Author: Johanna Kaschke

Service up-date

We are very pleased and excited to inform you about an important change in our service provision.

The Tower Hamlets Neighbourhood Watch Association (THNWA) will be servicing both Ourwatch and OWL registered users for Neighbourhood Watch.

We are all Neighbours.

Wherever you are registered on either service or both, you are able to join the Tower Hamlets Neighbourhood Watch Association as member with full voting rights by completing this form.

There are differences in both Neighbourhood Watch systems, but it is entirely your choice, which one you use and feel comfortable with. A lot of people use both.

Important differences:

OurwatchOWL
Neighbourhood Watch Network, serviced by Neighbourhood Alert, VISAVMet Police, serviced by Direct Path
In Tower Hamlets Police do not use the systemIn Tower Hamlets Police use the system
Service users nationwide 3 1/2 Millionused by ca 12 local councils with probably 100.000 users
Create Neighbourhood Watch schemes by creating a map of the area of your choice, this can be several blocks, a street or one tower block for exampleYou must join the Watch scheme available within your post code if there is one
your mapped scheme can be found and joined by locals onlinethere is no mapped scheme to view online, your registration allocates you to a local post code restricted scheme
unlimited cloud storage and ability to send and receive emails to/from members who can join even from a wider arearestricted communications ability to within local area only
National crime prevention alerts sent by users like Action Fraud, Get Safe Online, Ourwatch, Police crime alerts often within the local SNT Ward newsletter
Volunteer run system monitored by the National Neighbourhood Watch NetworkPolice run system monitored by Tower Hamlets Police
users can join our BCU Police messages WhatsApp GroupUsers can join our BCU Police message WhatsApp group

Whichever system you choose for running your local Neighbourhood Watch, you will be entitled to use our Street watch signs, to be attached to lamp posts. To be accepted as watch coordinator follow the steps as described here.

Our street watch signs, size 400 x 600 mm kindly donated by Tower Hamlets Council. You will only be able to get these signs through us.
Island Gardens Community meeting

Island Gardens Community meeting

Local residents and area users are cordially invited to our Come and talk event.

Venue is

Island Point, Sark Mews Community Hall, Westferry Road, London E14 3PW

Date, Time: Monday, 20. February 2023 from 6pm – 7:30pm

We’ve invited Councillors and local SNT Police officers.

Meet your local coordinator Syed Shofor Ali.

contact us for queries about this event

Could you engage with community safety as trustee?

Community Safety is a big priority in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.

We are here as dedicated Tower Hamlets Neighbourhood Watch Association to play a very important integral part that connects the community with our partners’ desire to make the borough safer.

Our borough is very diverse and includes a range of residents from the very poor to the very rich.

Population density

Tower Hamlets covers an area of 20 square kilometres (8 square miles) and has a population density of 16,778 people per square kilometre (km 2), based on the latest population estimates taken in mid-2020. That figure has increased by 3,839 people per km 2 over the past decade. Compared to England’s figures.

Borough

Tower Hamlets is divided into 20 Wards, which are called SNT wards for police and local democratic purposes. See the Councillors and Tower Hamlets police details, as well as our charity legal framework here.

We are especially keen to involve people who know luxury and/or the social housing service providers and can help make Neighbourhood Watch a key ingredient in every housing development. Furthermore we must increase diversity representation.

Our charity

According to our constitution our objects are

Objects
The Objects of the CIO are
a. “The promotion of good citizenship and the efficiency of the police across the London Borough of Tower Hamlets by:
i. Enabling public participation in the prevention and detection of crime.
ii. Promoting public support for the work of the police service and other partners in the protection of people and property from, and the prevention of, crime.”


Our Charity is steered by trustees who oversea our functionality and effectiveness. We need you if you

wish to get involved and care as described in our charity engagement document shown on our Trustee page. This is a voluntary role.

Getting involved

Ideally you reside in Tower Hamlets and join Neighbourhood Watch as a resident, business or service provider, person of influence.

