Neighbourhood Watch
Neighbourhood Watch is a UK wide crime prevention scheme based on basic ideas and values backed by the Home Office. Simply put it's about “getting together with your neighbours to help the police to reduce crime and disorder and thereby make your neighbourhood a safer and better place to live, work and play”. In practice it’s about improving relationships within our community and supporting each other (especially older or vulnerable persons) by being observant and keeping an eye out for each other and each others’ property to help make Bassingbourn-cum-Kneesworth a better place to live.
You can participate in Neighbourhood Watch either formally by joining an existing group or by getting together with a group of your neighbours. NHW in Bassingbourn is coordinated by Vic Nickson who represents this area of South Cambs on the Cambridgeshire NHW Executive Group. Contact him (tel 246778 or email vic.nickson@btinternet.com) If you would like to find out more about NHW, be kept up to date on NHW matters, form your own group in the village or if you have any NHW related suggestions or feedback. Vic will give you advice about launching your scheme, agreeing a group coordinator and then how to formally notify the police with the details of your group.
Of course you can also be quite effective by adopting the ideas and values of Neighbourhood Watch without necessarily being a member of a formal group. In this event, it would useful to let Vic know of your interest so that he can keep you informed on topical NHW issues. However, if you do decide to run a formal group in your street you should become eligible for a discount on your house insurance and you can adopt official signs to deter potential criminals which inform them that they are "being observed" in a Neighbourhood Watch area.
Vic also publishes topical NHW news and information directly to NHW Groups by email and also through the Bassingbourn NHW news blog and in the Village Voice newsletter you will always find useful reminders of telephone numbers for contacting the police. Neighbourhood Watch is not about enforcing the law. NHW is about assisting the police and in particular the Melbourn Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT) who are responsible for our Sector to be even more effective. They are tasked with working alongside the community in the villages to the South West of Cambridge. However, in addition to following the objectives of the Cambridgeshire Constabulary they are also steered by the community through regular neighbourhood policing panel meetings every 3 months which you can attend and participate in a democratic process to set local objectives for the police in your neighbourhood. The Bassingbourn and Melbourn panel serves the villages south of the river Cam and includes Meldreth, Shepreth, Foxton, Shingay cum Wendy, Whaddon, Litlington, Fowlmere, Great Chishill, Little Chishill and Heydon, and will meet at 7.30pm on the 3rd Tuesday in January, April, July and October alternating venues between the Village Colleges in Bassingbourn and Melbourn.
There is a wealth of on-line resources provided by the Cambridgeshire Constabulary on their web site including information about the neighbourhood policing team, neighbourhood policing priorities, contact information, crime reports and a log of incidents reported to the police. You can also subscribe to a Cambridge Constabulary e-mail news service called e-cops which will deliver up to date information from the Melbourn Neighbourhood Policing team. Further Information on NHW:
Bassingbourn NHW news http://bassingbournnhwnews.blogspot.com/
Vic Nicksons email address vic.nickson@btinternet.com
Phone Vic Nickson 01763 246778
Further Information on Neighbourhood Policing:
Police NHW information www.cambs-police.co.uk/advice/schemes/nhw/
Subscribe to e-cops https://www.cambs-police.co.uk/myneighbourhood/ecops/
Visit the Policing team web site https://www.cambs-police.co.uk/myneighbourhood/locate.asp
Call the Police team for information on 0845 456 456 4
NB : Remember though for reporting crime or ASB incidents dial 999 in cases of emergency or for non-emergency police assistance dial 0845 456 456 4.
Picture of police constable courtesy of SouthBankSteve on Flickr CC licence applies