STREET NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH ASSOCIATION
The Street Neighbourhood Watch Association was formed in 2000 from the independent NW schemes which had been operation in Street since early 1996. It was felt that an association could provide a better, more efficient and effective community service to our members. We hope to comply with the aims of the NW movement to provide to our community: 1. Information 2. Education 3. Fostering of community spirit through reduction in the fear of crime.
Whether they are NW members or not, to facilitate these aims we hold information days, attend community functions (fetes, citizenship days, schools etc.) and work closely with the local Police in there crime reduction projects. The association has grown over the years and now represents around 864 households, (2600+ members) in 35 schemes approximately 25% of all households in Street. As part of our aims to reduce crime, reduce the fear of crime and disseminate information, we have setup an efficient Cascade system of contacts between the local Police, Avon & Somerset Polices NW administration in Portishead and Yeovil, local Councils and Commercial organisations and our members through area co-ordinators, scheme co-ordinators and members, using Email, Fax and Telephone messages to give warnings of crime trends, possible crime related problems and future events or promotions in our area. Our contacts include all junior schools (Brookside, Hindhayes, Elmhurst and Avalon) and Crispin school, where we have worked closely with their award wining School Watch, with whom we have provided cycle marking kits, mobile phone marking and funding.
We also have close connections with the sheltered housing schemes, taxi watch and pub watch within the Street area. As we have regular contact with the school children, youth organisations, the elderly and vulnerable in our community all executive officers and co-ordinators have voluntarily been Police/CRB checked to ensure the safety of our members and those we work with. We were one of the first NWs to adopt these checks in the UK. We were also affiliated to the National Neighbourhood Watch Association, who provided indemnity insurance (now supplied by Avon & Somerset Police) to our members on NW work at no cost to ourselves, and through whom we have been presented several wards including the 2001 Rural Community award and the 2003 community Partnership award. We also support other crime and safety related initiatives such as Community Speed Watch, Local Action Teams (LATs) and road safety for children by supporting cycling proficiency at the local junior schools and fluorescent/reflective stickers and tags for childrens road safety in dark.
CRIME CAN NOT FLOURISH IN A COMMUNITY THAT CARES
Community Safety
The SNWA has over the years has taken the lead in several local community and environmental projects, these include: - -
Late night opening of a Pharmacy in Street -
Post office access and counter privacy. -
Disabled access to banks, shops and have taken part in Disability awareness days -
Promoted and distributed the acclaimed Message in a Bottle emergency information kits to the elderly, vulnerable and the general public. I association with the local Lions club, St Johns ambulance and emergency services. -
Pedestrian safety, removal or resighting of advertising 'A' boards on the footpaths Because of our work with the Police, local organisations and with the Community of Street, we have been persented with several awards, these include: -
2001 Avon & Somerset Constabulary Community partnership award -
2001 NNWA Rural community award -
2003 Avon & Somerset Rural community award -
2003 NNWA Community partnership award -
2003 High Sheriff of Somerset's community volunteers award. -
2006 Avon & Somerset Constsbulary Partnership award -
2006 Taking a Stand Award for work in the Community
Why set up a scheme? The main aim of a neighbourhood watch scheme is to create a partnership between the local community, the police and the local authority. The schemes are a great way of building community relations and working together with the police to reduce crime, fear of crime and improve the quality of life in your area.
The first scheme was started in 1982, and there are now over 160,000 schemes running throughout the UK and its the largest voluntary organisation in the country.
If you intend setting up a scheme, you should first contact your local police station to see if there is already one in existence. You can also find your local neighbourhood watch scheme online. If there is not a scheme in your area you can set one up yourself.
How to set up your scheme
Firstly you must canvas your area to find out if there are sufficient neighbours to set up a scheme. Don't worry if you get little response at first, you can start a scheme with as many members as you like and as the work gets around you will find that membership will increase.
When you are satisfied that you have enough interest to start a scheme, and then it's time to have an inaugural meeting. Its a good idea to hold it fairly locally, the local school, village hall or even the local pub if it has a room that you can be fairly private. What organisations can help you set up your scheme? - Your local Police beat officer:
Check you local Police web site. - The Sector Crime reduction officer:
As above - Other NW Schemes/Association:
Local information points, libraries, CAB etc. - The local Police should know a contact name/number.
- The Police NW co-ordinator for your area:
Via the Police web site or your local police station.
Who can help me in the Street area?
