LOOE BOAT WATCH and BOAT SECURITY
On Saturday 3rd November 2007 Devon & Cornwall Constabulary held an Action Day. In Looe this concentrated on Boat Security following several thefts from boats this year both above and below the bridge. There was a stand in Millpool car park and boat owners were able to get practical advice on securing their boats, details of the Alpha Dot property marking system, alarms systems and locking devices.
The event was held in conjunction with the Looe Boat Owners' Association who have also set up a co-ordinator for D&CC Marine Watch. Details of marine crimes are passed to local Boat Watch co-ordinators who in turn pass warnings on to boat owners in the area. It will be necessay to join LBOA and register for this service and forms are available through our Contact Us page.
Other security measures which are being investigated for next season are lighting and security cameras above the bridge, 'Covert Surveillance' signs and more frequent visits by police patrol boats. Also being considered is a register of all boat and outboard engines so that in the event of theft the rightful owners can be quickly identified.
Looe Boat Watch Wins Award
Looe Boatwatch (formed out of Looe Boat Owners Association-LBOA) collected a Certificate of Excellence on 26th November at the Devon & Cornwall Community Watch Association.
A crime prevention partnership between Devon and Cornwall Police and LBOA, Looe Boatwatch has over 40 members. Looe Harbour Commissioners and Norman Pearn and Co have also been very supportive, as have other local groups in the town.
Over the past year crime from boats in Looe has reduced by over 60%. This contrast’s starkly with other areas, such as Torpoint, Saltash and Fowey where there has been a marked increase in crime.
Looe Boatwatch holds a register of members where the details of boats,engines and associated equipment is recorded and a copy held by the police and all LBOA members. During the summer over 20 signs were erected around the town and helped raise the profile of the scheme. Boat watch patrols were in action and any suspicious activity was reported to the police.
To benefit from Looe Boatwatch it is necessary to join Looe Boat Owners Association.
Further plans are underway to strengthen the scheme and these will be announced in Spring 2009, in time for the new season.
Laurie Watson
Looe Boatwatch Co-ordinator/Secretary of LBOA
Tel 01503262265/07736255496
Looe Boatwatch – Autumn 2008 Update
Looe Boat Owners Association (LBOA) initiative to launch Looe Boatwatch has been very successful. In its first full year boat related theft in the Looe area has reduced by approximately 70%. Last year there were six thefts over the Summer Bank holiday and this year there were none.
We believe that much of this success is due to 18 Looe Boatwatch signs being erected and patrols over August Bank holiday weekend which act as a deterrent to boat thieves who often ‘sus’ out the area prior to thefts. Not being seen as a soft target makes these thieves go elsewhere.
Our success is someone else’s misfortune; Saltash had 3 thefts and four thefts on the Fowey over the same bank holiday period.
Our efforts have also been recognised by the Devon & Cornwall Community Watch Association (DaCCWA) from whom we have received a Certificate of Excellence for our commitment to reduce boat related thefts.
We have also been short listed into the six finalists for Scheme of the Year 2008. We will know if we have won this award on 26th November.
For the scheme to continue to flourish we need member’s boats and engine/electronics details so they can be put on the Boat register to help trace equipment and assist the police in their investigations. We also need you to spread the word and get more members into LBOA and Looe Boatwatch. Easiest way to do this is via our website www.lboa.co.uk
We are still looking into CCTV cameras but they are very expensive and may be difficult to fund. Another approach may be the use of strategically placed Webcams. These can be accessed directly by members using their own PCs. As well as checking on their boats members can also assess sea conditions, helping to plan their boating better. This is currently under investigation.
Happy boating!
Laurie Watson
LBOA Secretary/Looe Boatwatch Co-ordinator
Looe Boatwatch Update – June 2008
Distribution of Looe Boatwatch Signs
You may have noticed Looe Boatwatch signs going up around the river and Harbour in Looe.
LBOA members, Norman Pearns and Looe Harbour Masters have erected these sign and 18 of these are now fixed in position.
Reduction in Boat Related Crimes
We have received the latest boat related crime figures for the first half of 2008, compared with the same period last year. These show that in 2007 there were five boat related crimes with a total value of £8,355. This year there has been two reported crimes (one of which was a stolen boat which has subsequently been recovered) with a total value of £650. So it looks as if we have made good progress in reducing crime. However, last year there were thefts to the value of approximately £20,000, so we may see a surge in thefts during these summers’ months, especially over Bank holiday periods.
