The Haringey Association of Neighbourhood Watches

The Haringey Association of Neighbourhood Watches provides information for all the Neighbourhood Watches in Haringey. If you are interested in Neighbourhood Watch in Haringey, please contact the Neighbourhood Watch Link Manager. Is your street covered by a watch?

What can you do to make Haringey Safer?

Join or start a Neighbourhood watch.

27% of UK households take part in the Neighbour Watch Scheme

What is Neighbourhood Watch?

Neighbourhood watch is all about forming communities where people are looking out for each other.

Neighbours uniting and acting together means dozens of eyes and ears are ready to pick up on anything happening in the neighbourhood that could cause worry or concern.

It’s not about being nosey or interfering.

Meerkats natural instinct is to work in a team;

Meerkats take turns on look out duty and by being alert they can warn others in the group of anything they feel could be suspicious or threatening

Is Neighbourhood watch just about fighting crime?

No.

It is more than just protecting homes and fighting crime.

Working together, neighbours can help reduce all sorts of local problems not connected to crime. It’s about taking action as a group to improve the environment by doing something about:

  • Vandalism
  • Graffiti
  • Poor lighting
  • Lack of local amenities

What’s Neighbourhood Watch About then?

It’s about:

  • Being a good neighbour & caring about your community
  • Reducing crime
  • Looking after neighbour’s property if they are away (e.g. remove their mail, check their home daily). Check their sheds.
  • Distributing appropriate anti-crime leaflets
  • Regularly informing the members about the latest crimes.
  • Checking on older neighbours.
  • Reporting suspicious happenings.
  • Helping establish local communities.

How can I help?

By encouraging new Neighbourhood Watches.

Neighbours uniting and acting together means dozens of eyes and ears are ready to pick up on anything happening in the neighbourhood that could cause worry or concern.

What are the benefits?

As well as making the neighbourhood a better place to live and work in, tackling local problems and concerns will help people to feel less nervous about crime especially those who are elderly or vulnerable for other reasons.

Neighbourhood Watches deter crime.

Putting neighbourhood watch signs on your front door or on lampposts deters many criminals.

What support is available when starting a watch?

  • Neighbourhood Watch Link Manager (020 8721 6803) based in Muswell Hill Police Station
  • Your Ward Beat Manager (Police) or Safer Neighbourhood Team (one police sergeant, 2 police constables and 3 community support officers) which will be in every ward by April, 2007.
  • Borough Association of Neighbourhood Watches
  • Other Neighbourhood Watches

What support can be given?

  • Publicity material
  • Leaflets
  • Advice
  • Multi Language information
  • Experience of coordinating a watch
  • Knowledge of local crime

Haringey’s Police crime Prevention Unit (020 8345 2164) will visit your home or office on request to advise you about crime prevention such as fitting London Bars or Birmingham Bars on your doors, etc.

What makes a good Neighbourhood watch?

  • The Watch coordinator
  • The Members
  • The more you communicate the better the watch

What is a Coordinator?

A Coordinator is the backbone of every watch.

They are the communicator and spokesperson between the members of the watch and the other agencies involved.

  • Police
  • Council
  • Community Groups

The members of the watch choose the coordinator

As a Coordinator am I working for the police?

No.

You are not and should never give that impression, giving this impression could put you into a dangerous position, or make you more vulnerable to abuse, attack or maybe worse.

Everything that you write and say regarding neighbourhood watch shows that you are in effect doing what every responsible citizen should be doing, which is helping your neighbours and the police to create and maintain a safe crime-free community.

Do I need to Patrol the streets?

You are not expected to patrol the streets.

You are discouraged to do this by the police, as they do not need vigilantes or people who take the law into their own hands. Apart from the risk of physical injury, there could be serious legal implications.

What should we report and whom do we tell?

If you feel it is or could be a life-threatening situation, then there should be no hesitation in dialling 999.

If it involves suspicious behaviour or it is an unusual incident, then it should be reported by phone to your local police station (Tottenham) 020 8808 1212.

If it is neither of the above and you feel that it in a non-urgent matter, then call your Local Home Beat Officer or Safer Neighbourhood team.

What information will we get?

The police and Neighbourhood watch both have the same aim to rid communities of crime, to this end the police will communicate information through the coordinator to the watch. This information will be regarding incidents likely to affect the neighbourhood; these could be about

  • Burglary operating in the area
  • Reports of bogus door-to-door ‘salesmen’
  • Car thieves at work
  • Local drug dealing.

What should I do now?

Talk to your Neighbours.

It is important that you ascertain what the level of interest is in your area before deciding to start a watch.

Visit each house and speak to occupants, introduce yourself, and find out how they feel about a Neighbourhood Watch scheme running in the area.

Find out if they would be prepared to get involved.

The Watch Link Manager (020 8345 2130) can provide you with free explanatory leaflets, the leaflets can be provided in many languages.