Security links – if there is immediate danger, call 999
Police forces of the UK – this page
links to them: www.police.uk
Page links to
national police services plus various crime prevention advice.
Key telephone
numbers:
Emergency calls = 999
(Textphone 18000)
Non emergency calls =
101 (Textphone 18001 101)
Extensive other
contact data is presented on the web site
National Security
Service Mi5: www.mi5.gov.uk
Presents advice on
current UK
threats and a contact page
Anti-Terrorist
Hotline = 0800 789 321
Foreign Office travel
advice: www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice
Presents key travel
advice for over 200 countries
Second tier
Crime stoppers: 0800
555 111 = https://crimestoppers-uk.org/about-us/
As described on their
site,an independent charity helping law enforcement to locate
criminals and solve crimes. Anonymous information can be volunteered on
their 0800 number, 24/7, they also have ways to submit information anonymously
on-line forms and, in certain situation they will also offer rewards.
At http://gameoffraud.crimestoppers-uk.org/
they also list and explain various types of fraud, from
courier and advanced fee fraud, to bogus trader and social engineering fraud,
that it is possible to fall victim to.
Neighbourhood Watch =
http://www.ourwatch.org.uk/
The national network
of local neighbourhood watch schemes
Can enter a postcode
here to find details of the local neighbourhood watch scheme and also offers
assorted crime prevention and safety advice.
Action Fraud: 0300
123 2040 = http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/
Action Fraud is the UK's national
fraud and internet crime reporting centre
From its home page: ‘We
provide a central point of contact for information about fraud and financially
motivated internet crime. If you've been scammed, ripped off or conned, there
is something you can do about it. Report fraud to us and receive a police crime
reference number.’ The site presents alternative contact mechanisms, assorted
advice and claims the service is used by: individuals’ police offices;
charities; small businesses and large corporations.
Get Safe Online =
getsafeonline.org
This is a free
service to individuals and businesses about online safety, including security
alerts and specific advice for smartphones, tablets, social media, shopping,
banking, payments and so on.
Child security:
Child Exploitation
and Online Protection Centre = http://ceop.police.uk
CEOP’s advice help
and report centre = http://ceop.police.uk/safety-centre/
National Society for
the Prevention of Cruelty to Children = www.nspcc.org.uk
If worried about a
child can call their free 24/7 NSPCC helpline to speak to a trained counsellor
at 0808 800 5000
Also provide a
dedicated 24/7 helpline on FGM at 0800 028 3550
Animal security
Royal Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals: www.rspca.org.uk
The RSPCA’s 24-hour
cruelty hotline is 0300 1234 999
The site also offers
a reporting cruelty checklist and an online forms for reporting either cruelty
or an injured animal that needs help.
Vulnerable adults
If there is any
imminent danger, do not hold back from dialling 999 and if or potential
criminal acts against a person are suspected, use the non-emergency number 101.
Unfortunately, if you
suspect non-criminal harm being experienced by a vulnerable adult, there is no
national support mechanism along the lines of the NSPCC or RSPCA. Age Concern
at www.ageuk.org.uk is more of an advocacy
organisation, although their advice line at 0800 169 6565 may be useful.
As the Social Care Institute for Excellence
observes: ‘At present there is no adult protection legislation in the UK
although the Department of Health policy document No Secrets* offers guidance
to social services departments to help protect 'vulnerable adults' at risk of
abuse by developing multi-agency policies and procedures.’ .
Given the UK’s aging
population there appears to be a yawning gap in the legislation here. Whilst
this may not be regarded as a security and crime prevention and more of a
safety issue, this is only because there is no specific legislation in place.
For those concerned
about vulnerable adults, the link to the full 42 page No Secrets document referred to above is
here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/no-secrets-guidance-on-protecting-vulnerable-adults-in-care
This may at least
provide some insight into what can be expected from cash-strapped and otherwise
distracted local authorities, as, for now, these represent the front-line of
care for vulnerable adults. If you are not sure of which local authority social
services department should be ensuring at least some oversight for the care of
a vulnerable person, you can look it up here: https://www.gov.uk/find-your-local-council
Closing notes:
As expected, this
first foray revealed several useful links that
will be added to and refined later.
To come includes an
array of safety-related sites plus additional generic security and safety
advice.
In due course all
such gathered material will be reorganised into a series of easy to search
reference pages, supported by this blog-stream as an update and security and safety
news blog.
Suggestions on useful
information to present and how it might be best presented for the benefit of
all are welcome: and it is anticipated that, in future, reference pages will
be much less wordy or opinionated.
Thank you.
