Category: Crime Prevention

Neighbourhood Watch Week 2023

Neighbourhood Watch Week 2023

ENCOURAGES COMMUNITY TOGETHERNESS IN THE FIGHT AGAINST CRIME

More than two million members across the UK are coming together to celebrate Neighbourhood Watch Week from 3rd – 9th June.

The charity was founded in 1982 and is the largest voluntary movement focused on crime prevention in England and Wales. The initiative empowers neighbours to work together to build safer, vibrant and inclusive communities, helping to prevent crime and make a positive and sustainable difference.

With more than 400,000 domestic burglaries reported last year, this upsetting crime ranks within the top five most common in the UK, which is why prevention remains a big focus for Neighbourhood Watch.

John Hayward-Cripps, CEO of Neighbourhood Watch, said: “We encourage our community to be extra vigilant at this time of year and look out for themselves and their neighbours who may be going on holiday, opening doors and windows in warmer weather and storing high value gardening items in sheds.”  

With a burglary in the UK every 106 seconds, Neighbourhood Watch corporate sponsor, ERA, has developed a vast range of hardware and smart security solutions to help deter crimes.

Smart security solutions are becoming increasingly popular, with over 2.2 million smart homes now in the UK. Whether it’s a stand-alone device, such as a video doorbell, or a completely new security system, digital security products allow you to keep an eye on your property from wherever you are, whilst also acting as strong visual deterrents.

For enhanced security, adding security cameras around the front and rear of your home will enable you to monitor the outside of your property including garden sheds, both day and night. Through motion detection technology, you will be alerted to any activity via your smartphone or tablet, prompting you to check the live camera feed and see if any action needs to be taken.

Along with smart security solutions, traditional mechanical security products, such as cylinders and nightlatches, are another crucial element of protecting your home.

A simple and affordable way to improve the security of your front door is to update your existing locks with a high security cylinder. For optimum protection, choose a 3* cylinder that has Sold Secure Diamond status and check that it has been accredited by Secured by Design’s Police Preferred Specification scheme. You can use this lock with a standard handle to give ultimate resistance to picking, drilling, bumping, snapping, and extraction.

John continues: “Since 2016, ERA has supplied thousands of homeowners with Neighbourhood Watch-endorsed products and raised awareness of how to prevent burglaries and anti-social behaviour through joint campaigns and webinars.”

For more information on ERA smart and traditional security products and to find the right security solution for you visit https://eraprotect.com/.

This year’s Neighbourhood Watch Week theme is ‘Making this a better place to live’ and focuses on celebrating volunteers and inviting more people to join the scheme.  For more information visit https://www.ourwatch.org.uk/nwweek.

Ends

Notes to Editor

Sources:

  1. https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/bulletins/crimeinenglandandwales/yearendingseptember2022
  2. https://www.theecoexperts.co.uk/smart-homes/statistics

About Neighbourhood Watch: Neighbourhood Watch was founded in 1982 and is the largest voluntary movement focused on crime prevention in England and Wales. Over 2.3 million people belong to local schemes supported by voluntary Associations. Neighbourhood Watch Network is an independent charity (registered in England and Wales 1173349) that acts as the movement’s national umbrella organisation. Membership in Neighbourhood Watch schemes is open to all and is free, although donations may be requested by local groups. Neighbourhood Watch’s website address is ourwatch.org.uk, and the charity can be found on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

About ERA: With over 180 years of manufacturing, design and innovation experience, ERA is a leader in the development and distribution of hardware and security solutions. ERA designed and manufactured its first lock in the West Midlands in 1838, and is now owned by Tyman plc. The business moved to a world-class purpose-built 135,000 sq. ft headquarters at the prestigious i54 site in Wolverhampton in 2017, housing state-of-the-art manufacturing, R&D, product development, test, and training facilities.

Anti-social behaviour ASB awareness week ’23

We have a week of ASB action in Tower Hamlets each year. Tower Hamlets Council is asking you to participate in a survey to help determine your problems before the planning for this event in July goes ahead.

Please complete the survey and help the Council’s Enforcement and Community Safety Team to help you.

Complete this survey here.

The Council plans a week of community engagement events throughout the borough’s 20 wards. See pic from previous years.

Young people’s consultation

Please see below information about a series of consultation events focused on the development of a new Youth Service in Tower Hamlets.

  1. Tuesday 2nd May Halieybury Youth Centre 4.30pm – 8.30pm
  2. Wednesday 3rd May Osmani Centre 4.30pm – 8.30pm
  3. Thursday 4th May Spotlight Centre 4.30pm – 8.30pm
  4. Thursday 11th May George Green Academy 3.30pm – 6.00pm

The Hackathon events are aimed at gaining insights from young people on what young people would like to see offered and in place from a modern 21st century Youth Service.

There will be several workshops and activities including opportunities to ‘design what you want’, ‘virtual reality experience’ and ‘create a brand’ – to help stimulate the conversation and allow us to co design an exciting Youth Offer.

A promotional video for the Hackathon consultation events and some of our digital flyers are attached for sharing.

Please also see link below to the Future Youth Service Survey (for young people to share their views). The survey can also be accessed via the QR code on the attached poster. 

LINK to Future Youth Service Survey: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/YoungTowerHamlets

Please note this survey will close on 31 July 2023.

Window stickers

We offer a choice of two types of Neighbourhood Watch window stickers
both are self-adhesive round labels with backings showing on the inside
1. Yellow black round with family and police officer – back shows Cyberhood Watch logo

Neighbourhood Watch logo

2. Multi-colour stylised people – back shows NHS 111 information.

NHW_Roundel_Today_Logo_ CMYK_Final

Both types of stickers can be ordered from our online order form here. Coordinators please contact your admin in the usual way.

Food banks, a vital lifeline

Food banks, a vital lifeline

Essential food security is provided by Tower Hamlets central hub food bank, which supplies schools, community centres, individuals, families and those collecting with food deliveries donated by retailers. Essential contributors include the Felix project, the Trussell Trust and others who regularly supply the hub with food, household and hygiene supplies.

These extra food supplies have a crime prevention effect as it makes recipients less vulnerable to criminal gangs who prey on the vulnerable.

I help out a few days each week.

See the different types of food distribution points in Tower Hamlets

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.

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.

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.