Archive for category: News

Hello Neighbours,

Love it or loathe it, Halloween is coming. Personally, I love it, and was delighted one of our members created a Halloween logo for us. But it can be stressful for many people and pets, for a number of reasons. We’ve got some practical guidance to help everyone have a happy and safe Halloween. Find out more here.

 

Highlights this edition:

·  Congratulations to our brilliant volunteer award winners

·  Apply for our latest round of community grants

·  Catch up on the annual Neighbourhood Watch volunteer conference

·  Admiral Insurance is partnering with Cyberhood Watch to help tackle scams

Neighbourhood Watch annual volunteers conference

Last week, we hosted our annual conference for Neighbourhood Watch coordinators and volunteers. Nearly three hundred people joined us online for sessions on police reform, volunteering, home security, fundraising, community events, as well as workshops on social media, funding and growing your scheme. If you missed it, don’t worry, we’ve got recordings of most of the sessions on our website here. The remaining videos will be available soon.

 

Congratulations to our amazing Volunteer Recognition Award winners!

It is so important to us to celebrate the great, often unique, work that our volunteers do. These awards, sponsored by ERA, recognise the people making a real change in their communities.

Huge congratulations to Andrew Burton in West Yorkshire, Mary Irons in Sussex, Louise Barton in Staffordshire, Michael Ashurst-Wheeler in London, and the Trelewis and Bedlinog District NW Scheme in South Wales. Find out more here.

 

Apply for this round of Community Grants

Neighbourhood Watch volunteers dedicate time, skills and experience to building safer, more connected communities. Our Community Grants programme helps cover costs such as materials, travel and project expenses. This year, our volunteers with a registered scheme can apply for a £75 voucher to extend their reach or up to £500 for a new community activity. Find out more here.

 

Admiral Insurance partners with Cyberhood Watch to tackle scams

Research shows that 42% of UK adults have been targeted by an insurance-related scam, most commonly involving car insurance. This year, Admiral Insurance has identified 564 bogus internet adverts from fraudulent companies pretending to be Admiral, a 162% increase on 2025.

In response, Admiral is partnering with Cyberhood Watch to launch a dedicated training programme to help people understand how insurance scams are evolving, how to protect themselves and how to report suspected fraud. Read the full story here.

 

Free bystander training available in central London

People who live and work in Belgravia and Mayfair in London are being invited to take part in free bystander intervention training designed to help create safer, more connected communities. Funded by Grosvenor, the training is available to residents, workers, businesses and community members in the area. Find out more here.

 

Local spotlight: Meon Valley Neighbourhood Watch

With over a thousand followers on Facebook, it’s safe to say there’s a lot going on in Meon Valley. One of our more rural schemes, geographically it’s in Hampshire, but the reach extends from Twyford in the west to Denmead in the east and Whiteley in the south.

They share a host of useful information and events, with a particular focus on issues such as ASB, fraud, and road and vehicle safety, as well as local campaigns on noisy exhausts and rural crime. If you are based in the area, give them a follow here.

 

The Neighbourhood Watch shop

No, it’s not a shop that sells watches, it’s our online shop. People love our window stickers and signs, but did you know you can also get Neighbourhood Watch pin badges, T-shirts, tote bags, security products, bouquets and more!

If you have a friend, neighbour or volunteer in the street, these might be a nice way to say thank you. Check out the Neighbourhood Watch shop here.

 

Join the Neighbourhood Watch lottery!

Playing a charity lottery is a low-cost way to support a good cause while also having the chance to win up to £25,000 a week. Tickets cost just £1 and one of our supporters is guaranteed a prize of at least £175 every week.

The lottery generates income for our core work and volunteer network across England and Wales. These funds enable us to do more as a charity: support our members, build projects and make more of an impact on crime prevention and community wellbeing. Support the Neighbourhood Watch lottery here.

 

And finally, did you know…

Which local crime prevention scheme began in the UK in the Cheshire village of Mollington in 1982?

Here’s a clue: it wasn’t Crimestoppers!

Of course it was us! So lovely to see Neighbourhood Watch featured in The Chase, with the Destroyer himself, Shaun Wallace. I’m not saying he’s my favourite chaser, but my mum has met him and says he’s delightful.

That is all for this edition – thank you for reading. There is a version of the newsletter on our website here.

Best wishes,

 

Charmian

Report Fraud alert: Police forces being impersonated in scam calls using ‘spoofed’ phone numbers

Report Fraud, run by the City of London Police, is urging the public to be sure of who they are talking to following a spike in reports of calls from ‘spoofed’ police force phone numbers.

Analysis of data from Report Fraud, the national cyber crime and fraud reporting service, shows that there has been an increase in reports made where the caller has purported to be from a police force from a variety of areas across the country. The City of London Police itself, the National Lead Force for fraud, has also taken thousands of crime reports of a similar nature.

But in reality, it is a criminal contacting a member of the public, using a ‘spoofed’ phone number to try and obtain sensitive personal or financial details so that fraud can then go on to be committed. Often, the criminals will claim that the victim will be helping with an investigation by providing the personal or financial information they are asking for.

While a number of calls about this type of fraud has been made to Report Fraud, this is likely to be the tip of the iceberg and a far bigger problem that is not reported, so the full scale is unknown.

Criminals use ‘spoofing’ software to intentionally cover up their real caller ID and instead, mirror the phone number of a legitimate organisation. They do this to make it appear that calls or text messages are coming from a trusted organisation like the police, banks or government agencies.

These scam calls may use AI technology, be automated or from a real person. Their main goal is to trick you into sharing personal information or to transfer money.

How to protect yourself

·  Remember that genuine service providers, banks and the police will NEVER call asking you to transfer money, share personal financial details or hand over remote control of your computer.

·  If you are in any way suspicious, or feel pressured into anything, hang up and take time to check if the call is genuine. Call back on a number you know to be genuine, for example as shown on your utility bills or the back of your card. You can also call 159 to get through to your bank, or 101 for the police.

·  Don’t trust the Caller ID display on your phone – it’s not proof of ID,

Report a suspicious phone call

If you’ve lost money or have been hacked as a result of responding to a phishing message or scam call, you should report it to Report Fraud.

In England, Wales or Northern Ireland, visit https://www.reportfraud.police.uk/ or call 0300 123 2040. In Scotland, report to Police Scotland by calling 101.

You should also report suspected scam calls by sending a text to 7726 with the word ‘Call’ and the caller’s number.

If you’ve shared personal information with a suspicious caller

·  Learn how to protect yourself if you think you’ve shared personal information.

·  If you’ve visited a website you think is suspicious, you can report a scam website or link to us.

Reminder that the M11 bridge will be closed overnight next week from 21 September 2026 for carriageway repairs.