Crime Week

 I went for a walk around the circumference of Hay this afternoon, and when I got to the car park, there was a Mobile Police Station there.

They had a table with a few leaflets on it - not many because it was windy and they didn't want them to blow away.  

It seems that it's Crime Week this week, so the Mobile Police Station has been going to a different town each day to give information to the public about scams and hate crime and rogue traders.  Tomorrow they'll be in Crickhowell.  

So I now have leaflets on several different sorts of crime to look out for.   

Gift Card Fraud apparently is someone phoning you up to tell you to buy gift cards and read out the details of them over the phone, otherwise the police will come round and arrest you!

Then there's "Is this caller genuine?" to tell people not to open their doors to strangers.

Another tells you how to spot a rogue trader.

And finally there's a booklet about what a hate crime is, and how to report hate crimes, together with a Confidential Reporting Form for people who don't want to go directly to the Police.  There was a recent incident in Hay when an Asian man was beaten up, that was reported in the Brecon and Radnor Express.  I can't find the report now, but it did result in a court case with the assailant being convicted.  There was a lot of sympathy for the man who was beaten up, in comments on the Hay Facebook page, with hopes that it wouldn't put people off from coming to live in the area, so I think most local people oppose hate crime, and would report it if they witnessed it.

And hate crime is not only about race, but covers religion, disability, age, gender and lifestyle choices (such as dressing as a Goth).