Connecting Together

In 1964, 28-year-old Kitty Genovese was stabbed in New York outside her apartment. Two weeks after the murder it was rumored that 38 witnesses saw or heard the attack, but none of them called the police or came to her aid. This motivated a community response and the very first Neighbourhood Watch scheme was set up in New York, and in 1982 the first UK scheme was set up in Mollington, Cheshire by The local Crime Prevention Officer then Sgt Grahame John Andrews and was called Homewatch.

From there Neighbourhood Watch grew from strength to strength. Neighbourhood Watch representatives formed local, and wider, structured groups. In 2007, with the support of the police and the Home Office, the umbrella organisation for the movement, now known as Neighbourhood Watch Network, was established. Their focus was on building local Neighbourhood Watch community groups which liaised with the police and focused on reducing burglary and other home and personal crimes.

​Objectives

• To improve community safety generally including, e.g., fire safety

• To prevent crime by improving security, increasing vigilance, creating and maintaining a caring community and reducing opportunities for crime by increasing crime prevention awareness.

• To assist the police in detecting crime by promoting effective communication and the prompt reporting of suspicious and criminal activity.

• To reduce undue fear of crime by providing accurate information about risks and by promoting a sense of security and community spirit, particularly amongst the more vulnerable members of the community.

• To improve police/community liaison by providing effective communications through Neighbourhood Watch messaging systems including Two-way radio[1] (usually via a community radio repeater) to warn Coordinators of local crime trends which they can disseminate to their scheme members, and by members informing the police of incidents when they occur.

Schemes

Neighbourhood Watch schemes are run by their members and are often supported by the police and in many areas, a local Neighbourhood Watch Association.

Schemes can vary in size. A volunteer resident coordinator supervises the scheme and liaises with the police and other partners on information, messages and initiatives. It must be recognised that the scheme is a community initiative so success depends on what the members make of it.

The police can't deal with the problems and issues arising from crime and anti-social behavior alone; they need the help of the whole community. Neighbourhood Watch provides a way for local people to play an important part in addressing this balance and making their communities safer.

​

Bridlington Britannia Road and side streets neighbourhood watch about us....

Quite a few months ago Simon Boulton our neighbourhood watch coordinator applied to get the area as a neighbourhood watch area, then after quite a few months of waiting on the 9th May 2025, Simon got the letter saying the application has been approved and we have been officially a neighbourhood watch area ever since. For this scheme to run effectively it does require the support and input from the residents so please join our Facebook group, Facebook page and whats app community group. If anyone has any difficulty accessing these please email us and we will help in any way we can.

thank-you