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Operation WHITEBEAM - Tackling Rural Crime.

17th July 2025

A MESSAGE FROM PCSO MILLER:
An operation was carried out (Tuesday 15 July) in the South of Shropshire targeting people who may be involved in rural acquisitive crime.
Operation Whitebeam, which has been running since 2020, sees Safer Neighbourhood teams carry out high visibility patrols across towns, including 52 surrounding parishes of concern.
Last night’s operation was carried out during the late evening and into the early hours of the morning, which is when criminals are more likely to target rural areas. Officers also visited a number of farms, where they gave out trackers to assist with crime prevention, as well as offering advice to farmers and business owners. The team also visited fire stations as part of the operation to speak to fire officers about recent break-ins at stations across the county, where equipment had been taken. A number of vehicle checks were also carried out, which led to one vehicle being seized for having no insurance.
Inspector Damien Kelly, from South Shropshire’s Safer Neighbourhood Team, said:
“We started Operation Whitebeam back in 2020 to tackle rural crime in the south of the county, and also offer farmers that visible Police presence, which we also know can deter criminals. Over the past five years these high visibility and plain vehicle patrols have allowed us speak to the public about the operation, and how we as a force are tackling rural crime especially with the longer days now upon us. A number of local farmers and business owners were also spoken to, and crime prevention advice was shared and positively received. We remain committed to keeping our communities safe and we want them know that these initiatives are helping achieve this.”
Communities can take part in Rural Watch, which is a free scheme set up to support communities in the fight against rural crime.
People can also sign up to Neighbourhood Matters, our free community messaging service, to keep up to date with the work local policing teams are doing in their area: https://orlo.uk/bFF8r
Neighbourhood Matters is a free messaging service brought to you by West Mercia Police where you decide when and how you hear about the issues that matter most to you.
Information on ways to help prevent rural crime can be found on our website, anyone who believe they are a victim to report it to Police so that we can investigate. Alternatively, if you do not feel comfortable speaking with the Police, information can be shared anonymously with the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or by visiting https://orlo.uk/Aw4CR
Kind Regards,
PCSO 40646 MILLER

The Roger Walker Education Award

16th July 2025

The Roger Walker
Education Award
Application Guidance
INTRODUCTION
The award is made in memory of Roger Walker. Roger was a founder member, long time Chair and Board
member for Just Credit Union, he was instrumental in setting up Just Credit Union and remained involved
until he passed away in 2020. Education of young people in the region was close to Roger’s heart and the
grant will assist young people to continue into further education.
THE AWARD
The maximum annual total value of the award is £500 and is intended to be made to one individual,
however, at the Award Panel's discretion, the grant may be split between two or more individuals.
DATES
Opening date for applications: 7th July
Closing date for applications: 30th Aug
Notification to applicants by: 6th September
ELIGIBILITY
To be eligible for entry applicants must;
• Be completing a full-time or part-time vocational or academic course at diploma or degree level
• Be aged between 17 and 25 at the date of application
• Meet Just Credit Union or FAIRshare Credit Union membership criteria
• Priority will be given to members of

Just Credit Union or FAIRshare Credit Union or those
nominated by a member of either credit union
GRANT PURPOSE
The grant is intended to assist young people to continue their education and can be used for a variety of
purposes these may include but are not limited to;
• Transport costs e.g. season tickets
• Essential course equipment e.g. tools and materials
• IT equipment e.g. laptop
• Fees
SELECTION
All applications which meet the eligibility criteria will be evaluated by a panel comprising credit unions'
staff and Trustees. The award will be made entirely at the panel’s discretion and their decision is binding.
Better together
SELECTION CRITERIA
The Awards Panel will select the application where the grant or grants are deemed to have most
impact in allowing individuals to continue education. The criteria the panel will consider are;
1. Family circumstances
2. Household income
3. Grant’s purpose
4. Likely impact
APPLICATION PROCESS
✓ Applicant should ensure they meet the eligibility requirements
✓ Applications must be submitted on JCU’s RWEA application form or document providing
the same information
✓ Application must include details of the course to be attended
- qualification to be achieved
- institution/college/university
- length and dates of course
- full or part time
✓ Application should include
- what the award will be used to pay for

- the amount requested to a maximum of £500
- details relating to criteria 1 to 4
✓ Applicants may provide any supporting evidence or information which they consider
appropriate to their application
✓ Completed applications along with any supporting information should be emailed to the
address on the application form
✓ The Awards Panel will agree a short list and they may at this stage request further
information or clarification from applicants
✓ The Awards Panel will notify all applicants of their decision which is final
✓ The Awards Panel may request from successful applicants any evidence they feel is
necessary before the grant is made
✓ The grant will be paid to the successful applicants’ bank accounts and proof that the funds
have been used for the agreed purpose will be required
✓ The successful applicants agrees to participate in promotional activities and to keep Just
Credit Union informed of their educational progress and the grant’s impact

16th July 2025

A survey has been launched for victim-survivors of crimes such as domestic abuse, stalking, and intimate image abuse (revenge porn). It provides an opportunity for these victim-survivors to provide anonymous feedback about their support needs, and views on existing support services. To complete this survey, you do NOT need to have reported your crime to the police.

Police and Crime Commissioner of West Mercia, John Campion, is committed to ensuring this feedback is used to shape and inform future support in West Mercia.

