Yesterday I went to a poorly advertised Carers Event. No one to do “meet and greet” one stall for a care agency, one for the Carers Trust, and one for the Bobby Trust. At 70, I appeared to be the youngest attending! However, nearest the door was someone from the Bobby Trust, with a large display of security devices they fit free of charge, and a Police approved Key Safe - I didn’t know there was one. There is a charge for supplying this, but not fitting it. I was VERY impressed with their service, entirely manned by ex Police or Fire Service staff. He also answered a question I had about my son’s shared hall. The tenant of the upstairs flat keeps leaving her huge pushchair behind the door, so I have to do a dance round it to get to M’s flat. Complaints to the letting agency haven’t worked. This is definitely breaking the law for a house of multiple occupation, and now I have the name of the special fire service officer who can write stern letters! So a morning well spent after all.
My initial heading was rejected as being too short - simply The Bobby Trust - apparently it needs 15 letters? Why?
The man I spoke to was ex Fire Service, the perfect person for a role like this, and very knowledgeable, a refreshing change! I’m certainly going to have him visit Matt’s place.
Sounds great but the Bobby Trust only covers Hampshire and the Isle of White for visits. The page did say though that other areas may have similar schemes so I will have a quick search. When we had the issue with the guy banging on our back door at 1am before Xmas, we phoned the local police number but were not told about any similar scheme in our area. TBH I would be very interested had the Bobby Trust covered my area.
In fairness BB there may well be local schemes. But when we phoned the local police for security advice they did not mention anything. But it does sound fantastic and if we had something similar, I would definitely progress so thanks for telling us.
We used to have a scheme here and when we had an intruder at our old house many years ago - the police sent someone round to advise on security generally and they fitted a spy hole in the door and gave advice. It’s all online advice here now too …
The Bobby Trust sadly doesn’t cover most parts of the UK. Your other options include contacting the local police pronto in order to find out a bit more about home security. If you have a good alarm shop in the area perhaps go there. Try to see what they can do in addition. Make brief summary notes. Best wishes. I have to also recommend that you stay apart at all times. Lock the doors and windows. Keep a log of cars that enter and exit the road where you live. Install a pair of security gates and have two working cameras to monitor your entire area and control levels of activity.
Do visual checks to stay on top of things. Make sure to do that once a day at least to ensure that you are safe and that no bad people try to enter your home. Obtain home security leaflets.
I am end terrace and on a busy road opposite the school so no way could I monitor cars. TBH it is a fairly safe area as I know both my neighbours and we do look out for each other plus one has recently retired so is around a lot more now. I think the drunk was a ‘one off’ but it was scary. I am always mega careful to keep back door locked and do not open the door unless I know it is a delivery. The local police did not suggest sending anyone out but did suggest some kind of security camera. I know the police used to come out and look at security for the vulnerable but do not do it now in my area. I also think alarms are a bit of a nightmare with the cats as window alarm. It is a built up area, so if someone stole things they would struggle to get away quickly as they probably would not be able to park outside.
We have a thick hedge or fence around the garden, and a camera fixed to the wall, trained on the front gate, we record everyone that comes in. 8 neighbours had their sheds burgled one weekend, but we didn’t. I’m sure that is because in the window facing the road, there is a sign that says CCTV camera in use, from a reputable company. My son’s situation is very different.
There are similar schemes to Bobby Trust in a lot of Police Forces. In Avon and Somerset it’s called Bobby Van Trust and is similar to the one described.
If in doubt, try calling the Switchboard at local Police Force, or even dial 101. They will be able to put you in touch with the right office or give you a number to call. If there is nothing in your area, write to the Chief Constable or Police and Crime Commissioner and ask ‘why not?’ …
Try googling or even check Wikipedia as on there ‘Bobby Trust’ gives links to come local organisations.
We did dial 101 Chris when we had the drunk hammering on our door at 1.30am before Xmas. But their advice was fairly facile - basically just extra security lights and an alarm and possibly installing a security camera. But I do realise it varies from area to area.