Neighbourhood Watch
Protect Your Car – Neighbourhood Watch Campaign
Car crime is a real problem in the UK. Alarmingly, one car is stolen every ten minutes.(1) With Covid-19 and the recent lockdowns, many people aren’t driving or checking on their cars as much as they used to. At Neighbourhood Watch, we need your help to remind car owners to remain vigilant about where and how they park their cars, in order to keep them safe.
John Hayward-Cripps, CEO of Neighbourhood Watch Network, says
“Most car crimes happen because cars are left unlocked. There is a misconception that some cars are auto-locking and lock themselves if left unattended after a period of time. This isn’t always correct. Another misconception is that your car is too old and no one will bother stealing it. This is also incorrect – both new and old cars are at risk. Having a car stolen or broken into is more than simply a hassle, it can impact on people’s livelihoods. The good news is that there are simple steps everyone can take to help reduce the risk to their car. With only a 46% recovery rate we’re reminding everyone to leave your car locked, lit and empty.”
Remember – Leave your car:
- Locked (2) A simple mistake that can prove calamitous: 44% of cars are broken into via an unlocked door. Leave your car locked video.
- Lit (2) 80% of car crime occurs during the evening or at night. Parking near street lamps or in a busy area can deter thieves. Leave your car lit video.
- Empty (or with no items on show) Owners often forget that personal belongings within the car are at as much risk of being stolen as the car itself. Leave your car empty video.
John Hayward-Cripps continues
“Car thieves are opportunists. Leaving items on a car seat or forgetting to lock your car can act as an invitation for crime. We want to instill the habit of double-checking where and how you’ve parked with our three simple steps: leave it locked, lit and empty. As a local charity with a trusted voice in the community, we’re asking everyone to proactively support their neighbours and friends by sharing our three steps with three others. By spreading the word, we’re confident we can crack down on car crime which can be deeply distressing and debilitating for its victims.”
How to support our campaign:
LEARN: Visit www.ourwatch.org.uk/protectyourcar for top tips and advice on keeping your vehicle safe.
FOLLOW: Follow us on our social channels (Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / LinkedIn) to share our messages within your communities. Tag #ProtectYourCar
SHARE: Forward this email to your friends and family, or download this image and share it on WhatsApp with the following message ‘Car crime remains a pressing problem in the UK – alarmingly, one car is stolen every ten minutes. The vast majority of car crimes happen through unlocked cars, parked in badly lit areas and where there are visible items to steal. Remember these simple steps to keep your car safe… leave it locked, lit and empty. For more top tops visit www.ourwatch.org.uk/protectyourcar
For more information, including requests for a press release or campaign pack, please contact our Senior Communications and Digital Manager Deborah Waller on Deborah.waller@ourwatch.org.uk
Data sourced from:
(1) ITV: ITV, 2020
(2) ONS data: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/crimeinenglandandwalesappendixtables
(3) OPAL and Police National Computer: https://www.npcc.police.uk/NationalPolicing/OPALNationalIntelligenceUnitforSeriousOrganisedAcq.aspx
Neighbourhood Watch Network (the national umbrella charity for Neighbourhood Watches across England and Wales)
Protect your Car campaign
Help Us Understand How Covid-19 Has Impacted Crime and Other Activities
Neighbourhood watch COVID-19 and crime survey
We are delighted to be working with University College London to understand how COVID-19 has impacted upon people’s routine and online activities, crime and their perceptions of it.
To help with this work, we are encouraging our supporters to participate in a short survey (surveymonkey.co.uk/r/9LGPHDL) which closes on 23rd December.
As well as understanding how the pandemic has affected things to date, the aim of the survey is to understand how it might do so in the future. Your participation will be really valuable and help us understand things that other data cannot.
We estimate that it will take about 15-20 minutes to complete. Your responses will be stored securely and you will not be asked for any information that would identify you as an individual.
If you are willing to take part, please complete this survey: www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/9LGPHDL
Please support this work – with your help I am sure we can gain real insight into the effects of COVID-19 on crime.
Yours faithfully,
Central Support Team, Neighbourhood Watch Network
Follow us..
Website: ourwatch.org.uk
Facebook: facebook.com/ourwatch
Twitter: twitter.com/N_watch
Instagram: neighbourhood.watch.insta
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/neighbourhood-watch/
Neighbourhood Watch Protect Your Passw0rd National Campaign
Neighbourhood Watch launches PROTECT YOUR Pa$$W0rD campaign with 3 quick and easy steps
As we spend more time at home and on our online devices, over one third (34%) of people say that they’re more concerned about cybercrime than physical crime and a startling 1 in 5 people are a victim of cybercrime!* You could be more at risk than you might think.
If strengthening your passwords is something you keep putting off, or you feel overwhelmed by the sea of online security information, you’re not alone.
As part of our Cyberhood Watch initiative, launched in 2019 in partnership with Avast, we have launched a PROTECT YOUR Pa$$W0Rd campaign that targets both the overwhelmed and complacent, providing everyone with 3 easy steps to be more secure online.
PROTECT YOUR Pa$$W0Rd in 3 easy steps
- Create a separate password for your email account
- Use 3 random words
- Turn on two-factor authentication (2FA)
To find out more about how to do each step visit our Password Protection page on our website .
But we won’t stop there! Whilst taking those 3 easy steps will go a long way to protecting yourself online, we want to protect not just you but your whole community! To do this, we are asking you to spread the word and help protect your family, friends, colleagues and neighbours by sharing these 3 easy steps with 3 others.
