Hello, my name is Peter New. I am a Police Volunteer with the Kent Police and I work in the Community Neighbourhood Watch Team based at Ashford Police Station albeit I work out in the community.
My background is the Fire Service and when I retired I was Assistant Chief Officer Head of Operations for the Kent Fire Brigade. It was an excellent job with a full operational and fire prevention aspect to the post. We were very community focused.
I have brought many of those skills I learned with that work into the police.
- Can we prevent the crime in the first place?
- Can we prevent similar crimes once one has been committed?
- Can we assist in investigations by the provision of evidence and intelligence?
- Can we learn lessons and go again into the community to prevent still further crimes and anticipate future trends?
NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH IS COMPLETELY FREE TO JOIN and then you just READ AND STAY SAFE.
Firstly, the most important question of all: What is Neighbourhood Watch?
Neighbourhood Watch (NHW) is the largest voluntary crime prevention organisation in the country. NHW has been successfully operating in Kent since 1991 and is a recognised and successful crime-fighting initiative. NHW is a partnership where like-minded people come together to prevent crime, reduce the fear of crime and increase community cohesion. It involves the Police, Community Safety departments of local authorities, other voluntary organisations and, above all, individuals and families who want to make their neighbourhoods better places to live.
There is a very strong and active Neighbourhood Watch in Aldington, supported by the Parish Council.
It is important that the Police and the Community work in partnership to prevent and detect crime. The aim is to help communities protect themselves and their homes, reduce the fear of crime and improve their local environment. Essentially it is about neighbours looking out for one another.
Information and Crime prevention can be forwarded on to all members in the scheme. In turn, members are asked to pass any information they have back to the Police. This will help the Police gather intelligence, which is crucial in protecting your area.
The success of a scheme depends on the time and effort put in by local people and their willingness to get involved. The benefits include residents getting to know and helping to protect each other, particularly the more vulnerable in their communities.
All members of a scheme can take steps to help prevent crime, improve safety and thus reduce the fear of crime.
An active Neighbourhood Watch can therefore:
· Reduce crime and the opportunities for crime
· Help and reassure those who live in fear of crime
· Encourage neighbourliness and closer communities
· Help improve the local environment
Some insurance companies offer discounts on their home insurance contents if you belong to an active NHW scheme.
Neighbourhood Watch is a busy two-way communication process. My job is to look at the crimes committed. Look at crime prevention advice and intelligence from around the County and see how I can best offer advice to residents to keep them safe and secure.
Not just safe and secure but remove the fear of being a victim of crime also.
I am sensitive that in some rural areas residents feel the police have abandoned them, “we never see a police car” “we never see a bobby anymore” I often hear.
That may be the perception which is an even bigger mandate for me to get crime prevention absolutely top drawer for you.
So many crimes are preventable, so many crimes are avoidable.
How will I get that message and crime prevention into the community?
Importantly work in total partnership with your Parish Council and you are already reading on this website an arm of the communication strategy which will be:
- Parish Council Newsletters
- Facebook contributions on the ALDINGTON FACEBOOK GROUP
- Build up a database of email members, already very strong, that way I can send urgent alerts straight into you at home or work. I won’t bombard you if I write then it is nearby!!
- Public Engagement meetings, attending the fete and other community events.
- Importantly engage and listen – there may be an obvious item I am missing.
- Essentially win the hearts and minds of the community to report all incidents no matter how small, even attempted crimes. All those calls and information received will shape firstly operational responses, then future policing patrols and crime prevention advice.
- Yes, use as much modern technology as possible, but also look that we don’t miss out residents not on the internet. Any Parish newsletters will play a major role in this.
- We will have monthly articles to warn of crimes and maybe trends coming. I call this “CLOUDS ON THE HORIZON” you need not suffer a crime in Aldington if we can alert and warn you from intelligence from nearby criminal activity
- NHW Signage and stickers for members to show criminals that the community is as one and we will all work together to stay safe and secure especially to be aware of our elderly and vulnerable. Criminals will be!!
Each of you can play an important role in helping to grow the ALDINGTON NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH.
Please spread the word for us to your friends, neighbours, families and even work colleagues to help us to continue to grow in number and to help develop the scheme still further to make the community as safe and secure as possible.
