New NHW Handbook Download Released 2021

I first joined a local Scheme in 2002 and gradually became more involved in NHW as I took over as Secretary of the Committee and then Chair. My involvement continued to grow and I was elected to the County Association Committee.

This led to my joining the East Mids Forum for NHW and then being voted in as Board member of the national body, now NWN. I stood down as County Chair, but remained as a Board member, when I was elected Chair of the National body in 2015. I spent several years building up a team of staff and Board members with professional experience and handed over the responsibility of Chair of NWN in 2018. I am now back as Chair of Derbyshire NHW and am pleased to report that we are growing membership numbers weekly and have a great relationship with Police and the Office of the PCC who are funding us to ensure that we can carry on building the network. We use Derbyshire Alert to communicate with our members, as well as Facebook and Twitter.

I am a retired accountant who joined Derbyshire Neighbourhood Watch Association Trust (DNWAT) as Treasurer about two years ago. Prior to that I had only been a member of my village Neighbourhood Watch Group so joining my fellow trustees on DNWAT has involved listening and learning a lot about the good work being done to promote and develop neighbourhood watch in Derbyshire. I am greatly impressed by the commitment and professionalism of my colleagues on DNWAT and by the way Derbyshire Police and the Derbyshire Police and Crime Commissioner are so supportive of the work being done. From a personal point of view the one thing I would like to see being developed in future is the greater involvement of younger people participating in and supporting neighbourhood watch.

I have been involved in NW for at least 20 years, starting with coordinator, then Secretary, then Chair and Treasurer of Ilkeston & District Support Group. I was a South Division committee member, and am currently a Trustee and member of Derbyshire NW Association Trust.

Over the years, we have held many events with the Police in Ilkeston and surrounding villages to raise awareness of Crime Prevention. We have worked closely with The Fire & Rescue service, and Age UK.

New members are introduced to NW in the Ilkeston area by me, usually with a home visit and members’ meeting, and we meet quarterly in Ilkeston Police Station to hear Guest speakers. These are all extremely informative and are designed to educate coordinators in crime prevention and related issues, such as wildlife crime, policing people with mental health problems in the community, trafficking, and anti-social behaviour amongst others. The idea is that coordinators spread this information to their members, increasing awareness of potential problems on local streets, reducing the number of victims. A Police officer always attends, giving coordinators an opportunity to directly query them on local issues.

We are always actively seeking new members.

My background is military, purchasing and hospitality. 21 years were spent abroad in North Africa, the Caribbean and Middle East.

On returning to the UK I was asked way back in 1990 to start a Neighbourhood Watch in the village of Monyash in the Peak District. This was my first experience of the movement and it did not take long for my interest to grow. Involvement with Area (Bakewell Area Neighbourhood Watch Support Group), B Division (Peaks and Dales Neighbourhood Watch Executive), County (Derbyshire Neighbourhood Watch Association Trust) and East Midlands (East Midlands Regional Neighbourhood Watch Forum) took up much of my free time. In 2010 I stepped back and became just a Watch member.

Sadly with the closing of stations, loss of officers and the suspension of the Alert system police engagement with the public took a nosedive.  This prompted me to become active once again and I am now involved with Shirley Watch, Ashbourne NHW Support Group, North Division Neighbourhood Watch Association and once again DNWAT.

I believe that communities should take more responsibility for their safety and security and it is through Neighbourhood Watch and local Councils that this can be achieved – with the help and encouragement of the Police.

I am a retired professional engineer and spent the last ten years of my career serving on a number of committees in the EU and USA.  I have two grown up daughters with families of their own.  I have been a local coordinator for thirty years now, since I moved here to Mickleover.  I joined the South Derby Committee some ten years ago and became the Chairperson two years ago. Since becoming Chairperson the work of the Committee has been focused on becoming a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO).  I am pleased to say we were adopted as a CIO in October 2019.

My previous experience within working and supporting the Derbyshire community is as a Borough Councillor, since 1984 and Mayor of Erewash 2012 Breaston Parish Councillor Executive member of Derbyshire Association of local councils.