To share with others you can forward this email to at least 3 of your friends, share the information from our Password Protection page in your local newsletter, or share our campaign on your social media channels using our Protect your Pa$$W0Rd Campaign Pack,
More about the campaign
Our campaign will run on social media for 4 weeks from 9th November 2020. We are targeting both Neighbourhood Watch members and non-members alike with two different attitudes to online security.
For those that are unsure and overwhelmed by an abundance of advice, we want to cut though the noise and simplify the confusion, so they feel empowered to take action.
And for those that think ‘it won’t happen to me’ we want to shock them into action, so that they realise how prevalent the problem is, even amongst young people.
We have created social media animated and still graphics targeted to both those audiences, supported by further information detailing how and why to take each step on our dedicated Password Protection page.
Download our Protect your Pa$$W0Rd Campaign Pack to share the campaign across your networks using email, whatsapp, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and in newsletters.
Why not go one step further and share our Protect your Pa$$W0Rd Press Release locally and don’t forget to let us know about any local press you are able to generate.
Visit our Protect your PA$$word campaign page to find out more.
*Perceptions of cybercrime in the UK report produced in partnership with Avast, surveyed over 14,000 Neighbourhood Watch members: https://press.avast.com/hubfs/media-materials/kits/Avast%20Cyberhood%20Watch/Avast_CyberHood_Watch_Report%20FINAL.pdf?hsLang=en
For more information contact Deborah Waller on deborah.waller@ourwatch.org.uk.
NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH NETWORK, Central Support Team
Website: ourwatch.org.uk
Facebook: facebook.com/ourwatch
Twitter: twitter.com/N_watch
Instagram: neighbourhood.watch.insta
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/neighbourhood-watch/
Nominate Your Best Neighbour of 2018
Neighbourhood Watch and their sponsor Co-op Insurance has just launched a nationwide search to find and celebrate some of the best and most considerate neighbours of 2018!
They are urging people to nominate the most deserving good neighbours and there is also an opportunity to put forward your ‘Hero Next Door’ for a true act of heroism.
Neighbourhood Watch and Co-op Insurance are working together on these exciting awards and anyone can nominate their good neighbours today!
This is about the local heroes in your street and community whose acts of kindness and neighbourliness really set them apart.
NW want to recognise the people who are making such a vital contribution to community life and encourage others to follow in their footsteps.
You don’t need to be a Neighbourhood Watch member to nominate and the person you nominate doesn’t need to be a member either.
Click here to join in– before nominations close on September 5 – and you’ll be taken to the nomination form where you can share your stories of great neighbourly activities and acts of kindness.
You can also share the link to the nominations page by cutting and pasting it from below.
https://joinin.coop.co.uk/opportunities/159
So nominate your good neighbours today!
To read more about the awards on the Neighbourhood Watch website click here.
Neighbourhood Watch Week 2018
National Neighbourhood Watch Week is back for 2018!
NNWW18 runs from Saturday 16 June to Sunday 24 June – where the national organisation will be asking members how the movement will continue to help build safer and stronger communities over the next three years and beyond.
These are exciting times for Neighbourhood Watch as they look to the future of this fantastic movement and how we can make the most positive impact on communities across England and Wales over the next three years.
The national scheme is hosting a series of six seminars in June and July to give members to help develop NW’s Strategy for the next three years.
Members of the Board of Trustees will be attending each seminar to present and facilitate the Strategy discussion and to meet NW members. The Board know how vital it is to liaise and consult with local NW members and is committed to doing this in order to build a strong Strategy with shared commitment from all stakeholders.
This will be a great opportunity to meet members of the Board, the staff team and to network with each other to see what has been happening in other areas and to have YOUR voice in the future of Neighbourhood Watch.
There will also be the launch of new Crime and Vulnerability Toolkits at these seminars.
Crime in England and Wales is changing and NW is providing new practical information and help for members to support the police in the detection and reduction of these crimes. The network of 2.3 million member households is a force to be reckoned with.
So NW are finding more practical ways to empower members to look at some of the crimes that cause such significant harm to victims and communities. A simple example of this would be that if you regularly see different people going into a nearby house or minibuses turning up this may be a sign of Human Trafficking or if you are aware of an elderly neighbour regularly getting people knocking on their door they may well be being targeted for scams.
This summer NW are going to develop a group of 100+ local NW Champions from across England and Wales at the Seminars. The Champions will then be able to share their knowledge in their local area so even more people can get the important information they need and act as a local resource to other coordinators and members. This may simply mean sharing the information contained within the toolkits, developing a local focus on one or more of the areas or running a local project if they or local coordinators want to.
Anyone – member, coordinator or Association lead – with an interest in gaining information, additional knowledge and the chance to share this within their area with other members and coordinators will be the perfect participants for the seminars.
The toolkits provide information on and cover the following areas:
• Domestic Abuse – which as we know affects all communities
• Serious Violence – particularly knife crime
• Vulnerability and loneliness – affecting more people as families become more mobile
• Fraud and scams – electronic and traditional
• High harm crimes – Modern Slavery, Child Sexual Exploitation etc.
The closest seminars to our area are;
- Tuesday 26 June – Manchester Metropolitan University, Cavendish North Building, Cavendish Street, Manchester, M15 6BG. 9:30am registration, seminar 10:00am–4:00pm.
- Wednesday 27 June – Royal Hull Hotel, Ferensway, Hull, HU1 3UF, 9:30am registration, seminar 10:00am–4:00pm.
More information about the seminars can be found at https://www.ourwatch.org.uk/national-neighbourhood-watch-week-2018/