Absafe Neighbourhood Watch. Safety through community

Transcription

1 Absafe Neighbourhood Watch Safety through community

2 Time to start your watch! Welcome to Absafe Neighbourhood Watch By joining Absafe Neighbourhood Watch you re becoming a valued part of an organisation that s positively bursting with passionate, community-spirited individuals, just like you. Absafe is here to help you to make the most of your new watch and we re dedicated to giving you the best possible tools and know-how to make your community a safe and happy place for everyone. So what is Absafe Neighbourhood Watch? At its heart, Absafe Neighbourhood Watch is a network of schemes across the whole of Grampian that work together for the good of their neighbourhood, creating happy communities where everyone can enjoy a good quality of life. Essentially, it s about people becoming stronger together. Your watch can be tailored to suit the specific needs of your community. These days, our activities are many and varied, ranging from tackling home security issues to organising community initiatives like neighbourhood parties, litter picks and community garden projects. Absafe is here to support each individual watch with information, advice and organisational support. And we ll help your voice to be heard too by maintaining strong communication links with the police, fire service, council and other important agencies so you can tackle issues quickly and efficiently. But most of all, Absafe Neighbourhood Watch is about you and your neighbours building communities you can be proud of and live in safely and happily. Why should I join Absafe Neighbourhood Watch? Joining Absafe Neighbourhood Watch has many benefits. It s amazing what communities can accomplish by working together. You really can make changes to improve your area and the quality of life for everyone in your neighbourhood. Here are just a few benefits: Community spirit Neighbourhood Watch creates fantastic, friendly, strong communities. you up-to-the-minute information and advice and the opportunity to tackle any issues quickly. Reduced crime Being part of a neighbourhood watch strengthens your community and research shows that improved community cohesion discourages crime. Freebies and money off Everyone loves a freebie and we re no different; we provide a range of free security items as well as the opportunity for reduced insurance premiums. Information and communication We open up effective two-way communication between communities and public service partners, giving Great support We re behind your community 0%; we can help organise meetings, turn your ideas into action, publicise events and link you to useful contacts.

3 Who s in Neighbourhood Watch? Anyone can join Absafe Neighbourhood Watch. It s for all neighbourhoods and people of all ages. We have lots of ways to get involved and lots of support to help you get the most out of it. Here s a wee list: Co-ordinators Co-ordinators are regular members of a watch who help things to run. This means managing a list of other members contact details and passing out information and advice that will help keep everyone safe, (you can use our handy Absafe Alerts tool to do that). Of course, if you re feeling really active and have some nifty ideas, feel free to galvanise your watch into action, whether it s a street BBQ or regular coffee morning! Of course, you can always get help from your members too. Regular members Members form the vast majority of the neighbourhood watch network. Your role is simply to put Absafe Neighbourhood Watch s community and security advice into practice and support your local co-ordinator. Absafe Remember that Absafe is always in the background supporting you, your watch and your community in any way we can. Absafe has many years of experience helping communities and we enjoy strong partnerships with local government, public services and businesses which we d love to use to help your community develop and grow stronger. Did you know Absafe supports over 0 neighbourhood watches in Aberdeen city, Shire and Moray. Absafe has launched over new neighbourhood watches spread across the North East of Scotland. Absafe distributes personal attack alarms to vulnerable members of the community. Members of Absafe Neighbourhood Watch have provided the police with important information, helping them to solve hundreds of crimes. Absafe Neighbourhood Watch supports students through its Student Neighbours project, local businesses with Business Watch and schools with School Watch. Streets with strong neighbourhood watches are - % less likely to suffer burglaries and break ins than those with no neighbourhood watch support. Absafe Neighbourhood Watch works in close partnership with Neighbourhood Watch Scotland.

