The 21st century with all it’s advances in technology has now got a new breed of thief – the cyber criminal. These modern intruders can enter your company, look at sensitive material, transfer money and even order products and all this without even stepping a foot inside your premises. You can learn more about the massive threat to your online safety by visiting www.ccmostwanted.com a site dedicated to making people more aware of cyber criminal theft.

This type of theft not only effects businesses, but nearly home in the civilised world. If you own a personal computer and have access to the Internet then there is a good chance that, at some point, you have logged on to social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook or Bebo. As the name suggests ‘social networking’ is when you reach out to your ‘online friends’ and start to chat about your good old school days, family, home, work and holidays.

Cyber thieves have the ability to blend quietly into other peoples networks by being friends of friends. Then they watch peoples status updates and conversations. From this simple, harmless form of communicating they can find out all sorts of information about people including their employment, where they live and more importantly when they are away on holiday.

Having home security is not just a must its a necessity in today’s climate. However, many people forget that their computer is one of the best ways thieves can obtain sensitive personal information. Next time your setting your home alarm, driveway alarm and switching the security perimeter lighting on have a thought about your own internet security. Get Firewall’s installed, change your passwords on a regular basis and mostly importantly don’t post anything online that is of a sensitive nature – you just never know who is reading your personal information.

The announcement comes after a spate of raids on footballers homes. The PFA states that the theft has reached alarming proportions with 25 Premiership players homes having been hit in the last four years. More worringly is that some of these burglaries have been extremely violent. It is very advisable to take out extra protection even if no-one is expected to be in their homes.

With the football World Cup just around the corner, not just the players but everyone should be seriously thinking about their home security. Thieves are not stupid people, they understand that a lot of people will be planning/attending football parties either in the pub, club, neighbours garden or in the community hall. Thus leaving their homes empty and vulnerable at very specific times of the day. A perfect opportunity for a burglar to get in and away with your possessions.

If you are planning to cheer on your country, during the World Cup, remember to set all house alarms, lock all doors and windows (no matter how hot it might be). If you are planning your own celebration by having the traditional garden BBQ then keep all doors and windows to the front of your home locked – making those that are attending (and those that are not invited) make their presence known to you as soon as they arrive.

This World Cup, lets make it a happy one, and not one to remember for all the wrong reasons.

Police in England and Wales will soon receive up to 6000 extra stun guns after a successful 12 month test period. The stun gun has two darts on wires which when fired can contain up to 500,000 volts. There are strict guidelines for the use of taser guns in this country.

Today’s binge drinking culture, lack of respect for authority & pubs selling alchohol through the night can sometimes make a City Centre resemble a war zone. It’s understandable that Police need more protection and Tasers might be the way forward. Knife crime is a problem amongst the young but mix alchohol and drugs into the equation and we have a recipe for disaster waiting to boil over within our City Centres over the weekends.

Below are images taken by Polish photographer, Maciej Dakowicz, highlighting what goes on after the sidewalks have been rolled up and the late night revellers take over.

Eating Out

Man After Being Attacked

Typical Saturday Night

End Of A Long Day

Let's Do It All Again Next Weekend

Crime Stoppers are an independent charity working to fight crime, they encourage people to phone, text and go on line to tell (anonymously) about any crime or persons they suspect of committing an offence. Crime stoppers are run independently from the government and the police and all information passed on is kept
confidential, even crimes where a reward is given.

This month Crime Stoppers reported that since April 2009, over £900,000 of illegal drugs have been taken off our streets, nearly £500,000 of stolen goods have been recovered, 568 criminals have been arrested and charged and more than 6,500 anonymously called the Crime Stoppers hotline.

Last year saw 28 teenagers killed in knife attacks in London alone, and 270 in total in England and Wales, Crime Stoppers have running their Stop Knife Crime, project in a hope that teenagers will text in if they see anyone carrying a knife or a similar weapon.

