Neighbourhood Watch schemes involve the police, Community Safety departments of local authorities, voluntary organisations, individuals and families who want to make their neighbourhoods better places to live. It aims to help people protect themselves and their properties and to reduce the fear of crime by means of improved home security, greater vigilance, accurate reporting of suspicious incidents to the police and by fostering a community spirit.
Everyone in the community has the responsibility for preventing crime. Neighbourhood Watch aims to foster a strong and positive working relationship with the police locally, regionally and nationally. Residents and the police support each other helping to create an environment where opportunities for crime are reduced.
The individual members make any scheme successful. Neighbourhood Watch is owned by its members and not by the police. A Coordinator who is able to pass on their enthusiasm to their members is more likely to have an active, successful scheme. It is important to recognise, however, that work should be shared between scheme members and this will help members to feel that they have a role to play.
The aims of the neighbourhood watch
The aim of the Neighbourhood Watch Network is to bring neighbours together to create strong, friendly, active communities where crime and anti-social behaviour are less likely to happen.
Neighbourhood Watch is about making sure that fewer people feel afraid, vulnerable or isolated in the place where they live.
Objectives for neighbourhood watch
The principal objectives of Neighbourhood Watch are to:
- Reduce crime and the opportunities for crime in Tameside.
- Help reassure those residents who live in fear of crime.
- Encourage neighbourliness and a sense of community spirit.
- Improve levels of communication between Police, Tameside council and residents.
Neighbourhood watch coordinators role
As a Neighbourhood Watch Coordinator, your role is to:
- Contact households in their chosen scheme area to invite and support them to become members.
- Act as a key point of contact to receive and cascade information between scheme members, other local coordinators and partners, where relevant.
- Manage scheme administration, ensuring scheme and membership information is registered in line with local policy and kept up-to-date.
- Signpost members with community safety issues to the most appropriate organisation.
- Encourage reporting of suspicious and/or criminal incidents to the police.
- Promote personal responsibility for community safety by encouraging members to improve home and personal security Promote neighbourliness by encouraging members to share crime reduction information and keep an eye on each other’s homes and possessions including considering vulnerable neighbours.
- Support police and other agencies to identify local issues and solve problems where there are community concerns.
- A scheme must have a Coordinator to be recognised by the police.
- As a Neighbourhood Watch Coordinator or member, you are not expected to become a vigilante group, patrol the streets, or put yourself in any danger. You are not a replacement police service. Your members can contact you to inform you about incidents when appropriate but they should always contact the police in an emergency situation. You can get help and advice from your local Neighbourhood Police team, your area contact or Local Association will help to set up a meeting with them if required.
- If you can no longer continue as the Coordinator, you must inform your area contact, Local Association and the police. You should encourage someone from within your scheme to take over if possible. If this is not possible, your scheme will no longer be officially registered and members may compromise their insurance if they received a discount because they belonged to a scheme.
Neighbourhood watch members’ role
Neighbourhood Watch members are required to be alert. They are the eyes and ears of the police.
Members are asked to:
- Support the Neighbourhood Watch Coordinator.
- Report suspicious and/or criminal incidents to the police.
- Take personal responsibility for community safety by taking steps to improve your home and personal security (and share safety and security information to your friends and family).
- Be a good neighbour (share crime reduction information and keep an eye on each other’s homes and possessions (including considering vulnerable neighbours).
- Support police and other agencies to identify local issues and solve problems where there are community concerns.
Don’t
- Go out patrolling the streets.
- Be a vigilante group.
- Put yourself in any danger.
How to set up
If you want to set up a scheme in your area, there are no hard and fast rules about the size of your scheme. We have schemes in Tameside as small as 8 properties and other schemes with over 1000 homes involved. It all depends on how as a co-ordinator you wish to proceed. As a co-ordinator, you also need to decide on the geography of your scheme. This may be just your street or the whole neighbourhood but this may also depend on the levels of interest.
You can also have more than one co-ordinator if you wish. We have some schemes where several streets are included and there is a co-ordinator for each street.
If you are interested, please contact us. We will pass your details to the Tameside borough Co-ordinator lead who will meet with you to advise/support and answer any queries you may have.
Following your meeting, the first job would be to see if there is sufficient interest in your area. Your Community Safety Team at Tameside Council can provide calling cards if you wish to deliver in your area. Please just complete our contact form and we will arrange for you.
Existing Schemes
If you are an existing scheme in Tameside and have not yet registered with us, please go to our registration documents to complete and we will be in touch with you.
All Schemes
All schemes, existing and new should also register with Our watch, the Neighbourhood Watch Network at www.ourwatch.org.uk