Neighbourhood watch

The Neighbourhood watch scheme is an initiative which offers you the opportunity to influence the safety of your neighbourhood and to reduce the fear of crime and anti-social behaviour in your area.

The scheme

The aim of Neighbourhood watch is to support you so that you can protect yourself and your property. The scheme is promoted, supported and endorsed at a strategic level by a partnership between the Department of Justice Community Safety Unit, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and the Northern Ireland Policing Board (NIPB). At an operational level, this is done through Community Safety Partnerships (CSP), PSNI District Command Units and District Policing Partnerships (DPP).

Neighbourhood watch is one of the largest and most well-known crime prevention initiatives. Anyone can get involved in a Neighbourhood watch scheme, which means you can play your part in helping the police cut crime. The scheme also encourages you to be a good neighbour and helps to bring communities closer together. Neighbourhood Watch is a method of developing close liaison between households in a neighbourhood, the local police and other relevant agencies.

The aim of Neighbourhood watch is to help you protect yourself and your property and to reduce the fear of crime in your community through:

improved home security
greater vigilance
fostering community spirit
improving your environment

How local schemes work?

The need for a Neighbourhood Watch Scheme is identified and developed by local communities together with each of the partner organisations in the process. In commencing a scheme, community representatives should consult with their local police officer, the CSP co-ordinator, or the DPP manager to consider arranging an initial community meeting to get an overview of Neighbourhood Watch and to clarify any issues.

When community support for the establishment of a scheme has been obtained, the community identifies at least one Neighbourhood Watch co-ordinator for the area to be covered by the scheme. All the residents within the designated area should be notified of the proposal and asked to register their interest.

Each Neighbourhood watch scheme nominates an individual to act as a scheme co-ordinator within their local area. The nominated co-ordinator agrees to undergo a PSNI security check. When the co-ordinator has passed the PSNI check, a Neighbourhood watch scheme accreditation application form is completed and submitted to the local community safety partnership co-ordinator.

The form is checked and endorsed by the local PSNI, Community Safety Partnership and the District Policing Partnership and forwarded to the Community Safety Unit who completes the accreditation process. Following accreditation, Neighbourhood watch signage is issued and displayed in the neighbourhood.

What can Neighbourhood watch schemes do?

The Neighbourhood watch co-ordinator acts as a link between your community and the local police. Their main role is to act as the first point of contact for all members of the scheme and to receive and distribute information.

However, everyone within a Neighbourhood watch scheme plays an important part in making their neighbourhood a safer place to live by remaining alert to unusual or suspicious activity in the neighbourhood.

Get involved

Local communities interested in establishing a Neighbourhood watch scheme should contact their local council office and ask for either the Community Safety Partnership co-ordinator or the District Policing Partnership manager. Alternatively information is available by contacting your local PSNI station.