WELCOME TO FAIRFIELD PARK HOMEWATCH/NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH
 
What is Home Watch / Neighbourhood Watch?
 
Home Watch or Neighbourhood Watch as it is often known, is one of the biggest and most successful crime prevention initiatives ever.
Behind it lies a simple idea shared by millions of people around the country.
 It is simply:
The History of Home Watch / Neighbourhood Watch
 
Home Watch/Neighbourhood Watch is the best known and the most effective example of the community and police working in partnership to prevent crime, build safer communities and improve quality of life. In the UK today there are over 155,000 Neighbourhood Watch schemes in operation and over 10 million people directly benefiting from Neighbourhood Watch initiatives. Neighbourhood Watch is now the largest voluntary organisation in the country.
 
This is an extraordinary development from the movement's humble beginnings in 1982, when the residents of Mollington in Cheshire decided to group together to take action against a series of burglaries. Working with the police, they arranged to watch over each other's properties. The local crime level fell substantially, news travelled quickly and further schemes were established within weeks. The movement mushroomed rapidly to over 42,000 schemes in 1987. The Watch idea has since extended to a range of specialist schemes, including, for example, those covering farms, businesses, schools, shops, horses and boats. More recently Neighbourhood Watch has been working with a range of partners within Community Safety, including Local Authorities, Fire Service, Crime Concern, Victim Support, Help the Aged, NACRO and Crimestoppers.
 
Creating communities, & communities who care:

For a new development like Fairfield Park Home Watch Schemes are the ideal way of building communities, taking pride in your local area & getting to know all your new neighbours.

The activities of Home Watch members can foster a real community spirit and a belief in the community's ability to tackle problems. At the same time, you feel secure, knowing your neighbours are keeping an eye on your property.

There are other benefits too. A street that displays Home Watch Stickers in every window & Home Watch signs on lamp posts is a real deterrent to any criminal, & helps to make Fairfield Park a safer place to live. As a member of a Home Watch Group you will become familiar with crime prevention ideas which will help keep your home and belongings safe. You could even get a discount on your house insurance.

How does Home Watch / Neighbourhood Watch work?

 

The number of homes in a scheme depends on the area. Usually up to 25 homes is recommended as the most manageable sized group. However, they may be larger or they might involve just half a dozen houses. It depends on the area and what people living there want.

A scheme is generally led by a volunteer co-ordinator whose job is to get people working together and make sure things get done. 

There is sometimes a small committee who meet regularly to plan which problems to target and what action to take. 

The volunteers keep in close touch with other Home Watch schemes and the local police to share information and advice.

Many areas hold regular Support Group meetings so that all the co-ordinators from that area are kept up to date with all the news and initiatives that are taking place.

For further information the national Neighbourhood Watch/Home Watch website can be found at: http://www.neighbourhoodwatch.net

How to Set-up a Home Watch Scheme on Fairfield Park

Canvass your neighbours to find out how many would be interested in joining a local Home watch Scheme.
 
Contact the Home Watch Co-ordinator for Fairfield Park.
 
This is currently Alison Farrell-Price who can be contacted as  follows: Phone: 01462-733317. email: alinfp@fmail.co.uk
 
If you are thinking about setting up a Home Watch Scheme on Fairfield Park Alison will advise on which areas are currently covered by existing schemes or planned future schemes, and will therefore either be able to put you in touch with your local Home Watch Co-ordinator, or if it is a new scheme she will make an appointment to visit you, & give you all the help & advice you need to set up a scheme on your area of the development.
 
Appoint the co-ordinator - This is usually the person who initiates the scheme. The Co-ordinator of your Home Watch is a key part of an effective scheme. Their role would include maintaining the Home Watch in a specific area and acting as a link between the scheme, other co-ordinators, the local police and the Local Authority. Ideally you should also appoint a Deputy Co-ordinator to work with you & provide cover for holidays etc.
 
Set your aims and objectives - Decide what you want your Home Watch group to achieve.

Home Watch activities - Once you have a co-ordinator in place and have set up the Home Watch scheme in conjunction with the police, you can then undertake some of the activities to ensure the scheme runs smoothly and efficiently. These would include supplying stickers and Home Watch Packs to scheme members, circulating newsletters and relevant memos/advisories, & encouraging members to report suspicious activity accurately.

