Well honesty always used to be the best policy. Such being my scruple must have missed out on many a bargain, even failing to dispute the alleged entitlement of others to this or that, whose alleged title one has every reason to suspect is unjustifiably claimed.

However one does need to draw the line somewhere, so when yesterday offered a brand new boxed £450 watch ‘for say £50’, not by a spiv, but by a very plausible chap in a top of the range saloon car, I in a flash, well the next day, attempted to report the Incident to ‘Crime Stoppers’ doing so in the belief that one was anonymously advising the Police, that one suspected that there might have been a ‘Con Artist’ operating in a Salisbury Retailer’s Car Park.

Apparently not, for unbeknown to me Crime Stoppers is a Charity operated ‘Without’ the Police Service, which when phoned showed not the slightest interest in the tale I had to tell, suggesting that as I was a witness, the matter needed to be reported to the Police, which of course was what I mistakenly thought I was doing anonymously. As seemingly Crime Stoppers wasn’t there to field the report I made to them, I queried which its function was, answer came there none, nor could my query be passed on for another to answer. When I advised that I’d pose the query on one of my ‘Blogs’ the lady put the phone down on me.

Well does anyone know if Crime Stoppers is of any use? One reads in our Community Magazine the Police advise

‘For complete anonymity, ring Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111’.

Being a caring sort of chap, I did next report the incident to The Police on their 101 number, aware that by so doing both my name and telephone number would be automatically revealed, thereby waiving the anonymity first sought on the basis, that only three months ago I made a witness statement to the Police on another matter. I’d feared becoming ‘Known to the Police’. --------------------------