Our partners
We work in partnership with these organisations to help people keep their homes, neighbourhoods and communities safe.
Police forces in England and Wales and the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO)
At a strategic level we work together with ACPO and support the police in their work to reduce crime and keep our communities safe. Our members work closely with police at a local level in every force area in England and Wales, from Chief Constables to local beat officers and Neighbourhood Policing Teams. The police provide valuable advice and support to our members.
VISAV Limited
VISAV Limited provides, supports and underpins Neighbourhood Alert, the system behind our secure database and communication system.
The Neighbourhood Alert system is the official database management tool for the Neighbourhood and Home Watch Network and thousands of Neighbourhood Watch coordinators and members are registered throughout England and Wales. An ongoing partnership between the system creators VISAV Limited and NHWN ensures that the tools provided for Neighbourhood and Home Watch members across England and Wales are continually developed to support the needs of our members.
Various police forces and organisations in Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Derbyshire, Thames Valley and Cumbria have commissioned their own interconnecting systems to support the growth of the system and expand the services available through it.
- Nottinghamshire Alert
- Neighbourhood Link (Leicestershire & Rutland)
- Lincolnshire Alert
- Cumbria Community Messaging
- Northamptonshire Alert
- Derbyshire Alert
- Thames Valley community messaging
ACPO Secured by Design
Secured by Design (SBD) is the official UK Police initiative supporting effective crime prevention and security standards for a large range of products. The Secured by Design website includes a wealth of advice and information on crime prevention and how to take positive action in order to reduce the risk of becoming a victim. SBD approved products and services can be found using the product search facility which provides full contact details for all SBD approved manufactures and suppliers.
Fire & Rescue Service and the Chief Fire Officers Association (CFOA)
On a strategic level we have an agreement of support from the CFOA. There are 50 separate Fire and Rescue Services in England and Wales. We encourage our members to work with their local service. They can help provide information and advice about how to keep your home safe from fire. You may also welcome their advice if you are organising a community event.
National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA)
We work strategically with the NPIA to help drive police training forward and raise the profile of Neighbourhood Watch and Home Watch within the police forces.
Click here to read about the Child Rescue Alert system, which was launched by the NPIA in May 2010.
Local authorities and Community Safety Partnerships
Our members work with local authorities in individual areas. Supportive local authorities enable such things as street stalls, roadshows, street parties and events to take place. Community Safety Partnerships (CSPs) consist of a group of local partners from a wide variety of fields coming together to make their community safe and free from crime and antisocial behaviour. They include representatives from Neighbourhood Watch.
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT)
We work with the OFT on campaigns to raise awareness about bogus callers, rogue traders and scams. The OFT also runs Consumer Direct, a telephone consumer advice service that we regularly signpost our members to for information about their rights. Consumer Direct can be contacted on 08454 04 05 06. For online consumer advice visit Directgov.
Fraud Alert
The Metropolitan Police Service runs a series of web pages called Fraud Alert which contain useful information about scams, cons, tricks and fraud and how to protect yourself.
Age UK
Age UK is the new force combining Age Concern and Help the Aged. Its vision is of a world in which older people flourish. Age UK aims to improve later life for everyone through their information and advice, support, campaigns, products, training and research.
Catch22
Catch22 is a national youth charity. We work with them as part of the National Citizen Service, a new flagship government initiative. This project is aimed at giving all 16-year-olds a chance to take part in a 6-7 week summer programme that is both challenging and fun and acts as a landmark in young people’s development. It was piloted in the summer of 2011. As part of the project, our members are involved in helping young people to take on active roles within their communities.
Crimestoppers
Crimestoppers is an independent charity working to find criminals and solve crimes. They run the 0800 555 111 phone number through which you can anonymously pass on information about crime. You can also pass on information about crime through their website, www.crimestoppers-uk.org. Since Crimestoppers was established in 1988 over 100,000 people have been arrested and charged as a result of information passed to them.
Suzy Lamplugh Trust
This year, the Suzy Lamplugh Trust celebrates 25 years of helping people to lead safer lives. Established in 1986 following the disappearance of young estate agent Suzy Lamplugh, the Trust works alongside government, the police,the educational establishment, public bodies, other charities and the business sector to encourage safety wherever people may be at risk.
Master Locksmiths Association
The Master Locksmiths Association (MLA) is the leading trade association for the locksmithing industry. Established over 50 years ago as a not-for-profit organisation promoting the skill and integrity of its 1,400 members, it helps promote standards of conduct, practice and materials within the industry, and is recognised as the authoritative body by the police, government, BSI, Insurers RISC Authority (formally IPCRes) and other such groups.
MLA Approved Companies, who undergo strict vetting (including criminal record checks, regular inspections to ensure quality etc.), are able to provide advice based on knowledge and experience, recommend products that are fit for purpose as well as provide professional installation and maintenance services. Details of your nearest MLA approved company can be found on their website www.locksmiths.co.uk.
Street Watch
Street Watch is a police and community partnership which is about reclaiming the traditional values of good citizenship. It’s about being visible in your own community and providing reassurance to others. It helps to build bridges, increase understanding and respect within and between communities, and bring back confidence to our neighbourhoods.
