Marine Crime Update - Posted on May 5th 2010

Good News. Four men, two from Chichester and two from Leigh Park were arrested and charged last year mainly due to information supplied by Dell Quay and Langstone S.C's. They were banned from the harbour whilst on bail. There was a small increase in the reported incidents in Chichester Harbour however it was much lower than in Portsmouth Harbour. We are asked to be vigilant in the event that an Eastern European gang who target 70 to 350hp outboards begin to operate in our area. They mainly steal Suzukis and Yamahas which are quickly despatched to Lithuania. Any sighting of vehicles with Eastern European number plates in the vicinity of the harbour should be reported to the police and harbour office immediately. Make sure that you are able to give equipment serial numbers if you have the misfortune to be targeted by thieves. Recently a suspect fisherman's vehicle was stopped and was found to have seven outboards in the back. There was no prosecution as the serial numbers could not be traced to any reported thefts. So make sure you report to the local police 0845 045 45 45, get an incident number and also to the Chichester Harbour office 01243 512301 quickly. Reporting of suspicious circumstances results in the location being added to police patrols, but no report – no patrol. You are reminded to ensure your name and post code are engraved on your valuable equipment. The harbour office is willing to lend their equipment to do this (contact Roger Young). Finally, let’s do all we can to deter thieving from our vessels, dinghy parks and our club.