20 Years Young and Still Going Strong!
See how our Watch has grown
|
It is hard to believe that our Neighbourhood Watch first started in February 1990 by a small group of concerned individuals with less than 30 houses in Curzon Avenue. It was developed further with the support of the Police and the dedicated efforts of a few local people.
Since the early days, the Watch has grown to over 3,000 member households – that’s the majority of the houses in Birstall and Wanlip, including the new Hallam Fields development. Our aim is to help residents protect themselves and their property, to reduce the fear of crime and improve our local quality of life. We achieve this by holding a monthly Advice Shop to give information on security and to provide security and safety products on a not-for-profit basis, by delivering a monthly newsletter to all member households, providing information via a high quality website and maintaining close partnerships with the Police and local authorities including Birstall Parish Council. We are lucky to have excellent local Police officers know the area well and are working hard to tackle issues of concern expressed by the community and the Watch continues to support them in whatever way we can. Our Watch was awarded the best in the country in 1995, which included a visit by the then Home Secretary Michael Howard. This year we received another award presented at the Leicestershire Neighbourhood Watch AGM, following a nomination by Duncan Southall, Commander of the Charnwood LPU – recognising our outstanding contribution to neighbourhood policing and the local community. It goes without saying that our Watch could not operate without the hard work of the volunteer committee, co-ordinators and all our members. We are very proud of what we have achieved so far and hope that our Watch can continue to grow and change to meet the future needs of our community. |