This section is devoted to advice and observations of criminal activity in the locality. Our local Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) Jodie Barden and she is available to help us keep our community safe and secure. You can find the latest Neighbourhood Watch updates from the website Lewes Neighbourhood Watch.

Dear web site visitors,

Operation Crackdown
Read about the new initiative to deal with Bad Driving by following the link Bad Driving.

A draft Police and Crime plan for our area can be found at Polics and Crime Plan (Draft). The final version is due to be published in April 2013. You will need Adobe Reader installed on your computer in order to read this.

Telephone Scam
"I received a call from a 'representative' of BT, informing me that he was disconnecting me because of an unpaid bill. He demanded payment immediately of �31.00, or it would be �118.00 to re-connect at a later date. The guy wasn't even fazed when I told him I was with Virgin Media, allegedly VM have to pay BT a percentage for line rental!

I asked the guy's name - the very 'English' John Peacock with a very 'African' accent - & phone number - 0800 0800 152. Obviously the fella realized I wasn't believing his story, so offered to demonstrate that he was from BT. I asked how & he told me to hang up & try phoning someone - he would disconnect my phone to prevent this.

AND HE DID !! My phone was dead - no engaged tone, nothing - until he phoned me again. Very pleased with himself, he asked if that was enough proof that he was with BT. I asked how the payment was to be made & he said credit card, there & then. I said that I didn't know how he'd done it, but I had absolutely no intention of paying him. I didn't believe his name or that he worked for BT. He hung up.

I did 1471 & phoned his fictitious 0800 number – not recognised. I phoned the police to let them know. I wasn't the first! It's only just started apparently but it is escalating. Their advice was to let as many people know by word of mouth of this scam. The fact that the phone does go off would probably convince some people it's real, so please let as many friends & family aware of this.

This is good but not that clever. He gave the wrong number - it should have been 0800 800152 which takes you through to BT Business. The “cutting off” of the line is very simple, he stays on the line with the mute button on and you can't dial out - but he can hear to trying (This is because the person who initiates a call is the only one to terminate it). When you stop trying, he cuts off and immediately calls back. You could almost be convinced! The sad thing is that it is so simple that it will certainly fool the elderly and vulnerable." Please pass this on to friends and family and be on your guard.

N.B. – If you see a crime in progress, do not approach offenders, instead contact us immediately on 999 with any information you may have witnessed – e.g. any descriptions of the people, how many, did they get into a vehicle, which direction did they go?

If anyone has information about a crime that has already been committed please ring the switchboard on 0845 60 70 999. If a crime is in progress ring 999.

Regards PCSO Julie McNirlan and PCSO Wendy Stevens.

Automatic Updates

Do you own a computer? As well as popping in to visit this website you could receive updates automatically from me every time I update my own web site if you would like. I can arrange it all for you! Just ring me on 0845 60 70 999 ext 63326 or 0845 60 70 999 ext 21926 and give me your e-mail address and I will do the rest for you. The updates will give you information about crimes in the area, crime prevention advice and any other information that might be of interest.