4 Starting a Watch So how do I go about starting a watch? Look no further than our handy, step-by-step guide to launching your own Absafe Neighbourhood Watch scheme: Step - Getting energised Before launching a new Watch, gauge local interest and enthusiasm. Remember that a watch can consist of as little as households to as many as a whole community. There s no hard and fast rule. Use our flyers and questionnaires to help your neighbours understand more about what s involved. Another handy tip is to get a starting point for your watch by asking your neighbours what they d like to see improved in your area. The responses you get will help guide and unite you when you come to set the first goals for your Watch. Download our starter pack for flyers and questionnaires to help you canvass opinion in your area, inform your neighbours about the new neighbourhood watch and encourage them to join in. Step - Prepare your start up meeting Now that you have interest in your new watch it s time to organise your first meeting. Choose a suitable venue and let your neighbours know when and where the meeting is taking place. In smaller communities, some watches are happy to meet in each others homes, but larger communities could arrange to meet in a church, school or community hall. Make sure you advertise the meeting, you could put a note through people s doors, put up a notice in local shops, or just use word of mouth. Planning what you aim to discuss before the meeting will help you prepare. The community information you gathered earlier should be useful here. Check out our downloads to help you to book a suitable venue and advertise the event with posters and flyers that can be personalised to your area.

5 Step - Hold your start up meeting Now you re ready to hold you re first meeting. There are a few things you ll want to chat about with your neighbours so here are some pointers about what to put on your agenda. Members: Who s going to be involved? What area will you cover? Who will co-ordinate the scheme? Will you need a deputy or do you want to consider forming a committee to help? Approach: What are the main goals of your scheme? How do you plan to achieve them? Structure: How will you structure your watch to meet these goals? How will you communicate? Do you need to meet and if so how often? By the end of the meeting you ll be ready to launch. Remember Absafe is a resource to support your community. We have a wealth of experience working with watches in all kinds of communities across the North East. Use our toolkit to help you get your watch off to a great start. Step - Get stuck in Neighbourhood Watch is all about your community and what you want to achieve. You can start with a traditional style watch; sharing safety and security advice with your neighbours and putting them into practice. But you don t have to stop there. You can use your network to improve community spirit too by organising neighbourhood gatherings such as street parties or bar-b-ques! Many watches have spearheaded successful campaigns to improve local services like bus routes or to save community centres and even local historical landmarks. Why not get creative and come up with ideas to get your community working together? Whatever you decide to do, it s a good idea to keep your community energised by organising occasional meetings. This will keep your watch relevant and ensure everyone in your area feels involved and has their voice heard. Remember that the needs of your community may change over time, but your watch can evolve and adapt to keep up with any changes in your area. Sign up for Absafe Alerts so you can manage your watch online and make communication much easier. We ll add you to our distribution list for regular updates that keep you informed, safe and protected. If you would like to arrange a guest speaker to come along to your watch, have a look at our website for ideas for interesting guests who would be delighted to meet your watch.

6 Checklist: Interested in Neighbourhood Watch? Toolkit Checklist We will pass your details to your local watch for them to contact you. Yes Is there a Neighbourhood Watch already in your area? Contact Absafe to find out: 0 or watch@absafe.org.uk No - Getting Energised Start your own watch Tell your neighbours about neighbourhood Watch. Contact Absafe to receive leaflets and forms then distribute to neighbours. -Leaflet -Questionnaire - Organise your meeting - Hold your meeting Invite your neighbours to a meeting Decide date and venue options, prepare and advertise Hold the meeting to decide: Who will organising the watch? Where it will cover? What it will do? How will it run? -Venue list -Poster -Invitations -Sample agenda -Contact sheet -Notes template - Get stuck in Register and you re ready to go! Fill in the registration form and send it back to Absafe. We ll automatically start sending your local Neighbourhood Watch bulletin. Sign up for Absafe Alerts to create an online watch for your scheme. Get Neighbourhood Watch signs and window stickers if you want to advertise. Keep your watch Running like Clockwork -Registration form -Sign and window sticker order form -Guest speaker contact details

7 Keep your watch running like clockwork As your watch grows from strength to strength, you ll always be able to rely on the enthusiastic support of Absafe. We re always happy to lend our considerable knowledge, contacts and resources to help make your community a success. And if you re ever in need of a little further inspiration, you ll soon be able to download our 'Run your Watch like Clockwork' pack which is chock full of easy and exciting ideas for established neighbourhood watch schemes. So what s stopping you? Set up your Absafe Neighbourhood Watch today to start seeing your ideas spring into life. If you want to speak to someone about starting your Neighbourhood Watch why not contact us: Absafe The Safe Corunna Road Bridge of Don Aberdeen AB DU watch@absafe.org.uk 0