Alresford & District Neighbourhood Watch Association

BREAKING NEWS

It has been brought to our attention that there have been a number of cases in the Andover, Alton, Southampton and Eastleigh areas, of callers who are falsely purporting to be from Social Services. These incidents amount to, at least, offences of attempted burglary. There is concern that this may lead to a growing trend.

Staff or volunteers visiting older people have been asked to be conscious of wearing and showing their ID and encouraging the people they visit to request to see it. Wherever possible it has been asked that older people and others using social services are encouraged to check the identity of all callers carefully at all times.

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The Association has been operating since 1990 and covers the town of Alresford and outlying rural villages. King's Worthy and Headbourne Worthy are also part of Alresford and District Neighbourhood Watch Association, although they now receive Police cover from Winchester.The Association was the first in Hampshire to cover the whole of a town and there are now over 200 voluntary Co-ordinators responsible for households in the territory.

There is a voluntary Committee which meets with the Police quarterly and an emergency cascade system whereby urgent messages can be passed from the Police to the Committee, Co-ordinators and to individual households. Other communication is by way of regular letters and by press reports. A printed Newsletter is issued to householders several times a year, see links above. An AGM is held, which is open to the public.

The concept of Neighbourhood Watch was brought to the UK in 1982 from the United States by a group of police officers who had visited Chicago. The first scheme was set up in the village of Mollington in Cheshire in response to a spate of burglaries and was an immediate success, leading to rapid growth countrywide during the eighties.

The main aims of Neighbourhood Watch schemes are:

• To reduce opportunities for crime and make it more difficult for the would-be thief, vandal or criminal to act in their neighbourhood.
• To improve home security through property marking and appropriate security equipment
• To build up a community spirit by taking responsibility for your own safety and that of your family and neighbours.
• To work closely with the police - reporting anything suspicious and encouraging a two way flow of information.
• To reduce the fear of crime felt by so many people, especially the elderly.

Neighbourhood Watch is the largest voluntary organisation in the UK and the best known and most effective example of the community working together to prevent crime, reduce the fear of crime and improve quality of life.

Over 160,000 Neighbourhood Watch schemes now operate throughout the United Kingdom, covering up to 25% of all households.

Creating Safer Communities

Hampshire Police Safer Campaign