Neighbourhood Watch

What is Neighbourhood Watch?

Neighbourhood Watch was introduced by the Conservative Government in 1983. The principle is that a co-ordinator acts as a link between the residents of his or her street and the local police Safer Neighbourhood Team (SNT), feeding back details of any criminal activity in the area to residents and reporting any suspicious activity to the SNT.

Figures from the USA, where the scheme was developed, show that Neighbourhood Watch schemes can significantly reduce crime as well as helping to develop a sense of community in urban areas.

If people are concerned about crime in the area, a local resident can help do something about it. We can help them get started by putting them in contact with their local SNT.

The potential co-ordinator, in conjunction with the local SNT, should write to everyone in their road asking whether there is support for setting up a scheme. Alternatively, deliver a crime survey with a question to gauge the level of support. If at least 20 per cent of people are interested, the co-ordinator should organise a start-up meeting, which the SNT should be more than happy to attend.

The start-up meeting is a good way of bringing people together and introducing them to their neighbours. The meeting should be held in the co-ordinator’s home or a church/school hall (most churches and schools will loan their halls for free as a goodwill gesture). It is a good idea to follow up the letter by knocking on people’s doors a couple of days before the meeting to remind people to attend. At the meeting the SNT can give details of when it is appropriate to dial 999, when residents should phone the local police station and when to call the SNT team. They can also give crime prevention tips - for instance, marking items so they can be tracked down if they are stolen and how to keep your home secure. At the end of the meeting, the co-ordinator should collect e-mail addresses from everyone. These can be used to send out a Neighbourhood Watch newsletter after each meeting for those who are unable to attend.

The co-ordinator should plan a second meeting about six weeks after the start-up meeting and further meetings every six months or so. As well as reporting suspicious activity, you might like to campaign for improvements to the area that will help to reduce crime.

Neighbourhood events

Once several schemes in an area are up and running, it is a good idea to hold a Neighbourhood Event. This is similar to a Neighbourhood Watch meeting but on a bigger scale. Try to find a sponsor for the food and drinks - for example a local estate agent who would like to be associated with helping to crack down on crime locally.

A Neighbourhood Event is usually held at a bar or restaurant and brings together Neighbourhood Watch coordinators, the local police, local businesses and those who might be interested to help start schemes locally - existing co-ordinators can inspire prospective co-ordinators to start new schemes. Street parties can be very successful in the summer with several schemes from adjoining streets combining.

These are a brand new idea. There is often a lot of anti-social behaviour in parks, which discourages many people from using their local park. A residential road adjacent to a park can be helped to start up a Park Watch to help crack down on crime.

Co-ordinators should lobby the SNT to put Neighbourhood Watch street signs up in the roads where there are schemes - it is a proven fact that signs, combined with window stickers, available from the Home Office on 020 7035 4848 (select the ‘publications’ option), really do deter potential criminals.

It is a good idea for co-ordinators to invite a friend from the next road to their next Neighbourhood Watch meeting as it might inspire them to start up their own scheme.

Find out through your local police station whether there is a local Neighbourhood Watch Association, linking up all the co-ordinators in a council area.

Cllr David Renard said "We are happy to assist any local residents who would like to set up a scheme in their area. Just let us know and we will also liaise with the Police.''