A Neighbourhood Watch (scheme or area) Coordinator is a volunteer who oversees their local Neighbourhood Watch scheme or groups of schemes in their area.  To become a Coordinator, you need to apply to start a scheme, through our joining pages, and your Force Area Association or area representative will contact you to complete the registration of your scheme.  

What does a scheme/group Coordinator do?

While Neighbourhood Watch schemes come in all sorts of shapes and sizes and the reasons for starting schemes may differ, the below are the activities that most scheme coordinators undertake:   

  • Contact their neighbours in their scheme area to invite them to join.
  • Ensure their scheme is registered on our website and their membership and scheme information is kept up to date.
  • Encourage members to also sign up to the scheme on the website, however if they are unable to do this, make sure that ALL members are supported, irrespective of how they joined the scheme.
  • Act as a point of contact with residents, their local policing team, other local coordinators and partners to receive and cascade information relevant to their scheme members.
  • Get to know their neighbours, particularly those who are vulnerable or isolated, and ensure information reaches them through their preferred method of communication.
  • Signpost their members with community safety concerns to the most appropriate organisation.
  • Encourage their members to report suspicious incidents and / or criminal or anti-social behaviour to the police or local authority.
  • Promote personal responsibility for community safety by sharing crime reduction information and encouraging members to improve their home, on-line and personal security.
  • Promote neighbourliness by encouraging members to keep an eye on each other’s homes and possessions, giving special consideration to supporting vulnerable neighbours.
  • Support their local police and other agencies to identify local issues and solve problems where there are community concerns.

As a scheme Coordinator, you may wish to do more and arrange events or other local activities to bring your neighbours together and help tackle local issues of concern to them. How much more you do is dependent upon the time and commitment you are prepared to give.  

 

Want to start a social media based scheme/group?

We know that some people wish to start a Neighbourhood Watch group/scheme using social media.  Although this is a great way of communicating and increasing the reach and presence of Neighbourhood Watch, we would like to advise you of what you need to do to be an officially recognised group.

  • The group must be registered on our membership system (go to Join Us or Logon to get started)
  • The link for the social media page must be placed in the website address section on the scheme registration page
  • The social media group is only authorised to use the logo and/or the name of Neighbourhood Watch once their scheme has been approved.

What does an Area Coordinator do?

An Area Coordinator is a person who supports a range of schemes in their area.  Their main role is to connect with local Coordinators, support them in their role, connect them together with each other and help develop relationships with police and stakeholders.

It is a rewarding role and Area Coordinators are very important to helping local Coordinators feel better connected and engaged.  They help develop local plans to help tackle crime and to build community wellbeing.

Area Coordinator Guide

What support can you expect from us?

You can expect various kinds of support in your role as a Coordinator, in a national, regional and local  way.

From us at the Neighbourhood Watch Network you will receive:

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  • FREE New Coordinator Guide (PDF Format in English and Welsh) to help you access key areas of support and understand your role
  • Monthly eNewsletter with lots of useful information and top tips to develop your scheme/group
  • Bespoke Volunteers News e-newsletter (bi-monthly) with support and information just for you
  • Opportunities to attend training workshops to develop skills and interact with fellow volunteers
  • Access to our dedicated Knowledge Hub and Forums to provide guidance, development, support and induction
  • Get involved with our focus groups - our way of listening to your views
  • Apply for our Community Grants Funding to help your scheme grow.

 

From your Force Area Associations or District Associations, you should receive:

  • Welcome and introduction from regional representatives
  • Localised training
  • Support

  • Opportunities to be involved with local events

     

What is the process to become a Coordinator?

The role of a Coordinator is one of responsibility and you would be representing Neighbourhood Watch in your local community.  Therefore you need to apply for the role.  It is a very simple process -

  1. Look on our Postcode search if there is already a scheme in the area where you would like to start one
    1. If there is already a scheme, maybe you would like to join that scheme and support the local coordinator,
      1. To to this go to ourwatch.org.uk/join and join as a member, click on SCHEME ADMIN and select the scheme that you wish to join and click on Apply to join scheme - this will then send a message to the Coordinator, informing them that someone would like to join their scheme.
  2. Join Neighbourhood Watch ourwatch.org.uk/join
  3. Apply to start a scheme - to do this go to MANAGE SCHEME in your member area and click on APPLY TO START A SCHEME - once you have completed this, a representative of the Association will contact you to complete the process.  In some areas, this may involve further checks being made.