Neighbourhood Watch - do you use it and how?

MoneyMate

NeighbourhoodWatch wrote: »

Thanks Primrose - great to hear about a scheme that's working really well!

Hi, do you have a list of company's that do provide additional discounts for neighbourhood watch please.
Esure Don't :mad:

NeighbourhoodWatch

Hi MoneyMate - I'm afraid we don't at the moment - that's something we are hoping to work on, which is part of the reason we are here in this forum!

Former_MSE_Andrea

It would be great to hear from anyone else what discount you get, if any.

Post below to let us know (it was National Poetry Day yesterday and I'm possibly still in poem mode!)

kkgree1

I have had similar issues to drt1710.

I have been a street co-ordinator for 2 years and the village co-ordinator for almost a year.

I run our scheme entirely by email, write monthly articles for the Village Newsletter and also have a Facebook group.

I find that people don't really know what Neighbourhood Watch (NHW) is for particularly in an area where crime is very low anyway. It has been near on impossible to recruit more street co-ordinators as either people think it is too much work or they say they are signed up to Ecops (our Police's messaging system) so there is little point!

Home Insurance discounts seem few on the ground - I'm currently renewing my own home insurance and have yet to receive a discount for being a member or co-ordinator.

I still very much support NHW and the recent campaigns, particularly the Meerkats, definitely helped raise the profile of the organisation. I know there are changes being brought in which I can only endorse to ensure NHW remains relevant!

Former_MSE_Andrea

Does your local Neighbourhood Watch group have a Facebook page?

It could be worth getting in touch and asking if you can't find one.

Primrose

No our village scheme doesn't use Facebook at all . The majority of members are in the older age range and like to keep things simple, just using email communications.

A while back a survey was done by the police asking residents if they wanted to move Crime Alert and other communications to Facebook. A resounding 80% were against and didn't have a Facebook account so I decided if it wasn't broke I didn't need to try and fix it for Neighbourhood Watch communications either You have go along with your client membership if you want to keep people engaged and with you. I think this is something the banks and other institutions often forget. Client and customer service is giving your "customers" what they WANT, not what YOU think they need !

Former_MSE_Andrea

That makes sense for the older age range but does the local scheme want to encourage new blood to join it and get involved ie village residents who are on Facebook?

NeighbourhoodWatch

Thanks kkgree1 for your input - and for your support for Neighbourhood Watch!

Technology has indeed 'flattened out' some of the structures that used to be in place as regards communication - lots of people are happy to be on a messaging system or list and receive updates directly from the police. We're looking at how this might affect the coordinator's role - communication has often been an important part of that, but it's far from the only thing a coordinator does. We feel local input still has a hugely valuable part to play in making 'top down' communications timely and relevant for local people rather than Neighbourhood Watch just being a collection of people who happen to be communicated at.

We're also keen to look at risk, the effectiveness of Neighbourhood Watch and how we can encourage companies to give discounts to members where this does legitimately reduce their risk of being a victim of crime. Thank you once again for your comments.

NeighbourhoodWatch

That makes sense Primrose. Some Neighbourhood Watch schemes do use Facebook and love it, and it works really well for them, and others don't use it at all. It seems to be down to the individual group and what works best for them - which is as it should be!

Perhaps that will change in the future with more younger members - although there are indications that Facebook is used more by middle-aged people than young people these days, so perhaps our members will move onto different social networks altogether.

Former_MSE_Andrea

Does anyone have plans to set a scheme up in their area that could do with some help on here?