Derbyshire Neighbourhood Watch
Derbyshire Neighbourhood Watch
REPORT NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH
• A quarter (23%) of respondents to the Neighbourhood Watch Crime and Community
Survey 2022 (25,293 total responses) had experienced a crime in the past 12
months.
• Being harassed, threatened or verbally abused in the street is the crime most
experienced (36%) – more than any other crime. This is unchanged from the past
two years (36% in 2021 and 33% in 2020). Over eight in ten (82%) of all respondents
worry about street harassment as a national issue.
• Neighbourhood Watch is working in partnership with Hackney Council and the Met
Police to encourage bystanders to actively and safely intervene when witnessing
street harassment.
Shockingly one-quarter (23%) of over 25,000 people who responded to the Neighbourhood
Watch Crime and Community Survey 2022 (25,293 total responses) experienced a crime in
the past year. Even more concerning than that is that the crime most experienced (36%) was
being harassed, threatened, or verbally abused in the street – this is unchanged from the
past two years (36% in 2021 and 33% in 2020). Over four-fifths (82%) of all respondents
worry about street harassment as a national issue.
Neighbourhood Watch believes the high incidents of street harassment are partly down to
the everyday nature of the crimes and incidents and the fact that they are deeply ingrained
and tolerated within our culture. The national charity is calling on bystanders to do more to
safely intervene when they witness it.
The crime-prevention charity launched a campaign encouraging bystanders, when it is safe
to do so, to ask ‘are you okay?’ to the victim when they witness street harassment. The
campaign generated thousands of comments online, both for and against intervention, with
many people wanting to know more about what is meant by safe intervention.
In response, on National Personal Safety Day (8th Nov), Neighbourhood Watch joined forces
with the Suzy Lamplugh Trust to bring the public a free expert-led online ‘Stand-Up against
Street Harassment’ bystander intervention webinar sponsored by L’Oréal Paris. Over 1,600
Neighbourhood Watch supporters signed up, and an anonymous participant reported
feeling “empowered to take action” if they see something.
