Neighbourhood Watch - do you use it and how?

Former_MSE_Andrea

As part of October's National Home Security Month we're going to be working with Neighbourhood Watch.

Neighbourhood Watch isn't the age-old image of nosy neighbours keeping net curtains twitching. It's going through a revamp and the organisation's eager to get everyones' thoughts and feedback on it.

We'd love to know how, if at all, you use it.

• Are you a Neighbourhood Watch member?
  
• Is your home in a Neighbourhood Watch area?
  
• Are there Neighbourhood Watch posters up in your area but you don't know more about it than that?
  
• When you do your Home Insurance comparisons or get quotes directly from providers (through our Home Insurance guide or elsewhere) do you get asked if you're a Neighbourhood Watch member?
  
• How much were you asked about Neighbourhood Watch when getting a quote i.e., were you asked if you were a ‘member’ or just whether you live in ‘a neighbourhood watch area'?
  
• If you are a member what discount did you get last time you renewed, if any?
  
• If you're not a member what discount did you get, if any?

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Better_Days

We are part of a NW scheme which was set up last year. We get regular emails from the co-ordinator and we also subscribe to the local Police alerts - Police Connect I think it is called. It is from the later we get up to date texts (and sometimes automated phone calls) about local burglaries and stolen vehicles, scams etc.

There are NW posters up locally.

We renewed our insurance after joining the scheme and it didn't make any difference at all to the premiums which was very disappointing. Even a £10 reduction would have been welcome given that NW areas are lower risk.

Former_MSE_Andrea

Thanks for your feedback Better Days, it's very useful to know.

halfone

I didn't know Neighbourhood Watch still existed! I assumed it had sort of faded away. I've never been asked about it on any home insurance form, as far as I can recall.

NeighbourhoodWatch

Thank you halfone for your feedback!

Neighbourhood Watch is still alive and well I am happy to say!

VfM4meplse

I'd be interested to know whether there's any evidence that visible Neighbourhood Watch membership works - either to catch perpetrators or as a deterrent?

KarlF

Our local neighbourhood watch co-ordinator seems to think that sending out emails based on rumour and scaremongering, an efficient and worthwhile use of the neighbourhood watch scheme, and when challenged on the factual content of these emails, you just get ignored.

I think these co-ordinator positions seem to attract people of a certain persuasion.

Bluesation

Our local scheme was set up in the 1990s to cover a village of several hundred houses via some 50+ co-ordinators for individual roads or sections of road. We were using paper bulletins in those days hence the need for all the co-ordinators so we could cascade warnings or other messages.

Initially there were some quite good insurance discounts on offer to everyone within the village. Subsequently the same insurers began to get a bit picky and insisted that one had to be'active' in your local group to qualify for a discount. By 'active' they meant the scheme organizer for a street.

The implication was that if you were the organizer for your street's NW then you were somehow less prone to being burgled than your neighbours - who were just keeping an eye out for one another. What rubbish.

Now even that has died a death and the only discounts I have seen offered are generally from insurers who are significantly more expensive in the first place.

I expect that the same thing applies to most discounts when it comes to insurance. Insurers are prepared to discount when it might persuade people to take a measure - be it a better lock or an alarm or a NW scheme - until most people have done so. After that they ignore it for the purposes of discounts.

Cynical? You bet!

Anatidaephobia

What actually happens in a modern day Neighbourhood Watch scheme? Is it literally just neighbours keeping an eye out for each other and letting the others know if they see anything suspicious/notable/unusual?

Former_MSE_Andrea

Great points everyone.

What suggestions would you make to how the scheme should run?

NeighbourhoodWatch

VfM4meplse wrote: »

I'd be interested to know whether there's any evidence that visible Neighbourhood Watch membership works - either to catch perpetrators or as a deterrent?

Hi VfM4meplse. The study (Campbell systematic review) by Bennett, Holloway and Farrington in 2008, 'The effectiveness of Neighbourhood Watch', indicates that it can reduce crime by up to 26% and domestic burglary threefold. As a new user I'm not allowed to post links but if you Google the study you should be able to locate a link to the pdf on campbellcollaboration.org.