Neighbourhood Watch in
Ku-ring-gai and Hornsby

eNewsletter #427 - 17 December 2019

This weekly eNewsletter is compiled by Neighbourhood Watch volunteers as a service for residents in Ku-ring-gai and Hornsby council areas. The eNewsletter is a new type of Neighbourhood Watch; utilising the available technology to keep people more connected and up-to-date with local crime and safety issues. 

The eNewsletter includes a selection of posts from the Ku-ring-gai PAC Facebook page (also known as 'eyewatch'), primarily for those not familiar with Facebook. We add anything interesting from a Neighbourhood Watch point-of-view - this could be a local newspaper article, a roadwork warning, crime prevention tip(s), an upcoming Neighbourhood Watch meeting, Q&As from residents, or an item from an other Police command ("Crooks know no boundaries!").

A 20yo male from Berowra was charged with Larceny on Friday 06/12/2019 for a stealing offence he committed in August 2019 in company of a 14yo YP. The pair have entered a vehicle at 3:40am which was parked in the drive way of a residence in St Ives and stolen numerous personal items belonging to the victim. A search of the two males have located the stolen property as well as a pair of knuckle dusters. They will both appear before court early next year.

Drivers, riders and all road users breaking the road rules can be caught anywhere and at any time.
Watch video here.

There are penalties (click here for details) for not complying with the road rules, including demerit points, heavy fines and loss of licence. In 2016, around 620,000 fines were issued by police to motorists caught breaking the law. In the same year, NSW Police conducted almost 5 million breath tests, resulting in about 17,000 charges.
Full details of the campaign here.

JUST IN: A car has just broken through its garage wall at St Ives, falling down a sharp decline, before lobbing into the backyard tennis court.

How did it all go so wrong? The FULL STORY tonight at 6.00pm, including more incredible vision. Watch video here.

11 December, from Kuring Gai Police Area Command

One day some of us may finally work out that it isn’t a race when driving on our roads, it is simply a method of getting from point A to point B. How we approach this, results in whether we arrive alive or don’t arrive at all.

Some schools have already closed for the Christmas break with students and parents already on holidays. Others are soon to follow.

So, a timely reminder of the “DO NOTS” on our roads this Christmas holiday season:

The following is in relation to the Share Our Space (SoS) program at participating NSW schools.
This program has been run during the school holiday period for about three years.
The SoS program is for schools to open their gates and grounds for local community to use their open spaces.
They will have open grounds every day of school holidays including public holidays.
Security or Rangers will open and close gates between 8:00am - 5:00pm.

It's important for NHW groups with participating schools in their area to consider the following:

* Be aware of likely increase of reported offences on school grounds;
* Take the opportunity to engage with the community;
* Promote the Share Our Space, school infrastructure web link via group social media and include reporting suspicious behaviour and crime; and
* Encourage NHW members to take a pro-active approach to monitoring schools and reporting.

The Share Our Space program will continue to run at schools through school holidays in 2020.
There is a list of participating 232 schools on the Share Our Space web site which may change over the course of the year.

For more information about the program, click here.

Kindest regards, Senior Constable, Robert MacFarlane.

Facebook and GoFundme scammer alert.

Alicia Dawn Hamilton is her name

She contacted my girlfriend two months ago on Facebook ( they previously worked together) saying she needed money to purchase meds and that she would pay her back the next day with an extra interest on top. The next day came but no money sadly my trusting girlfriend continued to believe her lies and even sent her more money to assist her ( about $900) for apparent medical treatment with the promise of paying her back. Once I found out I told my girlfriend to contact the police and bank as it's clearly a scam. Unfortunately we found out she actually lives in Wales and that shes been contacting numerous people atleast 20 that we know of so far with same stories also selling concert tickets and never sending tickets and running a GoFundMe too. So far we've had no luck getting anything from her and bank is busy investigating her so are the local police in Sydney and North Wales.