Volunteers for Patrols
To overcome the threat of more boat crimes during the summer we are planning a number of patrols. We have acquired tabards and the intention is to raise the visibility and publicize Looe Boatwatch. There is no intention of confronting suspects but simply reporting them to the police.
The police expect to have mobile CCTV units in place over the Bank Holidays and will have a higher presence than normal.
If you are interested in spending a few hours on patrols in the Looe area, can you please contact me on 01503.262265 so I can put together a roster?
Looe Boatwatch Spawns Additional Boat watch’s
The success of Looe Boatwatch has not gone unnoticed in the area. A boatwatch scheme has been created in Seaton/Downderry and another in Torpoint. We are in contact with these other groups and plan to meet in the winter to compare how we operate to see how we can work better together.
CCTV and Caradon DC Site Surveys
A site survey for positioning cameras on Looe police Station has taken place. The CCTV engineers have stated the need for low level lighting across the river to help illuminate the area where most thefts have taken place. We have met with Caradon District Council who has agreed in principle to erect two lamp standards. We expect to hear more on this later in the summer.
Looe Boatwatch Register – Updates
We need your details (make, Serial number) to keep the register up to date, especially main and auxiliary engine details, along with other equipment you want to register. Please email or post these to: Laurie Watson, 46 Portbyhan Rd, West Looe, PL13 2QN or by email
lolwatson@talk21.com
Looe Boatwatch – Update (March 2008)
We now have 49 members of boatwatch and we hope that this will expand to about 75 by this summer.
There have been numerous meeting with Devon and Cornwall Police to help take this initiative forward and we have received support from all of the town organizations.
There has also been a meeting with Golant Boat Owners Association. They have had a boatwatch scheme in place for several years and the provided some useful information and leaflets which should be helpful.
We have completed the ‘Lets Talk’ forms for the regional boatwatch/anti-theft alert system; (a bit like neighborhood watch) so should receive any alerts of any boat related thefts taking place in the region. We will pass these on to members as quickly as possible.
District and county councillors are aware of this initiative and are offering their help, where they can.
CCTV
We have obtained quotes for a CCTV system from the same suppliers who provide the CCTV facility for Looe Harbour Authority. It was hoped that there may have been the possibility of having a single combined CCTV facility for Looe which would have included the Town Council scheme, Harbour and our CCTV cameras. However, due to various problems this is not going to be possible.
The Harbour Authority is very supportive of the scheme and has promised to look into ways in which they may be able to help.
At the moment it looks like a CCTV system would have to be introduced on a staged basis because of the costs; which for a 2 camera system would be in the region of £5,000
There are also annual maintenance costs to consider.
So if you know of a generous benefactor please let us know!!
Alistair and David Pearn of Norman Pearn and Co has expressed their support and we hope to have discussions with Alistair soon to see how we can move this forward.
We are applying for funding from Caradon Community Safety co-ordinator and administrator of the fund for crime reduction. We should hear if any funding is likely around late May/early June. We have also completed an application to the co-operative community fund. News on this application is expected in May/June.
Finally we have scoured the national grants database to see if there are other sources of funding, without success.
If anyone knows of any other sources we would appreciate your input.
Patrols
A schedule of patrols to cover the high risk periods is being drawn up and this will be distributed shortly.
We will be contacting you to see if you would be available to be involved on one (or more) of these patrols.
Guidelines for patrols are being produced which includes an indemnity which all patrol members need to sign.
It is envisaged that a log of patrols will be kept and completed by patrol members and the police will have access to this log, making any suitable entries.
We are looking into sourcing tabards and high powered, rechargeable torches and a convenient place to store this equipment.
Registry of Members
The register of current members has been distributed and members are urged to add the details of their boats, engines, outboards and electronics. Please send your details back to lolwatson@talk21.com or 46 Portbyhan Road, West Looe, PL13 2QN so we can keep the register up to date. The Devon & Cornwall police have a copy of the register and will use this when challenging any suspicious people around the boats or to enable them to contact boat owners if there has been an incident.
Spring Re-Launch
The Spring re-launch of Looe Boatwatch takes place on Saturday 15th March in West Looe Car park, opposite the library. The event runs from 10.00am to 2.00pm.
Looe Boat Owners Association will have a stand as will Devon & Cornwall police. Anyone wanting to visit will be most welcome and if you know of anyone who might be interested in joining the scheme please let us know, or better still bring them along. We will be equipped to allow new members to join on the day.
The police will be in attendance offering anti-theft information and Alpha dot marking system along with anti-theft security pens. The police Launch will be in West Looe River and the police CCTV camera van on display.
Membership forms, the register and other assorted materials will be available.
Click to see the Police poster.