You can help police keep our community safe by joining Neighbourhood Watch (NHW) and keeping an eye out for crime in the village
Village Coordinator: Kate Gillam – ksnwcoord@icloud.com or for urgent matters 07525 040 472
How it works.
Ringmaster email alerts – When the local police receive information about any rogue traders, spates of car, shed or garage thefts, burglaries or any other potential crimes or dangers happening in our area, they send a ‘ringmaster’ email alert. These are forwarded to NHW Coordinators to pass on to their neighbours and to parishioners who wish to receive them. This is one of the fastest ways of warning people of criminal activity. Anyone wishing to be added to the NHW email alert list and receive NHW related issues emailed to them, can do so by contacting Kate Gillam.
For more information about Neighbourhood Watch see Kate’s open letter below.
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The coordinators, and their roads or areas are as follows:
| Judith Barber | Middle Lane |
| Peter Briscoe | Lampley Rd |
| Craig Connell | Ham Lane , Yew Tree Lane |
| Situation Vacant | Bullocks Lane, Back Lane |
| John Hilliard | Middle Lane, Lampley Rd |
| Derek Hole | Back Lane & Rookery Close |
| Sylvia Stokes | Ham Lane, Yeobank Lane, Broadstone Lane |
| Claire Kinsella | Lampley Rd, Kenn Rd |
| Martine Magromallis |
Ham Lane |
| Situation Vacant | New Cut Bow, Back Lane |
| Hugh Simpson | Ham Lane |
| Rod Veale | Ham Lane |
Or contact Area Coordinator Kate Gillam on 07525 040 472 or on ksnwcoord@icloud.com
Kingston Seymour Beat Manager – PC Adam Clarke regularly attends Parish Council meetings and Adam can be contacted by email at adam.clarke@avonandsomerset.police.uk
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Dear Neighbours and Friends
Many of you know me already but for those who don’t, my name is Kate Gillam and I live, with my husband Andy, son Rhys and my mum Pam at Orchard End, Ham Lane, Kingston Seymour (The Donovans old house).
I have recently taken on the position of Neighbourhood Watch Coordinator for Kingston Seymour. A big thank you to our outgoing coordinator Craig Connell for his great work over the past few years.
If you would like to contact me you can do so on my new email address ksnwcoord@icloud.com or for urgent matters on 07525 040 472. My aim initially is to try to encourage all residents to provide me with an email address so that urgent or relevant information can be sent to all our neighbours this way, reducing the need to leaflet drop and ensuring important information gets to you as quickly as possible. If you are happy to be contacted via email please let me have the address you would like to use, along with your name and home address details. Whilst we have a list of all households in the village, we do not yet have an email address associated with each one.
Below are a few paragraphs of helpful information about Neighbourhood Watch which I hope you will find informative. Interestingly you will see the word ‘Community’ mentioned often. I’m proud to acknowledge that the sense of community already present in Kingston Seymour is fabulous, it was for this community spirit that Andy and I were keen to move to a village such as this and we couldn’t be happier.
Objectives of Neighbourhood Watch
- To improve community safety generally.
- To prevent crime by improving security, increasing vigilance, creating and maintaining a caring community and reducing opportunities for crime by increasing crime prevention awareness.
- To assist the police in detecting crime by promoting effective communication and the prompt reporting of suspicious and criminal activity.
- To reduce undue fear of crime by providing accurate information about risks and by promoting a sense of security and community spirit, particularly amongst the more vulnerable members of the community.
- To improve police/community liaison by providing effective communications through Neighbourhood Watch messaging systems which warn Coordinators of local crime trends which they can disseminate to their scheme members, and by members informing the police of incidents when they occur.
Schemes
Neighbourhood Watch schemes are run by their members through a coordinator and are supported by the police and in many divisions, a local Neighbourhood Watch Association.
Schemes can vary in size. A volunteer resident coordinator supervises the scheme and liaises with the police, they receive information and messages to keep them in touch with activities, and some have marker kits, alarms and other security items, which are available to members. It must be recognised that the scheme is a community initiative, which is supported by the police, not run by them, so success depends on what the members make of it.
The police can’t deal with the problems and issues arising from crime and anti-social behaviour alone; they need the help of the whole community. Neighbourhood Watch provides a way for local people to play an important part in addressing this balance and making their communities safer.
Coordinator
The role of a Neighbourhood Watch coordinator is to set up and maintain a Neighbourhood Watch scheme within a specific street, neighbourhood or area. Whilst each crime prevention coordinator may develop specific procedures, the following are suggested as the main duties which coordinators will need to manage.
- Encourage vigilance amongst scheme members and actively encourage the early reporting of suspicious incidents to the police.
- Receive crime information from the Neighbourhood Watch messaging system and distribute these messages to scheme members.
- Encourage scheme members to be aware of and put into practice crime prevention measures, such as property marking and security devices.
- Keep a check on vulnerable households and provide advice to members about dealing with callers at the door.
- Circulate newsletters and other relevant information to scheme members.
- Welcome newcomers to the neighbourhood and invite them to be part of the scheme.
- Supply each scheme member with Neighbourhood Watch and crime prevention literature, such as Neighbourhood Watch window stickers and incident report cards.
I look forward to hearing from you, please feel free to get in touch, not just if you have security concerns but also if you have ideas on how to make this village scheme more effective. I know we will continue to foster the great community spirit already present and look out for each other.
Kate Gillam