14 December, from Crime Stoppers NSW

Both females and males can fall victim to drink spiking – it is important for EVERYONE to be diligent and consider the following safety tips…

⚠️ Never leave drinks unattended
✅ Buy your own drinks
✅ Watch your drink service closely
⚠️ Don’t accept drinks from people you don’t know
⚠️ Recognise out of character behaviour and report suspicious behaviour
⚠️ Refuse strong tasting drinks
⚠️ Don’t drink or taste other people’s drinks
✅ Tell someone where you are going and who with
✅ If you feel strange tell a friend and go to a safe place
⚠️ If you feel strange don’t leave the premise with people you don’t trust

Posted on Arcadia site.. 2 days ago. This is just how low these people stoop!!! 😡

Hi all. Just advising that there had been an attempted break in through a side door at the RFS station. It has been reported to the police. Thankfully they didn’t get in. We do have security lighting around the station. Would appreciate it if everyone could keep their eyes out. The last thing we need is a break in.

13 December, from staysmartonline.gov.au: Australia Post SMS scam targeting Australians

With millions of parcel deliveries expected around the country, Australia Post is seeing widespread scam text (SMS) messages being sent to people, using their brand.

These fake SMS messages may tell you that your parcel is ‘detained’, ‘you’ve missed a delivery’ or there’s an ‘important update’ to your delivery – and include a link to click on for more details. As scammers use technology that imitates a caller ID, these scam texts can even appear in the same conversation thread as a legitimate Australia Post conversation.

By clicking on the links in a scam message, you are usually taken to a fake Australia Post website to enter your personal or financial details. Clicking on these links can also infect your device with malicious software (malware).

THORNLEIGH An expensive sports car valued at $80,000 was stolen from Thornleigh on Saturday, about 11.46am. The victim had advertised the 2010 Porsche Panamera Turbo 970 AWD for sale. A man who posed as an interested buyer attended the seller’s address for a test drive and negotiations. However, while the owner of the vehicle was preparing the paperwork his keys were stolen and his car taken. Police are investigating the matter.

NORMANHURST A group of offenders has stolen a large sign from Normanhurst Eagles Football Club. According to a police report it’s believed the offence happened between noon on December 3 and 5.30pm on December 4. The sign was blue and white and it advertised girls and women’s soccer. Several other signs were also stolen.

MOUNT KURING-GAI A bicycle and helmet, valued at $1190, have been stolen from a shed. Between Wednesday, December 3, and Thursday, December 4, a person of interest broke into the shed at a home on Crawford Rd, Mount Ku-ring-gai. According to police the shed had been left unlocked. Police are warning residents to lock their homes, garages and sheds. Police are continuing investigations into the incident.

WAHROONGA A driver has had his licence suspended after recording a positive breath test. On Sunday at about 11.50pm the driver was stopped at a random breath testing site on the Pacific Highway, Wahroonga. The test returned a positive result, the accused was arrested and conveyed to Hornsby Police Station. A breath analysis recorded 0.060 grams of alcohol in 2010 litres of breath. The man’s licence was suspended and a court date has been set.

ST IVES About 1am on Monday the Caltex service station at St Ives was broken into. A person of interest smashed the alarm external strobe light and shattered the lower section of the front door, where the person gained entry. The thief attempted to gain access to the cigarette cabinet but was unsuccessful. According to police reports $2000 worth of damage was caused. Police are investigating the incident.

We’d like to say THANK YOU to the hard working and dedicated volunteer NSW Rural Fie Service (NSW RFS) personnel who sacrifice their time and lives to help save others during the recent and ongoing catastrophic fires.

Are you impacted by drivers blocking your driveway? Paint white lines at each side of your driveway. These can be a deterrent.

Contact us for FREE use of a stencil and all the rules & info you need. We can even supply a few traffic cones and high-vis vests. Request use of the stencil via our Neighbourhood Watch website Borrow page, click here.

Currently DIY lines are available only to Ku-ring-gai residents - please email us with questions, or for instructions about pick-up, what paint to buy etc, or for advice if you are in another area. 

Full Media release here.