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Neighbourhood Watch

A local neighbourhood watch is a group of like-minded neighbours getting together to help reduce crime and make their community safer.

The aims of Neighbourhood Watch are:

To prevent crime by improving security, increasing vigilance and maintaining a caring community.

To assist the police in detecting crime by encouraging prompt reporting of criminal or suspicious activity.

To reduce undue fear of crime by providing accurate information about risks and by promoting a sense of security and community spirit.

To improve communication between police and the community.

How Neighbourhood Watch works

Schemes are run by their members and led by a resident volunteer co-ordinator, whose job it is to get people working together and make sure things get done.

The co-ordinator liaises with the police and acts as a voice for the community. Some schemes also have a committee that meets regularly to plan which problems to target and what actions to take.

Schemes are supported by the police, the local authority and their local Neighbourhood Watch associations.

Neighbourhood Watch schemes vary in size – they can be large, covering most of the houses on an estate, or they may involve just a few houses.

To find your local scheme please visit https://www.ourwatch.org.uk/get-involved/find-my-local-neighbourhood-watch/find-my-local-scheme

Devon and Cornwall Community Watch Association

‘Protecting our homes and our possessions is our responsibility. We are responsible for making sure we and our family are safe. Neighbourhood Watch can give us the knowledge and skills to be aware of, and avoid, the dangers. Being part of the problem solving process is very satisfying. That is why for me 20 years on I am still as passionate about Neighbourhood Watch as I was when I started.’

Julie Dowton

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