WITH warmer weather and lighter evenings, Waverley police officers are urging residents to remember the basics – and not to make things too easy for crooks.

While the better weather is a good crime prevention tool, according to Sergeant Andy Crane – who is part of the specialist neighbourhood team for Waverley – home owners’ behaviour changes, such as opening windows and forgetting to close them.

He believes remembering the basics will keep people and their property safe.

This also applies to vehicles, with borough commander Inspector Gary Smith confirming there had been several incidents where people had made it too easy for thieves .

The officers are now encouraging residents to “check the handle” when leaving a vehicle and not to leave any valuable items on display.

Elsewhere in the town, a dispersal order put in place in the area around South Street during February half term was so successful it was decided another order did not need to be put in place during the Easter school holidays.

Inspector Smith told the Herald the force had seen a drop in the number of anti-

social behaviour reports across the borough.

But he was “very much aware” it was still a focus for a lot of people.

He said: “Surrey Police is working with partner agencies to try to stop anti-social behaviour before it starts, by providing outlets for those who would otherwise go about committing anti-social behaviour.

“The suggestion of putting a dispersal order on a more regular basis is something we discussed at joint action groups, which occur with partner agencies.

“It is one of the options available to us and at the moment there isn’t a need for it.”

Police officers have also been hosting knife crime talks in schools, including at All Hallows Catholic School in Farnham.

It comes as part of Inspector Smith’s plans to improve police engagement in the community.

Talks have taken place with teenagers aged around 15 and 16, but the inspector was keen to emphasise this was because of the age group rather than there being a problem with knife crime in the area.

He said: “It is something we’re raising awareness of across the board.

“It’s not that it’s a problem here – it’s because we don’t want it to become a problem.”

Inspector Smith confirmed knife crime within Waverley was “one of the three least-reported crime types”.

“But that doesn’t mean we are complacent,” he added.