Letter from the Chairman
Once again it has been brought to my notice that our elderly residents are reluctant to go out for the fear of crime and anti-social behaviour, which in turn is isolating them in their homes. They are not alone in this assumption as some of our teenagers whom I have spoken to feel the same. In actual fact, the crime figures in the Belmont adn South Wye area are one of the lowest in Hereford.
As most people are aware I am Chairman of the
Herefordshire Neighbourhood Watch Association. We have over 500 Neighbourhood Watch co-ordinators who do an excellent job with other volunteers in their street or village to combat the fear of crime by 'looking out for each other' and coming together once a month for coffee and a chat, also inviting their Local Police Officer or CSO (Community Support Officer) to join them to exchange information as to what is happening, if anything, in their areas. This in itself has helped to allay any fears for our elderly folk knowing someone is only a phone call away. I have found it has brought a sense of togetherness and of belonging to the community you live in. I have helped people to start a new Neighbourhood Watch in Newton Farm and Hunderton. If you would like more information in becoming a co-ordinator in your street, you can contact me on 01432-360456.
The Neighbourhood Watch Association has in the past six months successfully obtained a grant from the West Mercia Police Authority BCU fund, and I would like to thank them for their support. This has enabled us to form a Steering Group which has taken over the responsibility for the strategic management of NHW in Herefordshire. The Steering Group is mad up from NHW co-ordinators who represent the following Policing Areas:
Kington, Ledbury,Leominster, Bromyard, Ross-on-Wye,
Golden Valley, Hereford City and Hereford Rural.
Our first job was to call an AGM to elect eight people from the above Policing Areas to make up the Committee. Our main thrust will be communication with all co-ordinators and to support them on the ground in their area.
The group is managed by constitution, has a Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary and Treasurer. These posts were the subject of re-election at the group's AGM on 23rd January 2008, with two new people standing for election. All co-ordinators received our first newsletter through the post ten days after the AGM.
Cllr Glenda Powell, Cjhairman
New Herefordshire Neighbourhood Watch Association
Over the past 22 years, since Neighbourhood Watch came into being in the village of Monnington, near Chester, many changes – social and political – have taken place. Neighbourhood Watch has come to the stage where it has to adapt to these changes in order to stay effective in its stand against crime and give those in its grassroots level a greater say in how the organisation is run.
A new tier of Regional Neighbourhood Watch Associations is already being established on Regional Government Office lines with Kent and the South East, The West Country, Humberside, The North East, and the West Midlands – encompassing Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Mercia and West Midlands already in place and other regions, including Scotland, being set up.
Herefordshire Neighbourhood Watch falls in the area of West Mercia Neighbourhood Watch Association, which in all is made up of 13 Area Associations, each closely aligned with Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) areas. Each Area Association has its representatives to the West Mercia Neighbourhood Watch Association. However, to be fully effective and to gain the most benefits within the West Mercia Neighbourhood Watch Association it was imperative that Herefordshire Neighbourhood Watch, as it has been up to now, becomes the Herefordshire Neighbourhood Watch Association – a Company Limited By Guarantee.
The Inaugural Meeting of the new Association was held in May 2005 and the newly elected Committee met for its first full meeting early in July 2005.
As much as I can at this time, I will be happy to give more detailed information as to what has happened within the West Mercia Neighbourhood Watch Association so far, or try to find out any further relevant information. Please, get in touch with me through this website’s e-mail facility or by phoning me.
Your support will be needed and much appreciated.
Juergen Koenigsbeck
Tel: 01432 279923
