Good Afternoon residents of Queensway and Brickhill,

I recently attended a community meeting and during this there was a mention of a scheme that we run through our Citizens in policing team which is something called safer streets where you get to be a key part of your community. Safer streets requires a minimum of 4 volunteers, you will receive a tabard and a note book from us, you will have to be vetted to a low level so you can receive information from us and like wise you can send information back to us. you will work alongside us on your local Neighbourhoods team and do foot patrols in your local area. This scheme has been very successful over on the Castle ward and I would like to try and organise one for our area as without you the community we can not do our job, I want to work with the community. I just want to reassure you that I am not asking for you to do our job for us but this is good opportunity for anyone that is interested in being a part of something to make the Queensway and Brickhill a safer place to live there is absolutely no expectation of putting yourselves in harms way. Your point of call would be PCSO SEABROOK but I will also get involved as well. 

please see below a press release from when this scheme was originally introduced, if you are interested please let me know and I can start to liase with citizens in policing and we can get the ball rolling to get a scheme set up: 

Communities invited to get involved in Street Watch to help prevent crime in local neighbourhoods

Northamptonshire Police is relaunching its countywide Street Watch programme and is inviting local people to come together as volunteers to contribute to community safety and crime prevention in their neighbourhood.

Street Watch enables local people to take an active role in keeping their community safe by patrolling their local area as part of an organised scheme, identifying potential issues and engaging with local residents, encouraging them to report things like antisocial behaviour, vandalism and suspicious behaviour to the police.

Street Watch volunteers are supported by a coordinator who liaises with team members and their local neighbourhood policing team to share information and help progress any initiatives that can help prevent crime and improve safety in their local area.

Volunteers are asked to spend a minimum of two hours a month, at times that suit them, patrolling with other scheme members in their local area.

Chief Inspector Dave Wakeman, who is coordinating the relaunch of the Street Watch in Northamptonshire, explained more about the programme. He said:

“Street Watch is based on a very simple idea – it’s about going for a walk with your neighbours, getting to know people in the area, being a visible presence to help deter crime and anti-social behaviour and generally building up a greater sense of community spirit.

“We already have nine schemes established across the county, with 29 volunteers carrying out patrols each month in their local area.

“By relaunching the Northamptonshire Street Watch programme and putting steps in place to build stronger links and more regular contact between individual schemes and their local neighbourhood policing team, we hope to build a strong network of volunteers across the county to help support safer communities.

“Each scheme is led by a coordinator – a volunteer who will lead the team and liaise with their neighbourhood officers to get information about things to look out for or areas to focus on, and also to be able to provide feedback from their patrols.

“We ask for a commitment of at least two hours a month but volunteers can do as much as they like. All we ask is that there are at least two people on each walk for safety and we provide a high visibility jacket with "Street Watch" on it so people know they are part of an organised group.

“Volunteers organise their own walks, when and where they want to – and can even walk their dog at the same time! It really is up to the group themselves how much or little they do. Street Watch is for the community, by the community but our neighbourhood teams will be there to provide as much support as possible.”

Anyone who would like to get involved or set up a Street Watch scheme in their area can find out more at northants.police.uk/streetwatch or email citizensinpolicing@northants.police.uk.

thanks again everyone, lets make Queensway and Brickhill a safer place to live together, 

thank you for taking the time to read this longer than normal email,

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many thanks,

PC 1863 Jamie O'Sullivan