Neighbourhood Watch

I started my neighbourhood watch journey in 1985 when I left school and started my first job. I was aware of the scheme before this point as I had connections to Avon & Somerset Police, who were looking to support the initiative from the early 1980s.

Back then, life was simpler and intel came from the public via 'word of mouth' or via letters as very few had home telephones, there was no internet or email and compact cameras did not exist. There were no domestic CCTV systems available so it was very much about what you saw.

The concept was simple, as it is today, neighbours keeping an eye out for criminals and reporting suspicious activity to the police directly and having regular meetings with scheme members who shared information and did some activities around improving the local area like doing litter picks, mending broken fences for neighbours etc. The police came along to your meetings and from what I can remember, shared very little, but were enthusiastic and supportive, especially if you had intel for them; I later found out they were monitored on the amount of intel they submitted to their inspectors.

Over the years technology became available making real time communication possible which made the flow of information much easier. It was a struggle though for many years to get 'seasoned' NhW coordinators, some of whom  had been involved from the beginning, to adopt these new technologies and to move with the times, moving away from just reporting crime to a more holistic model of general well being for the community, whether that be crime prevention/reporting, environmental improvement, welfare/safeguarding, community cohesion and partnership working, for the good of everyone.

Todays neighbourhood watch looks very different to when it started, but its core values of crime prevention and community cohesion are the same. The national neighbourhood watch charity, the Neighbourhood Watch Network exists to promote and support Neighbourhood Watch, through its partnership working with Police forces across England and Wales, providing training and forum to share information and experiences, provide support to local NhW Associations  and individual street schemes and bringing those schemes together to form a tight network of dedicated crime prevention and community supporting groups.

Follow 'Posset Watch' which I set up as a resource for all NhW Coordinators of Portishead and surrounding villages: