Crime Crime Prevention Advice
Welcome to Neighbourhood Watch
What is Neighbourhood Watch?
Neighbourhood Watch is one of the biggest and most successful crime prevention initiatives ever. Behind it lies a simple idea, and a central value shared by millions of people around the country:
Getting together with your neighbours to take action can cut local crime.
Everyone knows that the police are there to fight crime, but they need your help to do an effective job. Neighbourhood Watch (or Home Watch as it is known in some areas) is all about an active partnership with the police. Neighbourhood Watch schemes can:
cut crime and the opportunities for crime
help and reassure those who live in the area
encourage neighbourliness and closer communities.
A better place to live, work and play
Neighbourhood Watch is not just about reducing burglary figures - it’s about creating communities who care. It brings local people together and can make a real contribution to improving their lives. The activity of Watch members can foster a new community spirit and a belief in the community’s ability to tackle problems. At the same time, you feel secure, knowing your neighbours are keeping an eye on your property.
There are other benefits to Neighbourhood Watch schemes too. You will become familiar with crime prevention ideas which will help keep your home and belongings safe. And the extra security which belonging to a Neighbourhood Watch scheme offers might even mean that you can get a premium discount from your insurance company.
How schemes work
Neighbourhood Watch schemes can be large, covering, for example most of the households on an estate or they might involve just half a dozen houses. It depends on the area and what people living there want. A scheme is generally led by a volunteer co-ordinator whose job is to get people working together and make sure things get done. As well as the co-ordinator, there is usually a committee. Committees meet regularly to plan which problems to target and what action to take. Schemes keep in close touch with local police to share information and advice. In many areas, schemes are joining together to form County or Police Force associations that benefit from sharing experience and good practice. A model constitution (governing document) for Neighbourhood Watch schemes can be downloaded from the website www.neighbourhoodwatch.uk.com
What can Neighbourhood Watch schemes do?
A lot. They can target local crime problems and take action to prevent them. Schemes should find out from local people what most concerns them and focus on a specific problem.
These are the key steps to targeting and reducing crime and the fear of crime in an area. In consultation with your local police:
get a picture of local crime
conduct a ‘fear of crime’ survey
target crimes you can have a real impact on
identify the opportunities for crime
form an action plan to tackle the problem
block or reduce opportunities for the criminal.
Most crime is opportunist, committed on the spur of the moment, or when a car or house is left unlocked. This means there is enormous scope for reducing chances for criminals.
Traditional Neighbourhood Watch activity has focused on the immediate vicinity of homes, with members looking out for anything suspicious, or helping their neighbours as necessary. However, more and more schemes are broadening their image of their work.
Targeting local problems such as vandalism or graffiti are well within the scope of a well-organised Watch scheme. You may be able to take action yourselves, such as fitting more secure door or window locks in vulnerable homes, or you may need to get others involved. This could mean lobbying the local authority, for example, to improve the street lighting on your estate or to step up the security of a communal entrance.
Many schemes now work in partnership with other agencies like Victim Support and Help the Aged, and with local crime prevention panels to help reduce the fear of crime.
Repeat burglaries
When a home is burgled it is more likely to be burgled again than a home that hasn’t. If it does happen it is likely to be within the next few weeks. After all, a burglar has been into the home, found the weak points in its security and had a good look at the contents and layout. So stepping up the security of a burgled home straightaway can prevent a further crime.
Neighbourhood Watch schemes can tackle this problem by forming protective ‘cocoons’ around burgled homes. Immediate neighbours are asked to keep an eye on the targeted home, to be especially watchful for a few weeks and to report anything suspicious to the police. Where these cocoons have been set up following a burglary, they can have a dramatic impact in preventing another crime in the high risk period.
The key is to:
respond fast
get all neighbours who overlook the burgled property to help
be extra vigilant for a few weeks.
An active partnership with the police
Watch schemes are not police-run groups. But to be truly effective against crime, they need to plan action in co-operation with the police (or another agency such as the local authority).
It is essential to establish a close working relationship with your local police, and to share with them all information relating to crime and other incidents in your area. Many police stations have volunteer administrators who, in conjunction with the police, act as a liaison point for Watch co-ordinators. The police can provide the up to date crime figures and other information as well as expert advice, while Watch members and local authorities can contribute valuable grassroots information about the area. When you team this local knowledge with the sort statistical information can often provide, then you have a powerful basis for action against crime.
The following case shows that Neighbourhood Watch can work even for areas with a serious crime problem:
A Leeds group was initially set up in February 2001 in response to a burglary in the area. Residents worked together to offer a united front and support each other in tackling local crime.
Local people felt that Neighbourhood Watch could not only make their community a safer place to live, but also help people get to know each other and get a sense of community spirit. With help from the local Police Neighbourhood Watch Co-ordinator, the group gained support from a Local Authority community safety project. This enabled the group to come up with an action plan to create a safer community environment.