This survey provides an opportunity for victim-survivors of crimes such as DA, stalking, and intimate image abuse (revenge porn) to provide anonymous feedback about their support needs, and views on existing support services.

The survey is designed for those who:

-Are aged 18 or over.

-Are a victim-survivor of domestic abuse, stalking, intimate image abuse (or revenge porn), and/or upskirting.

-Either live in West Mercia police area**, and/or are a victim-survivor of the above crime types that has been reported to West Mercia police. (**West Mercia police area covers Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin)

You do NOT need to have reported your crime to the police.

The survey should take around 10 minutes to complete and closes on Thursday 24th July 2025. To access this survey, please click on this link: https://online1.snapsurveys.com/VAWG_Survey

Courier fraud: Warning and advice

9th July 2025

Dear Residents

We have received a recent increase in the number of reports of fraudsters across the area claiming to be from various police services around the country.

These criminals are pretending to be police officers in attempt to defraud people and scam them into handing over or transferring money, or sharing PIN information.

Please remember the following information…

The police will NEVER:

Contact you to ask for your PIN or bank details
Ask to withdraw cash to hand over to them for safe-keeping
Ask you to transfer money out of your account for fraud reasons
Send someone to your home to collect cash, PINs or cards
This crime, known as ‘Courier Fraud’, has seen elderly and vulnerable people targeted. However, anyone can be a victim to this crime.

We urge you to share this information about bogus callers on to relatives, friends and neighbours who may also be at risk to the scams.

We would also like to reassure our communities that we are investigating these crimes and want to hear from anyone who has been contacted in this way.

If the crime is still in progress, because for example, you have recently provided bank details or handed over cards or cash or are going to visit your bank or the caller has arranged for someone to visit your address to collect items, you should call the police on 999.

You can also report crime online here: Report a crime | West Mercia Police

Or by calling 101.

Thank you for your help. It is only by the police and the public working together that we can prevent and detect crime.

Kind regards,

PCSO Jacqui Fletcher

STUDENT FRAUD WARNING

8th July 2025

The “A-Levels” and students, and parents have the anxious wait for results next month. The hopefully many will find places at University, College or other places of Further Education. Whilst these are exciting times for all involved, there can be areas where new, and existing students may be vulnerable to Scammers and Fraudsters. In fact, many existing student may already be searching for the next term’s accommodation.

Rental Fraud.
Rental fraud happens when would-be tenants are tricked into paying an upfront fee to rent a property. In reality, the property does not exist, has already been rented out, or has been rented to multiple victims at the same time. The victim loses the upfront fee they have paid and is not able to rent the property they thought they had secured with the payment. Rental fraudsters often target students looking for university accommodation.

Protect yourself.

Do not send money to anyone advertising rental properties online until you are certain the advertiser is genuine.

If you need to secure accommodation in the UK from overseas, seek the help of the employer or university you are going to, or get a friend, contact or relative to check the property exists and is available.
Do not pay any money until you, or a reliable contact, has visited the property with an agent or the landlord.
Ask for copies of tenancy agreements and any safety certificates such as Gas, Electricity or HMO Licence.
Do not be pressurised into transferring large sums of money. Transfer funds to a bank account having obtained the details by contacting the landlord or agent directly after the above steps have been followed. Be sceptical if you’re asked to transfer any money via a money transfer service like Western Union.
Other current scams existing and potential students need to be aware include:

HMRC Scams
In previous years Students taking part time jobs have been at increasing risk from fake messages claiming to be from HMRC, often offering tax refunds.

Basically, these are phishing messages to glean personal and financial details off the victim.

HMRC will only ever contact customers who are due a tax refund in writing by post. They do not use telephone calls, emails or external companies in these circumstances. Anyone who receives an email claiming to be from HMRC should send it to phishing@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk before deleting it permanently.

Student Loans
There have also been phishing scams claiming to come from the Student Loans Company. They often target first year students and dupes them into handing over personal information to steal their identity and defraud them.

They often tell the victim their details are out of date or incomplete, and provide a link to a fake website where they can harvest their details.

If in doubt, contact the Loans Company direct using a listed number

Money Mules. Be very cautious of unsolicited job offers or opportunities to make easy money. These Fraudsters will pretend to offer legitimate jobs or get rich quick schemes via emails and target vulnerable groups, such as Students, who may think this is an easy way to make money.
Basically the Fraudster recruits innocent people to transfer stolen money overseas using the victim’s bank account, who will then be asked to transfer the money onwards, perhaps also being allowed to keep some money for themselves.

PARKING SCAMS

There have been recent reports, both locally and nationally, of residents receiving texts and emails claiming you have unpaid parking fines. Some of these even claim to come from DVSA but usually they fail to identify a vehicle or location for the alleged parking offence.

So always check the website address which may appear to mimic an official website address with small changes. Never click on any links in unexpected text messages or emails or follow the instructions to log into any accounts.

Any suspicious website can be reported to National Cyber Security Centre

via https://ncsc.gov.uk

Many Pay Machines in public car parks also have QR codes to scan on the side of the machine to set up payments. These can be tampered with, or covered over, with fake QR codes so always check if there are any signs that the QR label has been replaced.

Please feel free to share these messages with any vulnerable friends, relatives, or neighbours, especially anyone of pensionable age.

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