Dedicated volunteers who want to make a difference in their neighbourhoods are being invited to take on a new crime prevention role in their communities.
Nottingham City Council has partnered with Neighbourhood Watch to run one of their Community Champion pilots and is looking for volunteers to help improve safety in the Aboretum and Lenton Triangle areas of the City.
The scheme is part of the Safer Streets 2 project which is bringing a raft of security improvements to the two areas to reduce people’s risk of acquisitive crimes such as theft, burglary and robbery.
Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner Caroline Henry, working in partnership with Nottingham City Council, Nottingham Police and Nottinghamshire County Council, secured £432k from the Home Office’s Safer Streets Fund to deliver security enhancements to reduce the fear of crime and prevent households and individuals falling victim to criminals.
The funding is providing free security upgrades to hundreds of residential properties, free Ring doorbells, a new CCTV camera in Bridlington Street Play Area and additional policing patrols to proactively deter and disrupt crime.
Volunteers for the new Community Champion programme will raise awareness of crime prevention in their community, signpost people including the vulnerable to help and support and engage their neighbours and local community in conversations about crime prevention through meetings, social media and community events.
Members will share crime prevention advice and report back to Neighbourhood Watch every month as well as volunteering at community events including litter picking, leaflet distribution and problem-solving.
Commissioner Henry said: “We are excited to be launching this scheme and giving local people a bigger role in the safety and wellbeing of their communities.
“Community Champions will share vital information and advice that could prevent people from becoming victims of crime and will be a hugely valuable addition to our safety work.
“We know the fear of crime can be debilitating, especially for vulnerable or isolated members of the community who live alone. Through the scheme, we hope to build confidence and trust and provide people with a network of support so they know how and where to access help and importantly how to report crime.”
Cllr Neghat Khan, Portfolio Holder for Neighbourhoods, Safety and Inclusion at Nottingham City Council, said: “The Community Champion programme has been very successful across the country and its great news that we’re bringing the scheme to the Aboretum and Lenton Triangle areas of the City.
“No one in our community should face the fear of crime, or have their lives blighted by the actions of others - they should feel safe where they live. So whilst we are working with partners to tackle crime, we need the help of residents too. This scheme is a great way for local people to get involved and help to make their neighbourhood safe.”
Volunteers can provide as much time as they wish but are asked to contribute a minimum of two hours per month.
New recruits will receive six initial sessions of online training in addition to regular support and access to additional training through partner agencies.
They will gain knowledge and skills in crime prevention, community wellbeing, networking and social media and can utilise their professional skills and/or work experience to help communities solve and respond to challenges.
If you are interested in applying, please download an application pack from the Neighbourhood Watch website: www.ourwatch.org.uk/community-champions. Completed applications should be sent to: volunteer@ourwatch.org.uk.
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Posted on Monday 20th December 2021