Home watch scheme

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 can cut crime and the opportunities for crime. It can help and reassure those who live in the area and encourage neighbourliness and closer communities.

 Neighborhood 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 neighbors are keeping an eye on your property.

There are other benefits to neighborhood 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 neighborhood watch scheme offers might even mean that you can get a premium discount from your insurance company.

Neighborhood 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 volunteer coordinator whose job is to get people working together and make sure things get done generally leads a scheme. As well as the coordinator, 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. 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 Neighborhood Watch activity has focused on the immediate vicinity of homes, with members looking out for anything suspicious, or helping their neighbors 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-organized 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.

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.

We can tackle this problem by forming protective ‘cocoons’ around burgled homes. Immediate neighbors 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 important things to do are to respond fast, get all neighbors who overlook the burgled property to help and be extra vigilant for a few weeks.

But to be truly effective against crime, there is need for 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 coordinators. 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.

It is essential that residents should come together to clear undergrowth, which could be used to provide cover for people engaged in criminal activities. They should also clear rubbish where it has built up and erect fences in certain areas to improve security.

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.