The rising incidence of crime and the receding influence of the police on the streets has led to a proliferation of Neighbourhood Watch schemes which now operate throughout the country.

They are formed of like minded people who have an interest in improving the security of the area in which they live. Lincolnshire is one of 43 counties in the United Kingdom that have active schemes working in conjunction with the police to achieve this end with the active participation of many groups in Bourne and the surrounding villages.

They consist of Watch schemes comprising a lead member, or co-ordinator, and a group of ten to fifteen neighbours or households, usually in one road, street, estate, or even a complete village. Each scheme becomes a member of a district association, each district association is then a member of the overall county association. All members of the NhW are volunteers, of all ages and backgrounds. Experience of life is all that is needed.

The existence of Neighbourhood Watch (NhW) schemes across Lincolnshire have had an intrinsic effect on crime. Where the distinctive signs up, criminals tend to go elsewhere they consider it is safer.

Neighbourhood Watch (NhW) originated in the United States to increase local safety and was observed by some visiting United Kingdom citizens who thought it would work well in their locality back home and so they set up the first scheme in 1982. From those small beginnings have developed a comprehensive network of NhW schemes across the country.

Lincolnshire has a growing family of district associations. At present there are nine embracing more than 2,500 schemes covering in excess of 65,000 households, a substantial extra number of 'eyes' for the official police in Lincolnshire. These figures are rising monthly due to the efforts of the Community Safety Administrators and the Neighbourhood Policing Teams.

Neighbourhood Watch members are considered by the police to be information gatherers rather than curtain twitchers. They are not busybodies but they do keep a eye on elderly and vulnerable citizens in their midst through various means and initiatives which include Message in a Bottle, a system by which the elderly may leave important information about themselves in a designated place in the home such as the refrigerator, and the nominated neighbour who has been chosen to keep an eye on them.

The basic structure of the Neighbourhood Watch starts with the grass roots with the householders, preferably between 10 and 15 of them, perhaps more, with one point of contact, the co-ordinator. A number of schemes in an area, say a town, a rural area, or district of a city, form together to become a district association which elects a chairman and committee from the co-ordinators of that district.

Members of Neighbourhood Watch are kept fully informed by the police of suspect activity in their area though a RingMaster messaging service known locally as WatchLine which are sent out to the co-ordinators and then distributed by telephone, fax, or email. In addition to the domestic scheme. their are others relating to farms, businesses, country matters, garage forecourts, schools, village shops and old people's homes.

Reproduced from The Local newspaper Friday 7th August 2009

WRITTEN AUGUST 2009