We are incredibly proud of our journey through the past 40 years and equally excited about our future. Scroll down to learn more about our past, present and future or click here for an interactive experience.
Past
Our journey
1964 - The movement begins
28-year-old Kitty Genovese is stabbed in New York outside the apartment building across the street from her home. Two weeks after the murder, it is rumoured that 38 witnesses saw or heard the attack. None of them called the police or came to her aid. This prompts inquiries into what will become known as the bystander effect or "Genovese syndrome". The murder becomes a staple of American psychology textbooks for the next four decades. It also motivates a community response, and the very first Neighbourhood Watch scheme is set up.
1982 - The first UK groups start
18 years later, the first UK schemes begin, in response to spates of local burglaries. They’re known as Home Watch and are based in Mollington (Cheshire), Harpenden (Hertfordshire), Chorleywood (Hertfordshire), South Wales, and Bedford (Bedfordshire). The Bedford group was set up in Chaucer Road by Colleen Atkins (pictured) who continues to volunteer for Neighbourhood Watch 40 years on. From 1982, we grow from strength to strength as more volunteers across England and Wales form local, county, and regional groups.
1984 - Neighbourhood Watch groups band together
Neighbourhood Watch groups, such as in Ulverston, are officially recognised and others band together, such as the New Century Area of Romford (London Borough of Havering) covering over 2,000 homes and 10 Neighbourhood Watch schemes. Many run events such as dances, open fun days, pensioners' Christmas lunches and street parties, to help raise funds and create a caring community. Some are featured on national news as they run self-defence classes in response to local flashers.
1985 - Neighbourhood Watch groups work closely with the police
The police give our groups descriptions of suspected criminals in their area. These groups like Neighbourhood Watch in Harpenden, Hertfordshire, use ‘Operation Snowball’: each person phones four other people to spread the word through the community. Neighbourhood Watch residents report sightings to the police, resulting in several successful convictions.
The police actively support and engage with the first Home Watch Week held in September 1985 in Bedford. In 1996 the first national Neighbourhood Watch Week was held, and every year since.
1992 - Membership rises dramatically
Membership rises as Neighbourhood Watch connects those who are isolated and more vulnerable with other community members. Research shows over 80% of households across England and Wales would join a Neighbourhood Watch scheme if there was one locally, encouraging even more schemes to start.
1995 - Volunteers are recognised for community service
Neighbourhood Watch gains public recognition with several Neighbourhood Watch volunteers over the years receiving national BEM, MBE and OBE Awards; such as Colleen Atkins in 1995, Jim Madden in 2012, Maureen West (pictured) and John Hallows in 2016, and Derek Pratt in 2020.
2003 - Our logo continues to develop to reflect changing times
Our logo reflects our ethos and our strong collaboration between the community and the police.
2004 - Neighbourhood Watch groups are supported with insurance
The Home Office supports us by providing insurance to Neighbourhood Watch groups. Neighbourhood and Home Watch Network take over providing insurance in 2012. This helps the movement to establish independence.
2007 - Neighbourhood Watch Network is established
In 1994 the steering group of the National Neighbourhood Watch Association (NNWA) was formed. By 1995, the National Neighbourhood Watch Association charity officially launched with a member representing each force area taking the organisation from strength to strength. After six busy years, Colleen Atkins retired as Chair. Sadly, the new management wound down the charity a few years later.
In 2007 Neighbourhood Watch Network (then known as Neighbourhood and Home Watch Network), an umbrella organisation to help support and develop local Neighbourhood Watch groups and volunteers, was formed. By 2022 Neighbourhood Watch Network has 8 paid staff in the Central Support Team with offices in Vauxhall, London.
2010 - Neighbourhood Watch provide a scheme management and messaging database
Neighbourhood Watch joins Neighbourhood Alert, provided by VISAV, to provide a core database for our members to manage their schemes. The database is also a community messaging service for many police forces, Neighbourhood Watch and other national organisations such as Action Fraud to give relevant crime and safety messages. In 2022, we are proud to work closely with VISAV in upgrading Neighbourhood Alert to version 4 ensuring its functionality meets the needs of our members.
2016 - The movement gains momentum
The movement gains traction across the country as communities, such as in York, unite against crimes such as burglaries, car thefts and antisocial behaviour.
2016 - Corporate partnerships increase our reach
We develop sponsor partnerships with Co-op Insurance, ERA Home Security and Patlock. This allows us to develop community-based joint projects and deliver discounts to our members.
2017 - We become a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO)
Neighbourhood Watch Network re-launches as a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO). It replaces Neighbourhood and Home Watch Network. We’re still regulated by the Charity Commission. We refresh our logo to retain our rich heritage but reflect modern society.
