East Cambridgeshire District Council

What is Neighbourhood Watch?

Neighbourhood Watch is a scheme set up in a street - or even an entire village - that aims to reduce crime and address other community problems. Each member of a scheme is asked to take care of their property, keep an eye on their area, looking out for anyone or any thing that is out of place, and reporting this to neighbours and where necessary, the Police. Crime information is also passed from the Police to Neighbourhood Watch Scheme Co-ordinators, who then pass these messages to the scheme members for the appropriate action to be taken.

The East Cambridgeshire Neighbourhood Watch Assocation covers East Cambridgeshire District. It encourages the setting up of Neighbourhood Watch Schemes and assists the police in distributing information to the schemes. The Association is run by the co-ordinators of the various schemes throughout the District and holds regular meetings within the Council Chamber at Ely. All members of the schemes are invited and encouraged to attend. The chairman is Mr Philip Ingamells and the secretary is:

Mr Kevin Evans
11 King Edgar Close
Ely
CB6 1DP
Tel: 01353 614892

Neighbourhood Watch information can be obtained from your local Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) who can be contacted on 0845 4564564, or from Kevin Evans (details above).

Alternatively information can be obtained from the national Neighbourhood Watch web site: http://www.mynhw.co.uk and from the East Cambs Neighbourhood Watch Assocation web site: http://eastcambsnhw.googlepages.com/home

How to set up a New Neighbourhood Watch Scheme

Step One

Obtain information from one of the contacts given above and/or review the information provided on the web sites.

Step Two

Talk to your neighbours and friends about setting up a Neighbourhood Watch Scheme. Ths should help you work out if a scheme is needed and can be made to work in your Neighbourhood.

Step Three

Arrange a meeting with your PCSO to discuss your views and those of your neighbours. If you have any difficulty contacting your PCSO, contact Kevin Evans (details above).

Step Four

Arrange a launch meeting calling all the interested parties together to ensure that those that become members know what to expect from the scheme and how it works. This will also provide a good opportunity for your PCSO to meet your neighbours.

Step Five

Confirm who is to be the scheme co-ordinator. This in most cases will be the person who made the initial enquiry. Also request the help of a deputy co-ordinator to assist the scheme co-ordinator. Register the scheme with your local PCSO. Street signs can be obtained from your local PCSO, who will be able to tell you the cost of the signs (typically £15 each). Door and window stickers will be provided free of charge, together with Crime Prevention literature at the time of your scheme's launch meeting.