Borough commander news

Borough commander news

I want to express a thank you to our former BCU Commander Mr Mike Hamer, who left service yesterday. He spent a long time in Central East BCU, concluding his long career as borough commander for Hackney and Tower Hamlets. Under his command Tower Hamlets managed to reduce the rating of the borough from worst for ASB to third worst in the national context.

Many thanks also for mentioning the volunteer involvement in the boroughs, this includes us, the members of Neighbourhood Watch in Tower Hamlets. Our new watch signs, show the Met Police logo as well as the Council logo.

Hopefully Mr Hamer will consider joining Neighbourhood Watch with an active role at his place of residence. Neighbourhood Watch – Ourwatch is a national organisation, and you can join wherever you live and transfer membership to a new borough by simply changing your address on the system. We’d also encourage all residents, councillors and business operators to join Neighbourhood Watch to get a bigger impact.

Welcome to the interim Commander, Det. Supt Dan Rutland, who fills in until the new Borough Commander James Conway will take over this post. As he is from Special Operations, we will have a person in charge who is well equipped to deal with the many types of problems we encounter in our vicinity including routine interrupting demonstrations and criminal gangs who try to operate in our borough.

I display the final message from Mr Mike Hamer below for your kind attention.

Neighbourhood Crime and ASB Board

The Tower Hamlets Community Safety Partnership (CSP) is a statutory requirement of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998.

The Neighbourhood Crime & ASB Board is a strategic subgroup of the Community Safety Partnership. Here Tower Hamlets Council work with partners to look at how we collectively tackle low level crime and ASB across the borough.

We are very happy to accept a place on this board to represent Neighbourhood Watch in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.

There is the Neighbourhood Management Pilot project going on.

The board meets on a quarterly basis and includes representation from

  • Tower Hamlets Council
  • Metropolitan Police
  • Safer Neighbourhood Board
  • London Fire Brigade
  • Poplar Harca
  • Tower Hamlets Homes
  • Voluntary Community Sector
  • Neighbourhood Watch

Tower Hamlets Neighbourhood Watch Association has accepted the invitation to represent Neighbourhood Watch in the borough from next year 2023.

Safer Neighbourhood Team 2022

Safer Neighbourhood Team 2022

The Metropolitan Police’s prestigious Safer Neighbourhood Team of the year award went to Tower Hamlets Safer Neighbourhoods in 2022.

Safer Neighbourhoods Tower Hamlets includes many agencies including

  • Tower Hamlets Council
  • Tower Hamlets Homes ASB Team
  • Parkguard
  • Tower Hamlets Safer Neighbourhoods Policing Teams
  • Tower Hamlets Neighbourhood Watch Association
  • All schools, landlords, agencies, who participated
See the exact wording written below

Safer Neighbourhoods Team of the Year Award

For those who make a significant and sustained contribution to policing in their local communities.

Tower Hamlets suffered an increase in anti-social behaviour (ASB) and drug offending, which had a negative impact on local communities. The team made it their mission to improve the situation and connect with those hard-to-teach communities, in the densely populated borough that is within five percent of the most deprived areas nationally.

In 2021, the Tower Hamlets Homes Policing Team developed and led on several operations including Operation Mizuna, which used data to identify hotspots and drive action. They chaired multi-agency partnership and residents’ meetings, initiated numerous diversionary schemes for young people with partners, and piloted modern technology to improve information sharing pathways.

With partners, the team provided housing for the homeless and support to drug addicts. Their efforts over six months saw 50% reduction in ASB and in 2021 they seized £108,000 total value of drugs and cash, obtained 12 civil inunctions, made 231 arrests and seized 80 offensive weapons. Their action improved public confidence and the quality of life for others.

Their methods are now being adopted across Hackney and Tower Hamlets and beyond!

For the general public the engagement bus is most prominent to see in Neighbourhoods.

Public engagement event at Cambridge Heath Road in the summer of 2022.
Open evening

Open evening

Networking, meeting others, ask questions, talk to partners.