2018 - Annual Neighbour of the Year Awards launch
We launch the UK-wide Neighbour of the Year Award (NOTY), in partnership with Co-op Insurance. Our aim is to recognise active individuals who help strengthen community safety, health and wellbeing. The awards go from strength to strength, with new categories added each year. Winners:
- 2018 - Paul Zeun (NOTY)
- 2019 - Nilesh Chohan (NOTY) and Kevin Plicio (Community Spaces Champion)
- 2020 - Shaun Blagdon (NOTY) and Taylor O'Connor (Young NOTY)
- 2021 - Lynette Pryke (NOTY), Keyham Neighbourhood Watch (Community of the Year) and Noah Macdonald (Young NOTY)
2018 - Communities that Care fraud prevention programme launches
The Communities that Care programme is co-developed with older people and Neighbourhood Watch Coordinators. It harnesses the power of communities to help older people protect themselves from fraud. A pilot programme is launched in Aylesbury, Thames Valley, funded by The Social Change Agency,. In the following years, it expands to Coordinators across England and Wales. It becomes a fully evaluated and evidenced programme of victim support.
2018 - Crime prevention toolkits created for volunteers
We create online toolkits to help our volunteers share crime prevention advice with their communities. Topics include burglary, child sexual exploitation, domestic abuse, scams and serious violence.
2019 - Groups are recognised for community service
Our volunteers continue to receive national recognition. The Queens Award for Voluntary Service was awarded to HertsWatch in 2018 for their huge contribution to creating safer communities; and to Wycombe District Neighbourhood Watch Association in 2019 for their hard work in supporting those affected by scams and fraud.
2019 - Neighbourhood Watch tackles cybercrime
We hit back at outdated negative stereotypes in the media whilst taking a stance against cybercrime. We partner with cybersecurity leader Avast to launch:
- the Cyberhood Watch initiative
- an annual national cybercrime survey
Present
2020 - We expand our digital presence
We expand our digital presence by launching a fresh, new website. This takes our monthly visitors from 49,000 to over 115,000. Our digital campaigns on burglary, password protection and car crime reach over 180,000 people across England and Wales.
2020 - We support communities during Covid-19
2020 is a bumper year of activity for us. We rapidly adapt to support communities during the Covid-19 pandemic. We launch our Calling Tree campaign to support isolated and vulnerable people. We partner with the Croods 2 film and Co-op Insurance for a community treehouse competition. Lottie Brown (8) from York wins the competition. The treehouse is built in the Wildlife Trust's Idle Valley Nature Reserve.
2020 - Annual Impact Report and surveys launch
We launch our first Impact Report (2019/20), followed by Impact Report 2020/21. It demonstrates our leading role in helping prevent crime and increasing community cohesion. We also launch our inaugural annual Crime and Community Survey and Insights Survey.
2020 - We publish our 5-year strategy
We detail clear yet ambitious goals in our 2020–25 strategy. By 2025, we want to be:
- the go-to organisation for community support
- the organisation people approach for crime prevention advice
- a recognised contributor to community health and wellbeing, with a focus on community cohesion and reducing isolation and loneliness
2020 - The National Lottery Community Fund grants us funding
A grant from the National Lottery Community Fund supports our response to the Covid crisis. It helps us recruit a temporary Volunteer Development Manager. This allows us to increase our volunteer support and training programme.
2021 - Local Neighbourhood Watch groups continue to grow
HertsWatch grow its membership from 20,000 in 2006 to over 162,000 households. This makes them the largest Neighbourhood Watch community in the country. Over a third of homes in the area receive Neighbourhood Watch messages.
2021 - We partner with Deliveroo
We join forces with Deliveroo for a unique training programme. The programme trains their riders about crime prevention and spotting the signs of hidden crimes. Topics include modern slavery, county lines and domestic abuse.
2021 - Crime prevention advice reaches thousands
Through our webinar series, we reach 8,000 members of the public. We host 10 crime prevention webinars with an array of expert speakers. We deliver over 7,000 hours of online training, including:
- - volunteer skills development workshops
- - specialist training for our Community Champions, volunteer Administrators, Cybercrime Ambassadors, and Communities that Care volunteers
2021 - Neighbourhood Watch Community Grants Fund launches
After a successful pilot, we launch our bi-annual Neighbourhood Watch Community Grants Fund. This provides small grants for new, innovative work by our volunteers.
2021 - Knowledge Hub launches
We launch the Knowledge Hub – a platform providing ongoing peer-to-peer support to our volunteers. It’s funded by the National Lottery Community Fund.