They have their own website where you can access pages which will help you with crime prevention including identity theft and burglary hotspots which can be useful when looking for home and car insurance.
(www.crimestoppers-uk.org/crime-prevention)

With this reliance on technology, people need to become more aware or internet savvy fast, to help stop cyber crime from becoming a booming business.

Personal data is the new currency amongst cyber criminals. We hear of lost CD’s brimming with personal information being misplaced, lost or worse stolen, on an all too-frequent theme nowadays (Google Search). Just how concerned should we really be that our personal info won’t be faked or duplicated for criminal activity? What if I told you an average cyber criminal could earn between $20,000 – $50,000 a day (source) is that concern enough?

At Crime Prevention Products we have hundreds of products and devices to help you keep safe in the real world from home security to personal alarms but for online activity all we can offer is some helpful tips and advice from the following links to help protect yourself online.

Help Stop Identitiy Theft
Protecting your identity
Identity Theft

That was back in 2007 has anything changed in 2009? Well, just looking through the newspapers and the internet, not much. If anything, you could claim that the situation has taken a turn for the worse, given the economic downturn, opportunistic crime is on the rise as people get desperate. However, CCTV and surveillance cameras have increased at a rapid rate to help authorities make our streets safer and making catching the offenders easier.

In 2009 it is reported that nearly 47,000 rapes and attempted rapes take place in the UK every year (source). This month the Prime Minister Gordon Brown spoke on crime for the first time in 2 years and announced that he is going to clamp down on organized crime, and that nearly 3000 organized crime gangs have already been identified.

This new report shows some serious concerns over the inability of the Serious Organized Crime Agency (SOCA). Britain is facing a new type of crime : e-crime, organised crime and identity theft. Poor social housing, lack of community services and bleak job prospects in certain areas of our country means many turn to crime because they have very little choice in terms of quality living standards.

Britain spends over £600 million tackling organized crime, not a lot really when you consider that as a nation we spend nearly £4 billion on anti-terrorism (source). It seems the government and the authorities have a bit to do before the ROTW stops labeling ourselves as a ‘high crime country’ and London as the ‘crime capital of Europe’.

The Big UK vs USA Crime Show Play-Off

The Sweeney		Starsky & Hutch
The Sweeney was a hard hitting drama based around 2 characters from ‘The Flying Squad’. Starring John Thaw and Dennis Waterman, the show focused on the more brutal and violent side of Policing esp, around the 70′s. It has been suggested that ‘Life on Mars’ used ‘The Sweeney’ to model its show on.		Paul Michael Glaser and David Soul were propelled to fame on both sides of the Atlantic as ‘Starsky & Hutch’. The show was based around streetwise undercover detectives. Cool cars, awesome cardigans, smart scripts and Huggy Bear made this cop show become one of the most memorable ever.
Running Time 3 Years Appeal 70′s Quote “Shut it!” Score		Running Time 4 Years Appeal 70′s Quote “I’m Hutch, he’s Starsky” Score

Taggart		Kojak
Based in and around the mean streets of Glasgow, Scotland. Detective Chief Inspector Taggart, growled and barked his way through each episode intent on catching the murderer.		NY Detective, Theo Kojak, is a modern icon, with his bald head and red lollypop. Telly Salvalas who played Kojak was probably one of the first recognised Anti-Smoking campaigns to hit TV screens back in the 70′s — hence his passion for lollipops.
Running Time 26 years Appeal 80′s, 90s, 00′s Quote “There’s been a murder!” Score		Running Time 5 years Appeal 70′s Quote “Who loves ya, baby?” Score

