Home Watch (also know as Neighbourhood Watch) involves residents coming together to create a safer and more caring community. The police have a crucial role to play in preventing crimes occuring but they cannot succeed on their own. We as an Association has signed up for free and so can you, giving you the opportunity to take precautions, reduce and to remove the fear of crime and improve communication as well as the community on the Heartsease Estate.
Home Watch in
What is Home Watch?
Home Watch (also known as Neighbourhood Watch) involves residents coming together to create a safer and more caring community. It operates through a network of schemes, which have the following characteristics:
· They are set up and organised along guidelines
agreed by the Norfolk Constabulary,
· They are run by the members and supported
by the police,
· They vary in size,
· They elect a Co-ordinator and sometimes a small
committee to manage the scheme, liaise with
the police, local organisations and other Watch
groups,
· They take steps to prevent crime, improve safety
and reduce fear in their area.
The police have a crucial role to play in preventing crimes occurring but they cannot succeed on their own. They rely on local people to share responsibility for tackling the problem.
This is where HW members can help by telling the police promptly about anything suspicious so that action can be taken to prevent a crime or detect an offender. However, residents can also do a great deal to reduce their vulnerability to crime and to reduce undue fear.
Many people, however, need advice and guidance on what to do. HW provides a way for that information to be provided. Furthermore, all these activities are more likely to be effective if communities act together. HW gives people the opportunity to get to know and help each other better. Finally, the police and local communities need to express their concerns and exchange information. HW makes such communication easier and more effective.
What makes a scheme successful?
Success depends on a number of factors. It is important that members are fully aware of the objectives of HW and the part they are expected to play. Members need to be informed about local problems to enable appropriate action to be taken. Their commitment and active support are vital and that is likely to be forthcoming if the scheme tackles issues that are of real concern to them.
There needs to be regular communication with members about scheme activities and, or course, the role of the Co-ordinator in managing the scheme is crucial. It has to be recognised that the scheme is a community initiative, which is supported by the police, but not run by them, so success depends on what the members make of it!
How are schemes set up?
If you would like a scheme in your area, contact your Area Police Station and speak to the Home Watch Administrator. There is a list of contacts with this guide.
They will be able to give you further information and can put you in touch with Co-ordinators of established schemes, so you can find out how they operate. Once you are fully informed, you will be in a good position to talk to your neighbours to see if they are also interested.
If several households are willing to participate, the police will ask you to arrange a meeting, which the HW Administrator will attend. He/she will tell you about the local crime situation, indicate what benefits HW might bring to your area, explain what membership involves and the support that the police can provide. If there is enough support and enthusiasm, a scheme can then be set up.
What does Home Watch involve?
Scheme activities vary widely and are decided by the members. At its most basic level membership involves being aware of what happens in your neighbourhood, taking simple precautions to reduce the risk of becoming a victim, being alert to anything suspicious and being prepared to take appropriate action.
More active schemes do much more than this. Their members organise awareness campaigns and practical projects. That might involve action to make homes and cars more secure; marking property to make it less attractive to criminals; co-operating with neighbours’ to keep an eye on empty homes; and creating a community in which young people are diverted away from and not towards crime. Some purchase equipment, such as marking kits and time switches; that are loaned to members.
Street signs and window stickers are displayed in HW areas. These serve both as warnings to unwelcome intruders and reminders to local residents that a scheme is in operation. Most schemes have regular meetings and some produce a newsletter to keep members informed and involved.
Home Watch Co-ordinator
The Co-ordinator is the most important person in any scheme, since it is his/her task to manage its activities and make it as effective as possible. You do not need any particular qualifications but you must have enthusiasm for making a practical contribution to safety in your community. You will need to have good communication skills and the ability to give up some of your time for this voluntary work.
Your main responsibilities would be:
· To receive and distribute to scheme members the
Ringmaster messages sent out by the Home
Watch Administrator (Ringmaster is an
computerised telephone messaging system)
· To act as spokesperson for the group
· To be the contact between the police and the
Home Watch group
· To receive information from participants. Any
relevant information could then be forwarded
to the police
· To organise Home Watch meetings, as and when
necessary
· To recruit new members
· To maintain an up-to-date master list of all members
· Distributing crime prevention material
· Producing newsletters/bulletins
· Taking part in initiatives to reduce the fear of crime
· Contacting councils about local concerns
· Responding to police requests for help
· Contacting newcomers to the neighbourhood
· Keeping account of scheme funds
· Representing the scheme at area meetings.
This all sounds rather onerous, however, the Home Watch Administrator, Police Crime Prevention Officers and your local police officers will support you. Also, there are many other experienced co-ordinators who will be able to offer advice.
