about speeding. Proactive members of local communities can join, and be given support and supervision by their local police, to record details of speeding vehicles using approved detection devices.
The Police and Crime Commissioner’s initiative Victims First has a Facebook page to keep people up to date on information, advice and support for victims of crime.
The Victims First website has advice on what to do and how to get help if you’ve been a victim of crime, including information on what you should expect from the police and other criminal justice agencies if you report the crime.
The focal point of the website is a directory which allows victims to find relevant support to help them cope and recover from the impact of the crime. You can use the website to refer yourself directly to the PCC's own support services, using the online form, or find information and contact details for other organisations. This support is available regardless of whether or not the crime has been reported to the police.
This is the National Fraud Reporting Service. Contact them for information about fraud and financially motivated internet crime. They offer advice about the different types of fraud, the tell-tale signs, how to avoid scams and what you can do if you think you've been a victim.
Tel: 0300 1213 2040
Action Fraud is not an emergency service - dial 999 if you are in immediate danger.
The ambulance service strives to get to patients as quickly as possible. Supporting them are 
Community First Responders (CFRs) are volunteers that are trained and despatched by UK ambulance services.
The Older Drivers Forum is about keeping mature motorists on the road safely for longer. From time to time they run useful webinars, which are recorded for later viewing.
