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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;
- 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.
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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
- 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 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 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.
Street Watch
As many as 20,000 Neighbourhood Watch schemes around
the country include Street Watch elements. This term covers many different
activities, ranging from providing transport or escort services for
elderly people, to walking a specific route regularly, keeping an
eye out for trouble and reporting it to the police. Individual Neighbourhood
Watch schemes decide for themselves if they wish to tackle the problems
in their area in this way. They then consult closely with local people
and the police.
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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 other 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 of statistical information can often provide, then you
have a powerful basis for action against crime.
The following cases show that Neighbourhood Watch
can work even for areas with a serious crime problem:
Example one
The Albany 2 Neighbourhood Watch scheme in Tyne
and Wear began in 1987. The estate was part of a new town development,
with people moving in from different areas, and not knowing their
new neighbours. There was no sense of community. The residents recognised
this, and set about organising a scheme to try to bring some confidence
and reassurance to the area. It has grown into a highly active scheme,
with a wide-ranging crime prevention role. Scheme members work with
police, local people and local authorities to pinpoint problems and
plan how to tackle them. Their achievements include:
- better street lighting
- speed bumps
- security gates installed on the estate.
These achievement are reinforced by the statistics: in 1995 there
were just five burglaries in the Albany Watch area, compared with
107 in the area as a whole.
The above examples have vital success factors in
common which help them keep on top of local crime. They both:
- improve communication between police and residents
- encourage security awareness and an effective crime response
- prompt a better community spirit with neighbours looking out for
one another.
Scheme members can also lobby the business community
to play a part. When elderly people in Albany became anxious about
a spate of muggings in the area, the Watch scheme persuaded local
businesses to organise a raffle to fund personal attack alarms for
pensioners. Apart from reducing crime, such improvements contribute
to the general quality of life in the area. It’s all about listening
to people’s needs then rounding up support locally to see what
can be done.
Neighbourhood Watch members want to know their hard
work is paying off and police can provide that evidence in the form
of crime statistics. There’s nothing more satisfying to a see
the hard evidence of a cut in crime showing up in local figures.
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National Neighbourhood
Watch Association
Schemes need never feel they are struggling alone.
There are thousands of others all around the country with good ideas
and sources of support. The National Neighbourhood Watch fund of ideas
and information for both police and co-ordinators. It can help Neighbourhood
Watch schemes to:
- exchange good ideas
- share information
- build up knowledge of best practice
- support and help one another locally
- set up local associations.
The Association is funded entirely by sponsorship.
Membership is absolutely free.
For more information contact:
John Howell
Director General
National Neighbourhood Watch Association
Schomberg House
80-82 Pall Mall
London SW1Y 5HF
Telephone 020 7772 3348
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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, such as a Youth
Action Group, or junior crime prevention panel. These are the young
person’s version of a crime prevention panel. They are usually
attached to a senior panel, or a local school, and deal with areas
of crime which are more likely to affect young people. 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 one
The Youth Action Group of a girls’ school in
Swansea decided to tackle the problems centred around the badly run
town toilets. Smashed mirrors, broken basins and abusive graffiti
all added to a sense of intimidation, and the toilets had become the
focal point of bullying so that some younger pupils were too afraid
to use them. The Youth Action Group carried out a survey to discover
why pupils were afraid, which they presented to the school head and
governors. Their action prompted the school to carry out a complete
renovation of the building, which has since remained trouble free.
Example two
Pupils in a Stafford school devised a solution to
bullying and playground disputes. The head asked every pupil and teacher
in the school to identify the person they thought had the good qualities
of listening, communication and leadership. The same 20 names kept
cropping up, and he trained them in the skills they would need to
mediate between disputing groups or individuals. They now staff an
office in the school grounds all day, and any pupil with a problem
or grievance, or anyone who is being bullied can go to the office
for help. They are solving the bullying problem by getting the two
sides together to sort it out between them.
For more information on Youth Action Groups in your
area contact the Prudential Youth Action Initiative at Crime Concern
on 01793 514 596.
Example three
Youth crime prevention doesn’t have to be confined
to Youth Action Groups. Neighbourhood Watch can also involve young
people in their own communities. 17 year old Samantha Holyman is street
co-ordinator for the Pelsall Area Neighbourhood Watch in the West
Midlands. She also writes the youth section for the local Neighbourhood
Watch Association newsletter. Samantha admits it’s the work on
the newsletter which attracted her initially, but combined with her
work experience in the community safety office of her local police
station, it’s given her an insight into crime prevention from
both the police and civilian side. Samantha also relishes the chance
to confront the prejudices some of the older Watch members may have
against young people. Involvement with such schemes also introduces
young people to networks, where they can learn more ideas and find
out about where their activity fits
into the broader scheme of things. A recent youth
crime event in the Midlands was attended by over 100 teenagers representing
schools in the area. Representatives also attended from the police,
probation service and the National Association for the Care and Resettlement
of Offenders. It’s this kind of pooling of ideas and sharing
of perspectives which encourages young people that they can contribute
something to the fight against crime.
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‘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 per cent - 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.
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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.
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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.
The National Neighbourhood Watch Association can
provide information and help. Visit the Association's web site at
www.neighbourhoodwatch.net
For a copy of Your Practical Guide to Crime Prevention
contact the Crime Prevention Officer at your local police station
or write to:
Crime Prevention Publicity
Home Office
Room 155
50 Queen Anne's Gate
London SW1H 9AT
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