The SNWA, contact us via the link on the contacts page, or the Chairman or Membership secretary: - Chairman. Brian Bastable 01458 443940 Membership secretary. Maureen Davis: - 01458 442071 The NW administrator at Yeovil Police station Dave Elson: - 01935 402140 The Local Police Beat officer or PCSO, Street Police station: - The SNWA can assist you with leaflet drops/printing etc. We can attend the meeting and give a short presentation on the NW, the SNWA and how we work together with the Police, other organisations and our community within Street.
What is a Cascade System? The SNWA uses an award winning network of Email, Fax and telephone contacts to inform our members through the Scheme co-ordinators of:
Possible crime trends in the area. -
-
Reports of Bogus callers -
Reports of Rogue Traders -
Reports of Scams -
Incidents of Anti-social behaviour -
Reports of crime affecting members. Requests from the Police for information on crime, suspect vehicles or persons. -
-
Vehicles that have been or are suspected of being involved in crime -
Persons who have been involved in criminal activity -
Stolen items or missing property. -
Help to trace missing persons etc. Information on safety, crime and general issues which are of interest. -
-
Personal, vehicle and home safety information. -
Special offers on security equipment from approved organisations -
Functions, information days etc. The Cascade is a two way system, enabling us to pass on information from not only the Police but from any member or co-ordinator who has any relevant information which will be of benefit to our other members, or be of interest to the Police or high light safety, community or anti-social problems.
The setup of the system enables us to be able to get an important message to every member within 24 hours, even quicker if needed, that could be 2000+ people who know of a problem or are on the look out for a vehicle within a very short time.
What is Community SpeedWatch?
The aims. To raise the level of Road Safety in the Street area by raising the awareness of speed on our streets. Informing the motorist of the dangers of excessive speed in build up areas. To assist the Police in raising the awareness of the motorist to speed. Who decides where we operate? The Police have to carry out Risk assessments of any area which we operate in. We must have a clear 60 metres view either way. Areas of risk include Schools, accident black spots and where the public has raised concerns about speeding traffic.
Where do we operate?
1. Somerton Road. The worst area for speeding, average speeds in this 30 mph area is 42 mph. the area has a School entrance, traffic lights and a junction into a housing estate. 2. Brooks Road. Opposite Avalon School. This area contains two Schools, an entrance into a housing estate and sharp bend.
3. Elmhurst Lane. Adjacent to community centre entrance. This road has a School, Traffic lights and is a short cut to the Village centre.
4. Portway. Outside entrance to play area. A long straight road with
several junctions leading to housing estates, one being a sheltered housing scheme, a childrens play area and a major route for traffic in and out of the Village.
5. Middle Leigh. This road has several junctions in a built up area, normally it has lots of parked vehicles and a tight corner and blind junction at the west end.
How to contact the Police
When to or not to use the 999 system.
Call 999 if: There is an immediate danger to life There is an immediate risk of serious injury A crime is in progress or is about to happen or An offender is still at the scene or near by.
What number do I ring if it is not an emergency?
The main switchboard number is 0845 4567000 which will connect you to a 24-hour central switchboard at police headquarters in Portishead. Our call handlers will ask the nature of your call so that we can put youre through to someone who can help. We can also answer a wide range of general enquiries by referring to our computerised database. Where an enquiry does not relate to the police, we may be able to refer you to the relevant organisation.
Calls are graded as follows: -
Prompt - not an emergency, but officers should attend as soon as possible; -
Routine - where an urgent response is not required and an appointment can be made for a local officer to attend -
Recorded - where police attendance is not required and the caller is referred to another, more appropriate agency, or information needs only to be recorded and passed on How to contact the Police if you are deaf?
A person deaf can contact us through a Minicom facility by calling 01275 816888 based at police headquarters, Portishead.
The force is also registered with BT TypeTalk, a national relay service in which BT operators transpose normal speech onto textphones used by deaf and speech-impaired subscribers.
This service is available 24 hours a day.
If dialling 999 from a mobile phone: Due to the different base stations used by phone companies, your call may be answered by an operator in another part of the country. If you have to make an emergency call from a mobile phone please tell the operator immediately where you are phoning from so that your call is dealt with by the appropriate area.
How to contact a local Police officer. There are several ways to contact a Street Police officer: Ring the non emergency number 0845 4567000, ask the operator to put you through to Street police station. Ask the operator to take a message for a specific officer, you will need their name and number if possible. By Email, there is an Email link from the A&S Police web site, (local pages) for official business, messages etc. Through your co-ordinator, we have a Fax link to Street Police and other numbers that we can use. Crime can not flourish in a community that Cares |
