West Mercia Neighbourhood Watch, part of the Neighbourhood Watch Network community charity, is being modernised and relaunched, to involve communities across Herefordshire, Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin and Worcestershire.
With investment from the Police and Crime Commissioner John Campion, and support from MP for Bromsgrove, Sajid Javid MP, new Neighbourhood Watch signage has been produced and customised to give a local identity to each town and village.
An online presence is also continuing to grow, with 21 localised Facebook pages already reaching around 400,000 people each month.
West Mercia Police and Crime Commissioner, and Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, Deputy Lead on Citizens in Policing John Campion said “The way in which this scheme is moving forward, allows communities to be involved and play an active role in sharing information and caring for others in order to contribute to a safer, more secure society.
I welcome the modern approach, which can have a far bigger impact, allowing people to be involved in a way that is easy and engaging, whilst still retaining the very important local community feel.”
Craig Cox, Chair of West Mercia Neighbourhood Watch “This activity has already started to encourage some communities to fund their own additional street signs and is giving a boost to neighbourhood watch membership. The organisation is changing and is seeking to involve people from all communities and all age groups. Community safety is everyone’s concern and West Mercia Neighbourhood Watch is there to help communities protect themselves.”
West Mercia Police Local Policing Chief Superintendent Kevin Purcell said: “We really value the work of the many Neighbourhood Watch schemes we have right across the force and are incredibly appreciative of the time the volunteers involved put in to help protect their own community.
“Neighbourhood Watch plays a vital role in supporting our local policing teams in making their communities even safer and we’re grateful for this investment in helping our local communities play even more of an active role in supporting the work we do.”
For more information on West Mercia Neighbourhood Watch and how you can get involved visit http://www.westmercianw.org.uk or email [email protected]
Issued: Friday 30th November 2018
