Crime Reduction - Helping to Reduce Crime in Your Arrea
HOW DOES NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH WORK?
There is no set structure for Neighbourhood Watch (NHW) schemes. A scheme can be large, covering most of the houses on an estate, or it might involve just a few houses. It depends on the area and what the members want.
A scheme is generally led by a volunteer co-ordinator, whose job it is to get residents together and ensures that things get done. As well as the co-ordinator, there may be a small committee which meets regularly to plan the activites that the scheme is going to undertake. Members will be able to let the committee (or the co-ordinator) know the issues that concern them most and suggest ways to tackle these at regular meetings. By getting a picture of local crime, for example by conducting a fear of crime survey, the committee can then form an action plan to tackle the problems.
A scheme works effectively when there is a strong relationship with the local police. The co-ordinator has an important role to play in sharing information with the police about suspicious activities in his/her neighbourhood such as bogus callers, anti-social behaviour or vandalism. All Neighbourhood Watch schemes should be registered with their local police.
Similarly, the police have a role in sharing information about recent crimes in the neighbourhood so that members can stay vigilant, and have the opportunity to take appropriate precautions to avoid becoming victims themselves.
Most of the police forces in England and Wales have at least one Watch Liaison Officer, whose role is to liaise with co-ordinators and oversee the activities of local schemes.
There are often further tiers of groups or associations, at borough or county level. For example, co-ordinators from a number of street groups might form a borough level group to discuss concerns covering a wider area. These associations enable co-ordinators to share and communicate with each other over a wider area.
NHW activity has tended to focuss on the safety of the immediate vicinity of their homes, with members looking out for anything suspicious in thier street, helping each other as necessary. However, more and more schemes are broadening their work to target a range of other problems such as anti-social behaviour, vandalism and graffiti. NHW is about looking out for each other, building a community spirit and acting together as the eyes and ears of the neighbourhood and picking up on anything that could cause concern or worry. It is not about being a nosey neighbour or interfering in other people's business, but about being a good neighbour and caring for your community.
REGIONAL & NATIONAL STRUCTURE
The Neighbourhood & Home Watch Network, England and Wales (NHWN) established a new structure to represent NHW regionally and nationally to help provide cohesion and consistency, aid communication and act as a representative voice for Neighbourhood Watch to Government.
Schemes all around the country are now represented by 10 Regional volunteers, who sit on the Neighbourhood and Home Watch Network (NHWN), a democratically elected, representative body of Neighbourhood Watch volunteers. In addtion to this, there are a number of regional police representatives who form the National Police Steering Group for Watch Issues (NPSGWI) and this body is represented on the National Strategy Group for Watch Issues (NSGWI). The NSGWI meets four times a year.
National Neighbourhood Watch structure organogram.
OTHER WATCH SCHEMES
The success of Neighbourhood Watch has led to the setting up of a variety of other ‘Watch' schemes based on the same NHW principles, operating in various locations and dealing with many different issues.
Like NHW, the purpose of these schemes is to reduce the opportunities for crime, to build community spirit and to work closely with the police and other agencies. Examples of schemes in the Wider Watch Movement include:
- School Watch
- Hospital Watch
- Farm Watch
- Boat Watch
- Business Watch
- Pub Watch
- Shop Watch
- Shed Watch
- Church Watch
- Forecourt Watch
- Horse Watch
- Bicycle Watch