2021 - We join Airbnb’s Trust and Safety Alliance Board
We join Airbnb as a founding member of Europe's first Trust and Safety Alliance. Other expert organisations that join include Crimestoppers and the National Fire Chiefs Council. We also partner with LockLatch to bring further trusted security products to our supporters.
2021 - The Month of Community launches
We join eight other charities as founding members of an annual Month of Community in June. In our first year, over 15 million people take part.
2021 - We launch our student safety initiative
Together with Co-op Insurance, we launch our national student safety initiative. This includes The Lookout magazine – written by students, for students. The first Student Council takes place, to help lead and shape the future of Student Watch.
2022: We launch our Diversity and inclusion statement
We launch our Diversity and inclusion statement. It sets out our intention to:
- - be a more inclusive, diverse network
- - commit to removing barriers to inclusion
2022 - We celebrate our 40th anniversary
Throughout 2022 we will celebrate our 40th anniversary with:
- a special-edition logo
- a crime and partnership conference
- a Neighbourhood Watch lottery and merchandise
- Volunteer Recognition Awards
- a short film
Local groups can join us in recognising this milestone. They can choose activities from our '40 Years, 40 Actions' guide and participate in Neighbourhood Watch Week 2022.
Future
2022 - National Member, Volunteer and Coordinator Welcome Packs to launch
New Member, Volunteer and Coordinator Welcome Packs will launch. They will provide a warm welcome and guidance to new members and volunteers who join us through our website.
2022 - Expanding our partnerships
We held our first-ever Neighbourhood Watch Crime Conference in 1986 in Northumbria, chaired by Sir Stanley Bailey Chief Constable of Northumbria Police, and attended by then Home Secretary, Douglas Hurd with a speech from Colleen Atkins representing Neighbourhood Watch. In 1988 Crime Concern was set up by the government under Nigel Whiskin and funded by the Home Office concentrating on crime prevention and one strand of their work was Neighbourhood Watch. They held annual Crime Concern conferences. In addition, for several years, General Accident sponsored Crimecheck Conferences for Neighbourhood Watch that were held in major towns across the country.
In 2022 our Neighbourhood Watch Crime Conference in May with partners will bring together our volunteers with a range of partners to:
- - highlight crimes and other issues affecting diverse communities
- - broaden the accessibility of crime prevention advice and activity.
2022 - Recruiting more trustees
We will recruit more new skilled and experienced trustees to join our already skilled Board of Trustees. They will support the continued development, expansion and success of the organisation. This follows the skills audit and assessment of the Trustee Board in 2021.
Pictured: Our Young Person Trustee,Mohamed Hammeda
2023 - Improving engagement with the police
We will work with the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) on a framework for supporting each other. We will work with the police and our volunteers to roll out this framework across England and Wales.
2023 - Creating new crime prevention toolkits
We’ll expand our crime prevention toolkits to cover more crime types. We’ll also publish them in easy-to-use and accessible formats.
2023 - Working in higher crime areas
We’ll develop and test models to support our growth and engagement with residents in higher crime areas.
2023 - Volunteer Recognition Awards 2023
Our Volunteer Recognition Awards will focus on the activities and achievements of our volunteers in their communities. Awards will include:
- Crime Prevention Volunteer of the Year
- Community Health and Wellbeing Volunteer of the Year
- Young Volunteer of the Year.
2024 - Reducing loneliness and isolation
We will actively work to reduce loneliness and isolation in communities. We’ll work in partnership with local and national charities and agencies to do this
2024 - Community Charter
The Community Charter for individuals and local organisations, will have 2,500 organisations and businesses signed up and participating.
2024 - Human trafficking and bystander training
10,000 people will have taken part in our human trafficking or bystander intervention training since its launch in 2022.
2025 - The authoritative voice on community crime
We are on track to be the authoritative voice on community-based crime prevention. We do this thanks to the hard work of our volunteers, trustees, staff and the support of our partners.
2025 - The first step in connecting communities
By 2025, we’ll be the most popular gateway for citizens to engage in their locality. We’ll provide the first step for connecting with neighbours for mutual support. We’ll also offer simple ways to build on that first step with voluntary and community sector partners.
2025 - Community health and wellbeing
We will be a recognised contributor to community health and wellbeing. We’ll focus on increasing community cohesion and reducing loneliness and isolation.
2026 - New Strategic Plan to launch
We’ll do a final assessment of the successes, achievements and challenges of our first 5-year plan. Then we’ll launch a new ambitious 5-year Strategic Plan for 2026–2030. Our goal is for all residents across England and Wales to benefit from the information, work and connectedness of Neighbourhood Watch.