Neighbourhood Watch is the best known and most effective example of the community working together to prevent crime, reduce the fear of crime and improve quality of life. Over 155,000 Neighbourhood Watch schemes operate throughout the United Kingdom covering up to 25% of all households.
The concept of Neighbourhood Watch was brought back to the UK in 1982 from the United States by a group of police officers who had visited Chicago. The first scheme was set up in the village of Mollington in Cheshire in response to a spate of burglaries and was an immediate success. Good news travelled fast and surrounding areas were quick to adopt the idea. Growth throughout the 1980s was dramatic establishing Neighbourhood Watch countrywide. It is now the largest voluntary organisation in the UK.
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