Street Watch is about engagement, not confrontation. It isn’t about policing or replacing police officers. It is their remit to “observe, report or engage in a manner that is lawful and appropriate.” Members are trained, supported, police checked and covered by relevant insurance policies.
CNI Network & Street Angels
Launched in November 2005 as a response to needs on the streets of Halifax on weekend evenings, Street Angels has become one of the main citizen patrol projects in the UK. With a 42% reduction in violent crime in its first year and thousands of people receiving help Street Angels is the Big Society in action!
To help oversee the spread of projects such as Street Angels in July 2008 they launched the CNI (Christian Nightlife Initiatives) Network which acts as an umbrella organisation to support and resource over 100 existing local projects and give advice and guidance to new projects wanting to launch.
They believe in localism and that your project should be driven by local needs, local training, and local volunteers, with support on hand from CNI Network as and when you need it.
Faith Matters & MAMA
The MAMA project, run by Faith Matters, is a public service for measuring and monitoring anti-Muslim attacks. It was inspired by a need expressed by Muslim communities within the UK. It helps to support the victims of anti-Muslim attacks while at the same time collecting and mapping data about such attacks. People can report attacks by phone, web form, email, Facebook or Twitter and a case worker will contact them within 12 hours. The project signposts victims to the police where appropriate.
NHWN is linking with the MAMA project by providing Neighbourhood/Home Watch membership support and guidance following referrals from MAMA case workers. This should help to make Neighbourhood and Home Watch more accessible to Muslim communities as well as supporting individuals to feel safer within their communities.
Water UK
Water UK represents all UK water and waste water service suppliers at national and European level. We work with them to help drive down incidences of distraction burglary in liaison with all water providers.
National Union of Students (NUS)
We are working with the NUS to engage more young people in Neighbourhood Watch. Their page The Lock gives information about crime prevention and how students can keep their property safe.
The Big Lunch
The Big Lunch is a very simple idea from the Eden Project. The aim is to get as many people in the UK as possible to have lunch with their neighbours once a year! Events can be anything from a simple lunch in the garden to a huge street party. Nearly 1 million people took part in 2010. We encourage our members to take part, hold a lunch, get to know their neighbours and maybe even recruit some new members!
Safety Net Associates
The Safety Net Associates Group is recognised as one of the leading Crime and Justice education, training and business consultants in the UK, with over 800 organisational clients across the UK. A division of the Safety Net Associates Group is the acclaimed CSP academy, a unique and innovative learning platform designed to enable people from any background to access the highest standard of training and specialist qualifications. In partnership with a number of national and international bodies or funds the CSP Academy provide a suite of themed academies. Each academy is tailored to a specific group based on the needs of the individual or organisation.
Sold Secure
Sold Secure is one of the leading suppliers of test and certification services for security related products. Working with companies worldwide they assess products to see whether strict performance criteria are met and where applicable allow the use of the coveted Sold Secure approved logo.
The scheme has close ties with a number of constabularies and insurers who provide regular information regarding the methods of theft and the tools utilised by criminals in their areas. This helps to maintain up-to-date specifications and means security products can be assessed in the light of the risk they are likely to encounter when in use. Products are tested by a highly motivated team of professionals under the direction of a small board of directors who meet on a regular basis to administer the scheme and move the process forward in keeping with modern theft methods.
Details of Sold Secure approved products can be found on the Sold Secure website www.soldsecure.com
Living Streets
Living Streets is a national charity that stands up for pedestrians. With its supporters, Living Streets works to create safe, attractive and enjoyable streets, where people want to walk. We are liaising with them on a variety of campaigns and we encourage members who have children and/or are school staff to take part in their Walk to School campaign.
Action with Communities in Rural England (ACRE)
We are working with ACRE on Community Led Planning - a step-by-step process that enables every citizen to participate in and contribute to improving the social, economic, environmental and cultural wellbeing of their local area. Already undertaken by approximately 4,000 communities across England, it represents an unparalleled opportunity for people to take responsibility for making things happen locally. We are creating a toolkit to be part of the range that they offer.
Your Square Mile
The Your Square Mile citizen's mutual was launched on 4 October 2011 and is the first of its kind; a mutual created by citizens for citizens, open to everyone aged 16 or over in the UK. A mutual is an organisation owned by its members and run entirely for their benefit rather than for the benefit of outside shareholders. Signing up to the Your Square Mile mutual (for a cost of £10) will give you access to rewards, information and advice that will help support you to get things done. Find out more information about Your Square Mile here.
Volunteering England
Volunteering England is an independent charity and membership organisation, committed to supporting, enabling and celebrating volunteering in all its diversity. Their work links policy, research, innovation, good practice and programme management in the involvement of volunteers.
You can find your local Volunteer Centre by using the Volunteer Centre finder. Their Good Practice Bank provides information and resources for volunteer managers.
Our technical partners...
The Design Council designed our website and worked with us to refresh and update our branding in order to appeal to potential new members while still retaining our ethos and heritage. Electric Putty built our website and provided the technical team behind the smooth running of the site.
