About us

Since coming to the UK in the early eighties, Neighbourhood Watch has evolved into wider regional associations and, finally, a coordinated national network.

The UK Neighbourhood Watch movement has been around since 1982 when the first group started in Mollington, Cheshire. By 2007 a previous national body had folded and many members felt the need for a new organisation to share best practice, foster peer learning and provide a voice for the movement at a national level. A series of exploratory meetings and events were held in each region of England and Wales, involving representatives of Neighbourhood and Home Watch at both force and regional levels. Delegates were invited to discuss and vote on their preferred way achieving a new form of representation at the national level for Neighbourhood Watch and Home Watch in England and Wales.

Members representing all of the ten regions agreed overwhelmingly that:

a) They wanted to see a regional and national structure.
b) They wanted a force area Neighbourhood/Home Watch representative to go to regional meetings.
c) They wanted a regional Neighbourhood/Home Watch representative and a deputy to go to national meetings.

After the proposal was accepted by the National Strategy Group for Watch Issues in April 2007, the result was the Neighbourhood & Home Watch Network (NHWN).

Neighbourhood & Home Watch Network (England & Wales)

The Neighbourhood & Home Watch Network, England & Wales (NHWN) represents all Home Watch and Neighbourhood Watch members across England and Wales. It is the body that engages with the Home Office and other partners at the strategic level.