Once having started a Home Watch scheme, it becomes important to maintain the enthusiasm and effectiveness of the scheme. The goal is to create an environment of community spirit where people care about their own and their neighbours' property.
Once having started a Home Watch scheme, it becomes important to maintain the enthusiasm and effectiveness of the scheme. The goal is to create an environment of community spirit where people care about their own and their neighbours' property.
If you wish, your local police will gladly visit your home watch group to talk over any topic which concerns you, it could be about child safety, personal safety tips, vehicle protection, home security or any other topics of interest to your group.
THE ROLE OF THE INDIVIDUAL MEMBER
There are many things individual members of Home Watch can do to reduce crime and the fear of crime within their neighbourhood.
There are many things individual members of Home Watch can do to reduce crime and the fear of crime within their neighbourhood.
· Your first job:
Mark valuable property with your Postcode so that it has less value to a criminal and could facilitate its return if stolen. Your Home Watch Administrator will explain how it works and provide order forms.
· Review your home security:
To identify ‘weak’ points. Get advice and then take action to remedy the situation.
· Get to know the people around you:
So that you will notice anyone or anything suspicious. If you do see something, record as many details of incident as possible and report it promptly.
· Learn about the local crime problems:
So that you can be alert to the risks. Information might be circulated in a Home Watch newsletter or parish magazine, so be sure to read them.
· Arrange for someone to look after your home when you are away:
That could include turning on lights and shutting curtains.
· Display a window sticker to publicise to unwelcome visitors that you live in a Home Watch area:
It shows that local people are working together against crime.
· Support your Co-ordinator:
In promoting local projects and other activities, which aim to prevent crime or strengthen the scheme.
None of these measures are very demanding. They aren’t restricted to only members of Home Watch. Nevertheless, Home Watch helps to get people together and makes their actions more effective.
SUPPORT FROM OUTSIDE THE SCHEME
Other bodies are interested in co-operating with and supporting Home Watch Schemes. These include Parish Councils, District Councils, Crime Prevention Panels, Tenants/Residents Associations, Voluntary Organisations and Business Groups. They share a common interest with Home Watch in the welfare and safety of local people.
We encourage all schemes therefore, to build up links with local groups and organisations to find out what each can do to help the other. They can assist in many ways, such as by providing information, sponsorship or help ‘in kind’. They may be able to help with rooms for meetings or access to photocopying facilities.
It may be helpful for Home Watch to have some form of formal link to them. A Home Watch Committee, for example, may be a sub-committee of the Parish Council. We believe that each area needs to work out what best suits the local situation.
We encourage all schemes therefore, to build up links with local groups and organisations to find out what each can do to help the other. They can assist in many ways, such as by providing information, sponsorship or help ‘in kind’. They may be able to help with rooms for meetings or access to photocopying facilities.
It may be helpful for Home Watch to have some form of formal link to them. A Home Watch Committee, for example, may be a sub-committee of the Parish Council. We believe that each area needs to work out what best suits the local situation.
NEXT STEP
The Norfolk Constabulary believes that Home Watch can bring important benefits to local communities. We would like to see a scheme set up in your neighbourhood. However, two important points need to be emphasised.
First, it must be realised that setting up a scheme will not in it self prevent crime. Success depends on what follows as a result of the scheme being formed. Home Watch is only worthwhile, therefore, if you are prepared to do something to make your neighbourhood safer. That might involve keeping an eye on your neighbour’s home when it is empty or helping to organise an event to promote awareness of the need for security.
Secondly, although the police provide support and encouragement for Home Watch, they do not run the schemes. Community initiatives are organised and run by local people.
The success of Home Watch depends on the interest and involvement of its members. Our requirement is for local residents on having considered what we have to say, to be in favour.
If your neighbours are willing to participate, a scheme can be set up almost immediately, just inform your local Area Home Watch Administrator, whose phone numbers can be found in the Contact list at the rear of this booklet, and he/she will set the scheme in motion.
First, it must be realised that setting up a scheme will not in it self prevent crime. Success depends on what follows as a result of the scheme being formed. Home Watch is only worthwhile, therefore, if you are prepared to do something to make your neighbourhood safer. That might involve keeping an eye on your neighbour’s home when it is empty or helping to organise an event to promote awareness of the need for security.
Secondly, although the police provide support and encouragement for Home Watch, they do not run the schemes. Community initiatives are organised and run by local people.
The success of Home Watch depends on the interest and involvement of its members. Our requirement is for local residents on having considered what we have to say, to be in favour.
If your neighbours are willing to participate, a scheme can be set up almost immediately, just inform your local Area Home Watch Administrator, whose phone numbers can be found in the Contact list at the rear of this booklet, and he/she will set the scheme in motion.