Residents across Rushcliffe are being encouraged to join or create a Neighbourhood Watch scheme this autumn and further protect their local community from crime.
Joining or creating a scheme is free with support from Rushcliffe Borough Council(RBC) and Nottinghamshire Police and crucially it is not significantly time-consuming and you won’t be expected to attend meetings.
David Griffin from Radcliffe on Trent is one such volunteer who acts as chairman for a scheme in the village. He said: “Crime cannot flourish in a community that cares and the aim of the scheme is to protect against crime and anti-social behaviour by bringing the community together, through support and information sharing. Neighbourhood Watch is voluntary and how much or little you get involved is entirely up to you. Being a Neighbourhood Watch member is about being a good neighbour and having good neighbours, doing things like keeping an eye out for your neighbour’s property when they go on holiday, something you probably do already!”
If you are interested in finding out more about a scheme in your neighbourhood please email David davidagriffin@hotmail.co.uk or call the Council on 0115 981 9911 who can arrange a further chat.
David added: “It’s not hugely time consuming, your street can have a co-ordinator like myself who would receive relevant, local crime information and advice from the police and other public services and share it with the other residents – usually through an email or WhatsApp group. Official signs would be fixed to lamp posts in the street stating that it is a Neighbourhood Watch area, window stickers for households would also be supplied. There are many benefits to being in a scheme such as feeling more safe and less lonely and reassuring those who may be vulnerable.”
RBC’s Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Environment and Safety Cllr Rob Inglis met David, Rushcliffe Inspector Rob Lawton and RBC’s Community Safety Project Officer Judith Brown to hear more about how easy it is to set up a scheme.
Cllr Inglis said: “I would encourage communities to start a scheme, with it being ever easier to contact one another digitally, we can continue to be the eyes and ears of our neighbourhoods and play our part in helping each other lower crime.”
Inspector Lawton added: “I would encourage residents to get involved with the Neighbourhood Watch scheme, which is an invaluable tool in helping to reduce crime, particularly in our rural communities. Our neighbourhood teams in Rushcliffe have excellent contacts with existing schemes and they are another set of eyes and ears for officers. I would also encourage people to sign up to our Neighbourhood alert system on the force website. It’s a great way to stay up to date and be made aware of issues in your area.”