I have been a resident of Blunham since 2013 and am one of a few volunteers who have come together during the lockdown period to set up our Blunham Community Neighbourhood Watch scheme.
Sadly, our village has been victim to recent thefts and burglaries over the last number of months prior to the Covid19 pandemic.
Having met our local PCSOs (Police Community Support Officers) back in January 2020, we are keen to re-enable and start up our Neighbourhood watch scheme for our village.
Our hope and aim will be to assist and support our community with up to date information, tips, guidance to help them keep safe and secure in the best way possible. This will also enable our local PCSOs to provide us with up to date information and alerts to help keep our residents vigilant and safe.
We would like to also enable a communications hub (both online and offline) where our neighbours can share their concerns, worries and experiences.
Being one of the lead coordinators for our Blunham Community Response Group (BCRG), Chris Smith (retired Police Sergeant and Blunham Resident) and I registered our scheme on the national https://www.ourwatch.org.uk/ website back in March 2020. (The team at OurWatch are there to help provide guidance, information and support.) We decided at the time that we would cover any safety and security of the village through the BCRG until lockdown had eased.
We have 5 volunteers registered so far and would like to welcome and invite our community members who would like to volunteer and join our scheme by registering at https://www.ourwatch.org.uk/scheme/51552/blunham-community-neighbourhood-watch.
And finally, as we come out of lockdown and into the new norms, please find some useful information for our Blunham Community #SafetyinNeighbours:
- Stay Safe & Alert – Part of the continued Covid19 awareness and community support. The BCRG are still active if you need assistance. Our contact number is 07907 620414.
- Keep Your Area Safer – https://www.ourwatch.org.uk/get-involved/support-campaign/safety-neighbours-campaign
- Keep An Eye Out – https://www.ourwatch.org.uk/crime-map provides us with up to date information on crime in our community and how best to support.
- Keep Burglars Out – very useful toolkit https://www.ourwatch.org.uk/crime-prevention/crime-prevention-toolkits/burglaries/burglary-prevention-toolkit – we can use the toolkit to adapt/create our personalised leaflets for our residents who are not online.
I hope this helps.
Many thanks
Rosey Woodhead
Coordinator, Blunham Community Neighbourhood Watch.