can you help keep our streets safe? - Neighbourhood Watch celebrates 30th anniversary with recruitment drive

National Neighbourhood Watch week will take place across England and Wales from tomorrow (Saturday) to next Sunday.

Members of the South Leamington Neighbourhood Watch group have organised a number of promotional events to provide crime prevention advice and a competition for three people to win a keypad operated multi-function alarm.

Lizzie Clarke, the group’’s chairman, said: “Everyone has a right to feel safe in their own home and neighbourhood by joining neighbourhood watch and working  with the local policing units we can cut crime and the fear of crime.”

The group will be at the Spar shop in Bath Street on Monday from 10am to 3pm and will be offering theft resistant number plate screws to all visitors.

Members will return to the shop on Wednesday, from 10am to 3pm, to promote Neighbourhood Watch.

People are invited to visit the group’s office in Sainsbury’s at the Leamington Shopping Park on Tuesday from 10am to 3pm for a demonstration of the OurWatch website.

The group will also run a promotional stand at the supermarket on Friday and next Saturday from 10am to 3pm.

Mid-Warwickshire and Stratford District Neighbourhood Watch Associations, working with Warwickshire County Council’s Community Safety Team, are seeking ‘street champions’ within their respective areas.

The aim is to find Neighbourhood Watch members in as many streets as possible to take on the role which would involved handing out community safety packs to up to 30 of their neighbours in streets where burglaries have taken place.

The packs include advice on all aspects of home security and information about Neighbourhood Watch including an application form to join.

Paul Ledden, a community safety officer for the county council, said: “Personal time is precious and the roles are not designed to be too intrusive but to significantly focus efforts in the street champions’ own backyard. No requests for assistance would be outside of this remit. Statistics show that many street champions would not be called on at all in any given 12-month period.

Three alarms are available to be won in the competition.

Entrants have to answer the following question.

You’ve just parked your car outside a shop to get a few things and you have a nice new Sat Nav in your car, should you: A) just leave it there, you won’t be too long, B) take it with you, or C) cover it with your jacket and make sure you lock your car.

Send answers on a postcard with your full name and address with postcode to Lizzie Clarke, NHW competition, 2 The Approach, Kingsway Estate, Leamington, CV31 3HF.