If you would like to set up a Neighbourhood Watch scheme in your area, please contact your local Neighbourhood Watch Development Officer who will give you further information.

To kick things off you will want to arrange a meeting between all interested parties in your immediate area and your local police. Try to organise a time for your meeting which would enable as many of your neighbours to attend as possible.

When you have decided upon the date and time, circulate all the relevant houses
Hold the meeting in your own home or one of your neighbours' homes so that the atmosphere will be informal and comfortable.

At the meeting, make the opening remarks and briefly explain the purpose of the meeting. After this, the Neighbourhood Watch Development or local Police will probably give a brief talk. At the meeting, you can also appoint one person to be the Coordinator of the scheme. They will get people working together and be the major point of contact for the community and for the police.

As well as the Coordinator there is usually a committee which meets regularly to plan what problems to target and what action to take. Or alternatively you may wish to meet informally – its up to you!

Set aims and objectives

Aims and objectives will help focus your neighbourhood watch scheme and can be decided at your first meeting. Working with the police officer, people can find out what crimes most concern and affect them and focus on those specific problems.

Local problems such as vandalism and graffiti are well within the scope of a well-organised Neighbourhood Watch scheme. You can also take action such as fitting more secure door and window locks in vulnerable homes. You could also lobby the local authority, for example, to improve street lighting or step up the security of a communal entrance.

Objectives could include:

• To reduce burglaries and car crime.

• Tackling anti-social behaviour.

• Focusing on vandalism and graffiti.

• Working with other partners to improve the community.

Once you've decided on your aims and objectives, you'll have to decide how action is going to take place. The police will be able to advise you on the best way to achieve this, but you may have other ideas.

It is also important to discuss with other members of the scheme how much time they are willing to put into the scheme to make it work. If you have more time it will mean a better organised and more successful campaign.

To find out more, contact your local Neighbourhood Watch Development Officer.