This week I had the pleasure of meeting with representatives of Neighbourhood
Watch ahead of its 40th anniversary.
I still find it remarkable that what once started as a few local neighbours getting together
to look out for each other and prevent crime has transformed into being the largest
crime prevention and community improvement movement in the UK, covering a
whopping 2.3 million households.
Neighbourhood Watch schemes play a vitally important role in helping to reduce crime
in our communities through building networks and connecting residents with their local
policing teams. Studies have consistently shown that neighbourhood watch schemes
are valued by the community for the reassurance they provide and their effectiveness in
reducing crime. In some cases, crime has fallen by as much as 11% in areas where
neighbourhood watch schemes are active.
I was pleased to hear that Sussex has one of the largest proportion of Neighbourhood
Watch schemes in the country, with 3,300 recognised schemes covering some 100,000
households. The Sussex Neighbourhood Watch Federation— set up in 1995— regularly
acts as a discussion forum for local issues, co-ordinates local resources to prevent
crime, as well as provide advice, support and help to those that need it.
Just this week we have seen fantastic headway in crime reduction statistics. In Sussex,
residential burglary is down over 40%, theft from the person is down 32% and
neighbourhood crime is down 32.8% over the past years compared to a 21% reduction
nationally.
While it is good that our area already has a well-established Neighbourhood Watch
network, it is clear there is more we can do to better promote these schemes and further
reduce local crime. I am grateful to representatives of Neighbourhood Watch for
updating me on the important work underway locally to further expand schemes and
reduce crime. They deserve our support – I hope that more local residents will look to
get involved.
To get involved in a Neighbourhood Watch scheme in your area please visit: https://