Thankfully, long-gone is the image of a crusty retired Colonel with his whiskers and flat cap calling order on a bunch of old grannies as they hold the 85th meeting (that month) of the West Avenue Neighbourhood Watch Committee. The twitching curtains and binoculars with notepad and pencil beside them are a thing of the past and Neighbourhood Watch has, in fairness, caught up with modern times.
In our current society, the tight-knit street has given way to closed-off, insular worlds as people live their lives in a silo, separate from the house next door never mind the one five doors up. We find communication has broken down between neighbours and it’s harder than ever to have a cohesive approach to street security.
NW has taken a new approach to trying to bring the community together, and this is done by having online ‘hubs’. In effect, you can sign up for free to NW, identify the area you live in and use various settings to receive communications relevant to that area. That might be messages from NW who may have received some police updates about trending crime types, or it may be directly from your local police officer who has an authorised user account.
Either way, it’s an excellent tool (if used correctly) and one worth exploring as a source of current, important information!
You can find out about:
Neighbourhood Watch Scotland which is the Scottish scheme
or
Our Watch which covers England and Wales