Neighbourhood Watch

Neighbourhood Watch in Logie

Tonight I attended a meeting of Logie Residents’ Association meeting at the sheltered housing lounge in Lime Street.

The topic for discussion was the possibility of establishing a new Neighbourhood Watch Scheme for the estate, similar to the successful one that ran in the area some years ago.

Some thirteen residents in the area have agreed to be “good neighbour” street representatives and I think the proposal is excellent in an area with a large elderly population. The scheme will get good support from our local community police officer, who regularly attends Logie Residents’ Association meetings and I have contacted the Director of Housing asking for additional funding for the group to be able to have “Neighbourhood Watch” signage put up in Logie and for similar initiatives.

The neighbourhood watch movement points out that …

“… the main aim of a Neighbourhood Watch scheme is to create a partnership between the local community, the police and the local authority.

Neighbourhood Watch started in the UK in 1982. There are now some 150,000 schemes running throughout the UK covering nearly five million households, which makes Neighbourhood Watch the largest voluntary movement in the country.

What can Neighbourhood Watch schemes do?

They can target local crime problems and take action to prevent them. In consultation with the local police they can find out from local people what crimes most concern and affect them and focus on those specific problems.

Most crime is opportunist, committed on the spur of the moment, or when a car or house is left unlocked. This means there is enormous scope for reducing chances for criminals.

Traditional Neighbourhood Watch activity has focused on the immediate vicinity of homes. However, more and more schemes are now broadening their range of work.

Local problems such as combating anti-social behaviour, 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.”

You can visit the Association of Scottish Neighbourhood Watches website by going to www.aosnw.co.uk.

Neighbourhood Watch in Logie

It is good to see progress towards the setting up on a Neighbourhood Watch Scheme for the Logie area.
 
Following the recent AGM of Logie Residents´Association I attended, the Tenant Participation Officer has written to all residents in the Estate to update them.   She writes:
 
“The idea we have at the moment would be to run the Neighbourhood Watch Scheme along with the Logie Residents’ Association, with the Association being the Neighbourhood Watch Coordinator.     We already meet on the first Tuesday of every month in the Sheltered Lounge in Lime Street at 7pm and Neighbourhood Watch could become a standing agenda item.
 
We have set aside Tuesday 3rd November at 7pm as an open meeting to discuss how to take a Neighbourhood Watch Scheme forward.  We would welcome as many people as possible to attend.”
 
This is an excellent initiative for the Logie area and it is hoped that many local residents will support it.