Residents came together to clear undergrowth which could be used to provide cover for people engaged in criminal activities. They also cleared rubbish where it had built up and erected fences in certain areas to improve security. Broken street lights were fixed as were security lights on properties. Street lighting is recommended by the Home Office as being an effective deterrent against crime, and it proved the case here, making the street a safer place.
Residents then turned their attention to some derelict outhouses which were a focal point for anti-social behaviour and nuisance. The group gated off the area and then organised a skip to clear the buildings of the rubbish. It was an onerous task, but everybody rolled up their sleeves and helped out. Afterwards the area looked transformed.
Young people and Neighbourhood Watch
Young people are particularly vulnerable to certain types of crime and have their own perspective on which crimes matter most. One of the most widespread means of getting involved in crime prevention is by joining or forming a youth group. Young people themselves are the driving force of these groups, but they can benefit and take their plans further with help and support from adult groups such as Neighbourhood Watch. And in turn, Neighbourhood Watch schemes get an accurate picture of youth crime in their neighbourhood and can tap into an energetic resource to tackle such problems as:
alcohol, drugs and substance misuse
personal safety
aggression and violence
car crime
vandalism and graffiti
truancy
bullying
peer group pressure
arson
burglary.
And these are some of the projects they have created to tackle them:
Example
The village of Nantyffyllon had long suffered from problems of youth nuisance, vandalism, drug dealing and rubbish dumping. The tip of the iceberg was an attack against the local school. This event prompted a group of neighbours to form a neighbourhood watch group.
The Maesteg & District Neighbourhood Watch worked closely with the local police to develop methods of combating the problems associated with local youths and as result Nantyffyllon Youth Club was set up. The first step was to find a venue. The management of the local miner’s hall allowed the use of their premises free of charge for the first month as a trial to encourage children to stay away from criminal activities. Despite concern from some members of the local community that large groups of youths congregating in one place would cause more problems, the club opened in March 1999.
With the help of local businesses, snooker and tennis tables and a music centre were brought in to attract the youngsters. After several weeks of opening, youth crime in the village fell dramatically by 75% and the local community encouraged by Maesteg & District Neighbourhood Watch started raising money to support the club.
Although adult neighbourhood watch volunteers oversee the club, a dozen of the oldest children have now taken ownership of the group’s direction. They are encouraged to help supervise the younger children’s activities and also help out with the shop.
The most remarkable achievement of Nantyffyllon Youth Club, which houses 80 children, is an understanding by the youngsters that the club exists thanks to the support of the local community. Because of this, the children decided that they would like to contribute actively to the community’s well-being so they got involved in a number of projects like painting and repairing several benches in the bus stop area, raising funds for a local child who has to travel regularly to a London Hospital for treatment, and other causes. The children have also sent a letter to the County Council Chief Executive asking for a skating park. This request generated the interest of the local community and now not only is this being built but so is an all-weather sports area at a local park.
The youngsters are currently involved in several regeneration projects, and in cleaning the riverbanks and at the same time learning about the wildlife. They are actively taken part in the community transport steering group project with the aim of obtaining grants to provide cheaper transport to the senior and disabled citizens of the village.
‘All this talk of crime makes me anxious. . .’
When you first join Neighbourhood Watch you may be given a lot of information about crime, especially in your area. This may alarm you. But remember - the risk of actually being a victim of violent crime is very small indeed.
Most crime - more than 90% - is against property, not people, and most of your security measures will be aimed at protecting your home and your belongings. Neighbourhood Watch is all about taking sensible precautions. It reassures vulnerable members of your community that you are keeping a neighbourly eye on them.
How much should I do?
It’s entirely up to you. Some people have more free time than others, and may want to take a very active role as a committee member or even co-ordinator of a local Watch scheme.
You may know something about marketing or communications, and volunteer to write and distribute newsletters, or publicise your local scheme’s activities.
You may be in business locally and know of avenues to seek sponsorship for Watch activities.
Or your part may be as simple as keeping a look out while your neighbour is on holiday, making sure there are no tell-tale signs such as milk left on a doorstep that would attract a burglar.
Everyone can do something that will really make a difference.
How can I set up a scheme?
If you are serious about getting involved in Neighbourhood Watch you will want to find out about other schemes and how they operate. Your local police will tell you if there is a scheme in your area or help you set up one of your own.
For a copy of Your Practical Guide to Crime Prevention contact the Crime Prevention Officer at your local police station, read the online version, or write to:
Home Office Publications,
PO Box 5050,
Sherwood Park,
Annesley,
Nottingham NG15 0DJ.
Telephone number 0870 241 4680
Last update: Thursday, January 18, 2007