NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH AWARDS 2008

On 23rd April 2008 the Leicestershire Constabulary Neighbourhood Watch Awards 2008 were presented by the Assistant Chief Constable Mike Goodwin.

PBO for Rothley and Swithland Steve Rhodes, Village Co-ordinator for NHW Marion Vincent and Assistant Chief Constable Mike Goodwin at the presentation.

A Certificate was presented in addition to a cheque for £100 towards further NHW initiatives in the village.

THE INITIATIVE

This was the initiative submitted to the competition.

PROBLEM IDENTIFIED:
Vehicle crime in the area of Kiln Garth, Rothley and surrounding roads identified from the monthly Crime Report figures. Mostly breaking into vehicles and stealing.

THE PROBLEM
Vehicles left on the drive overnight. Private housing on the far boundary of Rothley with single garages and many with two cars as mostly younger residents in the area. Also, garages full of household items coupled with the current trend of not putting cars away at night. Increased police time needed to investigate the crimes. Roads lead to dead ends so no through traffic to disturb criminals.

HOW TO TACKLE IT
A NHW scheme was needed to let residents know what crimes were being committed in their area and the whole of the village, how they could contact the police and how they could work as a team to make their area safer. Liaised with PCSO Susan Hall to action.
ACTION 1
A letter was written by Marion Vincent and delivered to 172 homes inviting residents to come forward to be a NHW co-ordinator.
RESULT
6 out of 7 roads had a volunteer, able to receive crime information by e-mail.
ACTION 2
Meeting set up with the police and co-ordinators to discuss action against crime.
RESULT
Enthusiasm generated. Residents talked to each other. One person set up CCTV.
ACTION 3
A letter written by Marion Vincent was delivered by PCSO Susan Hall telling residents about their scheme, how to contact the police, the monthly crime reports delivered to their home and useful telephone numbers.
RESULT
Residents got to know each other and looked out for each other, which they had not done before.

WHO WAS INVOLVED
PBO Steve Rhodes, PCSO Susan Hall, Village Scheme Co-ordinator Marion Vincent, NHW Office in Loughborough, Robert Van Tiernen, Rothley Parish Council and the Leicester Mercury.

WHO BENEFITED
The police with many more active eyes and ears in the neighbourhood. The residents who saw a dramatic cut in vehicle crime in their area. Increased friendship in the area.
MONITORING RESULTS
Monthly crime figures from the police showed the cut in crime.

FUNDING AND THANKS
Thanks to:
Rothley Parish Council for funding street signs and copying of monthly crime reports.
NHW Office in Loughborough for NHW door signs and No Callers signs free of charge.
Robert van Tiernen for erecting the street signs free of charge.
PCSO Susan Hall for walking the area, making herself known, talking to residents,delivering letters and bridging the gap between residents and the police.
The Leicester Mercury for printing an article about this initiative to warn off criminals in this area in particular as well as in the village.
Finally, a lot of work was put in by Marion Vincent who self funded the printing of 172 initial letters, followed by 344 letters with information about the scheme, the police, contacts, phone numbers, addresses etc, plus the latest crime report.
Over 500 sheets of information but well worth the effort and cost!

IF YOUR ROAD NEEDS A NHW SCHEME

Please contact Marion Vincent 0116 2303405 or vincent.vangogh48@virgin.net
All the initial work will be done for you, there is no money to collect to cover costs and the running of the scheme is completely free of charge. You need to be able to receive information by e-mail, visit the Rothley Parish Council office between 10-12 to copy the crime report for the residents in your road and deliver them once a month.
NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH WORKS WITH THE MINIMUM OF TIME AND EFFORT.