We are incredibly proud of our journey through the past 40 years and equally excited about our future. Scroll down to learn more about our past, present and future or click here for an interactive experience.
Past
Our journey
1995 - Volunteers are recognised for community service
Neighbourhood Watch gains public recognition with several Neighbourhood Watch volunteers over the years receiving national BEM, MBE and OBE Awards; such as Colleen Atkins in 1995, Jim Madden in 2012, Maureen West (pictured) and John Hallows in 2016, and Derek Pratt in 2020.
2004 - Neighbourhood Watch groups are supported with insurance
The Home Office supports us by providing insurance to Neighbourhood Watch groups. Neighbourhood and Home Watch Network take over providing insurance in 2012. This helps the movement to establish independence.
2010 - Neighbourhood Watch provide a scheme management and messaging database
Neighbourhood Watch joins Neighbourhood Alert, provided by VISAV, to provide a core database for our members to manage their schemes. The database is also a community messaging service for many police forces, Neighbourhood Watch and other national organisations such as Action Fraud to give relevant crime and safety messages. In 2022, we are proud to work closely with VISAV in upgrading Neighbourhood Alert to version 4 ensuring its functionality meets the needs of our members.
2018 - Communities that Care fraud prevention programme launches
The Communities that Care programme is co-developed with older people and Neighbourhood Watch Coordinators. It harnesses the power of communities to help older people protect themselves from fraud. A pilot programme is launched in Aylesbury, Thames Valley, funded by The Social Change Agency,. In the following years, it expands to Coordinators across England and Wales. It becomes a fully evaluated and evidenced programme of victim support.
2018 - Crime prevention toolkits created for volunteers
We create online toolkits to help our volunteers share crime prevention advice with their communities. Topics include burglary, child sexual exploitation, domestic abuse, scams and serious violence.
2019 - Groups are recognised for community service
Our volunteers continue to receive national recognition. The Queens Award for Voluntary Service was awarded to HertsWatch in 2018 for their huge contribution to creating safer communities; and to Wycombe District Neighbourhood Watch Association in 2019 for their hard work in supporting those affected by scams and fraud.
Present
2020 - The National Lottery Community Fund grants us funding
A grant from the National Lottery Community Fund supports our response to the Covid crisis. It helps us recruit a temporary Volunteer Development Manager. This allows us to increase our volunteer support and training programme.
2021 - Neighbourhood Watch Community Grants Fund launches
After a successful pilot, we launch our bi-annual Neighbourhood Watch Community Grants Fund. This provides small grants for new, innovative work by our volunteers.
2021 - Knowledge Hub launches
We launch the Knowledge Hub – a platform providing ongoing peer-to-peer support to our volunteers. It’s funded by the National Lottery Community Fund.
Future
2022 - National Member, Volunteer and Coordinator Welcome Packs to launch
New Member, Volunteer and Coordinator Welcome Packs will launch. They will provide a warm welcome and guidance to new members and volunteers who join us through our website.
2023 - Creating new crime prevention toolkits
We’ll expand our crime prevention toolkits to cover more crime types. We’ll also publish them in easy-to-use and accessible formats.
2023 - Volunteer Recognition Awards 2023
Our Volunteer Recognition Awards will focus on the activities and achievements of our volunteers in their communities. Awards will include:
- Crime Prevention Volunteer of the Year
- Community Health and Wellbeing Volunteer of the Year
- Young Volunteer of the Year.