Items on this site are the responsibility of Helensburgh District Crime Prevention Panel and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Chief Constable of Strathclyde Police.

HELENSBURGH & LOMOND
NIEGHBOURHOOD WATCH

The concept of Neighbourhood Watch has now existed is Scotland for twenty years. The first ever scheme to be launched in the country was in the Helensburgh area which, it must be said, is still in existence today. In fact Helensburgh and the surrounding area has many active schemes.

The ethos of Neighbourhood Watch is simplistic and easy to establish. Taking an interest in your local community and looking out for one another is all that is required. The days of Neighbourhood Watch members being known as “curtain twitchers” is long gone and the role they have in our communities cannot be understated. In the halcyon days of leaving your door unlocked so that neighbours could pop in and out, people took more of an interest in what was going on in their area and more often than not relied on word of mouth to spread local news and, I dare say, gossip. Everyone knew what was going on and had a real interest in maintaining contact with those who lived nearby. Nowadays we are locked securely in our homes with all modern technology at our fingertips and our ability to communicate face to face is being slowly eradicated.

It would be safe to say that the active schemes in Scotland as a whole have greatly reduced over the years, and with this in mind it is the intention to regenerate interest in the concept of  Neighbourhood Watch with the launch of a Scottish National Forum. To this end a National Conference is planned for the end of March or beginning of April 2004. There is much more to come, so watch this space.

If you are interested in setting up a scheme in your area please contact a member of the Community Safety Department at Dumbarton Police Office or telephone 01389 822010 or fax number 01389 822025. In turn a starter pack with information on the next step to setting up a scheme will be sent to you and should htere be sufficient interest in the houses in your area a member of the department will visit you to outline the stages involved in getting the scheme up and running.

As a Police Service we do rely on the co-operation of the law abiding and responsible members of our communities - who are, thankfully, in the vast majority - to be our eyes and ears ou there. It is invaluable if they let us know what is happening and crucial that they contact us if they see anything suspicious.

If you have any questions on Neighbourhood Watch or require further information please contact us on the above telephone number or visit the neighbourhood watch website for more details.

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