Neighbourhood Watch started in the UK in 1982 with a basic aim to reduce household burglary. We have moved on to tackle other matters that affect people’s quality of life such as, rogue traders & scammers, cybercrime, poor street lighting, dumped cars, fly tipping, graffiti and anti-social behaviour.
Sutton Neighbourhood Watch is not just about reducing crime figures; it’s about community safety and creating communities which care. It brings local people together and can make a real contribution to improving their lives. It’s about being good neighbours and caring for vulnerable neighbours as well as helping to reduce crime and the fear of crime.
It’s a partnership of people coming together to make their communities safer. It involves the Police, Community Safety departments of local authorities, other voluntary organisations and, above all, individuals and families who want to make their neighbourhoods better places to live. It aims to help people protect themselves and their properties and to reduce the fear of crime by means of improved home security, greater vigilance, accurate reporting of suspicious incidents to the police and by fostering a community spirit.
Sutton was one of the first areas in the country to embrace Neighbourhood Watch. It started in Streets and then grew to cover whole Wards. Our association, which is a registered charity, was created in May 2000 with the active support of the Police, Sutton Council and the approval of the Home Office, by the Wards coming together to help develop, coordinate and expand Neighbourhood Watch across the borough of Sutton. It is non-party-political, non-sectarian, is a community initiative supported by the police but not run by them, so success depends on what our members make of it. Although independent, we work in partnership with the police, residents’ associations, local authorities and other agencies to reduce crime and disorder. In short, to help make Sutton a safer and better place to live, work and raise our children.