Friday, 28. October 2022, 19:00 – 21:00, Glasshouse Community Centre

light refreshments provided, welcome to bring and share. Calendar

confirmed attendees

  • Representative from Met Police Community Volunteers recruitment
  • Ward Panel members and chairs from various areas
  • Trustees from the Tower Hamlets Neighbourhood Watch Association

invited

  • Chris Weavers, Chair of Safer Neighbourhood Board
  • All councillors
  • All residents of Tower Hamlets
National hate crime awareness week

National hate crime awareness week

Organised by NationalHCAW from 8. to 15. October 2022

See the events planned for the whole week nationally and locally

Report Hate Crime

 What is a hate crime?

Hate crimes are any crimes that are targeted at a person because of hostility or prejudice towards that person’s:

  • disability
  • race or ethnicity
  • religion or belief
  • sexual orientation
  • transgender identity

They can be committed against a person or property. A victim does not have to be a member of the group at which the hostility is targeted. In fact, anyone could be a victim of a hate crime. 

What is a hate incident?

Hate Incidents can feel like crimes to those who suffer them and often escalate to crimes or tension in a community. 

For this reason the police are concerned about incidents and you can use the True Vision website to report non-crime hate incidents. 

The police can only prosecute when the law is broken but can work with partners to try and prevent any escalation in seriousness.

Why should I report hate crime?

Hate crimes and incidents hurt; they can be confusing and frightening.

By reporting them when they happen to you, you may be able to prevent these incidents from happening to someone else.  You will also help the police understand the extent of hate crime in your local area so they can better respond to it.

Reporting makes a difference – to you, your friends, and your life.

How can I report Hate Crime?

 There are several ways you can report a hate crime, whether you have been a victim, a witness, or you are reporting on behalf of someone else:

In an emergency

  • call 999 or 112.
  • If you cannot make voice calls, you can now contact the 999 emergency services by SMS text from your mobile phone. However, you will only be able to use this service if you have registered with emergencySMS first. See the emergencySMS website for details(opens in new window).

2. Contact the police

  • Who you can speak to in confidence. You do not have to give your personal details, but please be aware the investigation and ability to prosecute the offender(s) is severely limited if the police cannot contact you. Contact your local police force, either by telephone or by visiting your local police station. Details on how to contact your local police force can be found at www.police.uk  (opens in new window).

3. Report online

  • You can report online using the facility on this website.  Go to the ‘Reporting online’ page (opens in new window).

4. Self-reporting form

  • You can download the self reporting form and send this to your local police force. The forms, including an Easy Read version, can be found on the ‘Report a hate crime’ page (opens in new window).

5. Third party reporting centres

  • Local agencies such as the Citizens Advice Bureau, Community Voluntary Services etc can also report the incident on your behalf and provide you with advice and support. The ‘Organisations that can help’ page has a list of those organisations that may be able to help you (opens in new window).

6. Crimestoppers

  • If you do not want to talk to the police or fill in the reporting forms, you can still report a hate crime by calling Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or via their website at www.crimestoppers-uk.org. Tell them what you know 100% anonymously. Always. Speak up. Stop crime. Stay safe.

More information listed on the police funded True Vision website.

www.report-it.org.uk

Civic Memorial Service

The Tower Hamlets Civic Memorial Service to give thanks for the life of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

All Saints Church, Poplar

Thursday, 15. September 2022

beginning with a procession from outside 

The Idea Store in Chrisp Street Market at 5:30pm

All are welcome

A Book of Condolence will be open for signing 

Flowers may be laid on the church steps

I believe that Tower Hamlets Mayor Lutfur Rahman is taking part. 

Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was a supporter of Neighbourhood Watch and awarded the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service to volunteers see here. 

The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Volunteering Award 2012 was given to James Maddan, when he was the chair of the former London Neighbourhood Watch Association. He was awarded an OBE in 2015 when he was chair of the National Neighbourhood Watch Network. 

Please attend if you can.

Today is the Tower Hamlets Proclamation at 3pm, which will be broadcast live on this web player. Please tune in if you can.