Current Home Watch Schemes on Fairfield Park
 
1) Palmerston Way & No. 2 Dickens Boulevard
Co-ordinator: Hannah Walder, hannah@osteopathyfirst.co.uk
 
2) Stephenson Walk & Nos 61,63,65,67,69 & 71 Bronte Avenue
Co-ordinator: Alison Farrell-Price, alinfp@fmail.co.uk
 
Mid Beds Home Watch Newsletter
Please click on the attached link to view the latest Bedfordshire Police Watchwide News for Home Watch Groups: http://www.bedfordshire.police.uk/CrimeInfo/Scorpion/publications.htm
  
IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Local Police Contact Numbers
 
Whether or not you are part of a Home Watch Scheme there may be times when you need to contact the Police. Below are the key numbers & contact information for the local police along with some advice on who to call & when:
 
1)  In the event of a Police Emergency please dial 999
(a Police Emergency is for serious crimes which are currently underway or which have just taken place e.g. break-ins, assaults etc. where there may be the possibility of apprehending the offender if the crime is promptly reported)
 
2)  In the event of a Non Emergency please dial Kempston Police HQ on 01234 – 841212
(e.g. to report a serious crime which has already taken place and which was not in the immediate past)
 
3)  For Advice, Community Issues/Complaints e.g. local nuisance crime, please call PC Paul Ryan (PC 5643), Stotfold Beat Manager.on 01234 842587(direct line). In his absence his colleague PC Steve Holbrook (PC 395) can be contacted on 01234 842585. The new email address for both Beat Officers is snt. arlesey@bedfordshire.pnn.police.uk.
N.B. The “snt” prefix on the email address stands for “safer neighbourhood team”!
 
PLEASE NOTE: If you are the victim of a crime you must report it to the Police yourself BUT PLEASE REMEMBER also to notify your Home watch Co-ordinator of any crime that has taken place locally.
 
If you do not have a local co-ordinator you can report the crime to Alison Farrell-Price the Fairfield Park Co-ordinator on 01462-733317 or alinfp@fmail.co.uk
 
Home Security Tips
 
Many people think it is difficult to make their homes secure, however there are plenty of relatively inexpensive and simple steps you can take to deter intruders. Read on...

1) Fit an alarm system in a prominent position.
2) Fit a dummy alarm box to deter intruders approaching the rear of the house.
3) Consider fitting security grills to vulnerable windows, eg. those on the ground floor and above flat roofs, as these can be easily accessed.
4) Install security lanterns and garden lighting to ensure that your garden is well illuminated, so that there is nowhere for intruders to hide.
5) Securely lock your shed and fit a shed alarm to protect your valuable equipment. Make sure you lock your ladders away.
6) Plant thorny shrubs to deter unwanted visitors from climbing over your fences. Also ensure that hedges and trees are cut back so that it is difficult for intruders to conceal themselves.
7) Install a PIR (passive infra-red) movement activated CCTV camera on the front of your house to keep an eye on your car in the driveway.
8) Fit window locks on all windows and display ‘Home Watch’ and ‘CCTV in operation’ stickers.
9) Check who is at the front door by fitting a spy hole, door chain, or security lantern with a built-in hidden CCTV camera.
10) Fit a lantern floodlight with a PIR (passive infra-red) movement activated sensor. This will be triggered by visitors to your door, and will illuminate your garden or driveway.
11) Use gravel and pebbles on driveways and paths to enable you to hear visitors approaching your house.
12) Use timers to switch lights on and off when you are away, giving the illusion that somebody is at home.
 
Identity Fraud
  • Identity fraud is a 21st century crime.
  • It is silent, hidden, difficult to investigate and breathtakingly simple.
  • It is the  fastest growing type of fraud in the UK and costs Britain  £1.3bn a year.
  • The Home Office estimates that it would  take the average identity fraud victim 300 hours to put their records straight after a criminal has stolen their personal history.

So how does identity fraud work?

  • Criminals steal the identities of the living or the dead, and use stolen or forged  documents to take out bank loans, overdrafts and credit cards.
  • The types of documents most likely to be stolen are UK and foreign passports, foreign identity cards, UK and foreign driving licences.
  • The public are also being warned to be more vigilant about discarding personal records, such as credit cards, bank statements and utility bills, which can be used by ‘bin raiders’.
  •  It is becoming increasingly common for criminals to work together in gangs to forge driving licences, pay slips, and utility bills.
  • Another common trick is to steal the identities of real people who had previously lived in houses now vacant and up for sale.
Avoiding identity fraud
  • Be careful when throwing away old documents, bank statements and credit card receipts. Criminals search dustbins for these.
  • Shred old documents to prevent bin raiders from acquiring information about you and your identity.
  • If you suspect anything odd, call the relevant body as soon as possible, e.g the Passport Office, Vehicle Licensing, your credit card company, bank etc.
  • Check with a credit reference agency such as Experian or Equifax to make sure no fraudulent applications for credit have been made in your name.
  • Keep your passport, credit cards, cheque books, driving licence, pay slips and other personal information in a safe place.
  • Check bank and credit card statements carefully, and query anything that looks out of place.