Neighbourhood Watch
OVER 70,000 Hertfordshire
households are signed up to watch schemes across the county and
there are over 10,000 active watches. There's also over
10,000 businesses and residents signed up to other schemes such as
Business Watch, Dog Watch and Rural Watch.
Hertfordshire Constabulary actively
supports these Neighbourhood Watch schemes which, together with
police, make Hertfordshire a more hostile environment for
criminals and a safe place for residents and businesses.
Crime is often lower where there
are active Neighbourhood Watches and there are many other benefits
including discounted home cover with some insurance companies.
As well as Neighbourhood Watch
schemes, there are a number of other watches people can join or set
up, if there isn’t already one in your area. These include
Horse
Watch, Rural Watch, Allotment Watch, Canal Watch, Business
Watch and Dog Watch.
David Aylett, Neighbourhood Watch
Project Officer, said:
More and more people are recognising the importance of
watches as a tool to make their communities even safer by working
together, while also helping the police be better informed to beat
criminals. We are indebted to our volunteer residents for their
support in this.
“If you were not able to make
any of the events, but would like to know more about the watch
schemes in your area or even set one up, it’s never too
late.
“You can find out more by
contacting your Safer Neighbourhood
Team or by following the links to specific watches from this
page.
Three Hertfordshire Watch projects
have been recognised for their role in crime fighting by being
given ‘best practice’ status by the Home Office.
OWL – the Online Watch Link
– has won several awards for innovation and technology,
provides effective communication between the Constabulary, Watch
scheme co-ordinators and Watch members. Members across all schemes
are kept up to date with crime prevention messages, witness appeals
and advice via free messages by phone, text messaging, fax and
email.
You can be part of this system
simply by joining an existing Watch scheme or starting a new
one. Visit 
www.owl.co.uk/herts for more.
Brenda Griffiths, Hertfordshire
Police Authority Lead Member for Neighbourhood Watch, said:
Neighbourhood Watch is a round-the-clock, all-year scheme,
but it doesn’t work without the support of residents to help make
Hertfordshire an even safer place – and the more there are, the
more effective we can be together.
“I would like to encourage
members of the public to join as soon as they can and to thank
those who have already signed up, and support this work on a
regular basis.
If you would like to join a Watch
Scheme or start one, please speak to your Safer Neighbourhood Team
- visit our Safer Neighbourhood Page and enter your
postcode to find their details.