The Bill		Hill Street Blues
The Bill first appeared on British TV screens back in 1988 and has been a predominant fixture ever since. Set in London’s East End it tells the drama of day-to-day existence for the ‘bobbies’ in Sun Hill Police Station. The Bill has a knack of showing its drama as real-life as possible. Similar to a ‘Soap’, The Bills storylines can evolve over many months.		Set in an unknown area of America, Hill Street Blues tells the lives of the inhabitants of the Police Precinct. Many episodes were centered around the ‘Gang Culture’ of America in the Eighties. The show also was one of the first to try-put various camera angles to help engage the viewer with what was happening in the scene at that time.
Running Time 21 years Appeal 80′s, 90′s, 00′s Quote Score		Running Time 6 years Appeal 80′s Quote “Let’s be careful out there.” Score

Cracker		CSI
Robbie Coltrane, played the uncompromising expert criminal psychologist, Dr. Eddie “Fitz” Fitzgerald. Gambler, alcholoic, chain smoking and womaniser, Cracker, was a law unto himself. He has an uncanny ability to get into the minds of the most violent (often killers) of individuals and help the Police track down their suspect.		Focused, primarily, around the Las Vegas Forensics Analysist team, they use scientific evidence to help solve, normally unsolvable and mysterious crimes. The success of the show has helped spawn several spin-offs.
Running Time 4 years Appeal 80′s, 90′s Quote Score		Running Time 9 years Appeal 00′s Quote Score

A Touch of Frost		Columbo
Jack Frost is played by Sir David Jason and is focused on the hard-working often antagonistic cop. Frost nearly always clashed with his superiors. Frost is portrayed as a lonely figure, often finding it difficult to get through the day after his wife dies. He lives for his work!		Lieutenant Columbo is a Homocide Detective played by Peter Falk. Columbo, is basically a scruffbag who has a demanour about him that others often feel they can outsmart him. Despite how he looks, Columbo, is always piecing together the clues and in the end – always outsmarts his opponent and get his man.
Running Time 17 years Appeal 90′s, 00′s Quote “It’s a joke, sir, don’t bother to work it out.” Score		Running Time 35 years Appeal 60′s, 70′s, 80′s, 90′s, 00′s Quote “One more thing…” Score

Prime Suspect		Cagney & Lacey
DCI Jane Tennison is played by Dame Helen Mirren in the Prime Suspect series. Tennison is another cop who finds it difficult to seperate her day job from normal living and thus drowns out everyday normalities by becoming more addicted to alchohol.		Two female NY City Police Detectives are played by Tyne Daly and Sharon Gless. Being detective partners in the show it highlights each womans own background : 1 being career minded while the other is a working mum. The show ran for 6 years in the States.
Running Time 4 years Appeal 90′s, 00′s Quote Score		Running Time 6 years Appeal 80′s Quote Score

The Professionals		CHiPs
The Professionals was about two characters called Bodie and Doyle and was more focused on professional law enforcement rather than a cop show. It had its stars brandishing guns ala ‘Starsky & Hutch’ style which was extremely uncommon in a British crime drama for its time.		Two motorcycle police officers of the Carlifornian Highway patrol was the main story behind this cop drama. The pair were normally found chasing the bad guys with dangerous motorcycle stunts the main spectacle of the show.
Running Time 7 years Appeal 70′s, 80′s Quote Score		Running Time 7 years Appeal 70′s, 80′s Quote Score

The debate on violent computer games and criminal activity in youngsters will rage on, however, when you have the London Mayor, Boris Johnson, citing ‘violent video games’ as the influence in the rising knife epidemic that the the City finds itself within, it is difficult to reach a conclusion one way or the other.

Another study also released today reports that youngsters as young as 5 years old are involved in criminal activity in the UK including burglary, robbery and assault. Home environment has a large part to play in a childs discipline and where children are not finding any emotional stimulus at home, they then turn to gangs instead, for security and a feeling of belonging.

It is easy to see why moral panic sets in when you face the reality of child and youth crime. It is a despairing thought to think that so many of our young people face adversity at such an early and crucial part of their life.

If you are a concerned parent and are worried and would like to know more about the video gaming culture on children then further reading can be found at www.pamf.org