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NEIGHBOURHOOD
WATCH

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Editorial note - This is an extract from the June Gazette flyer that we thought worth repeating. There was some response to the flyer and some more at the Village Show. We hope to bring you more details in the next issue but in the meantime, any further volunteers would be welcomed.

In order that Neighbourhood Watch can exist and function, it is necessary for there to be volunteers willing to receive and distribute information - these are currently called Co-ordinators and at least one per street or road is needed.

To comply with the Data Protection Act, all of the Gamlingay NW Co-ordinators active during 1999, were sent registration forms in December. It was necessary these completed forms be returned to the NW Administrator in St. Neots for those persons to continue in their roles. Regrettably, a significant number of forms were not returned although reminders were sent out; also, something less than ten previous Co-ordinators wrote expressing their wishes to no longer be involved.

There are currently only about 20 Co-ordinators registered for Gamlingay & The Hatleys and one does not need to be a mathematician to see immediately that that number has to be trebled or even more for our villages to be wholly a Neighbourhood Watch area. Remember, each street must have a minimum of one Co-ordinator and for a long road or street maybe even four Co-ordinators would be sensible so that the load on one person does not become a burden.

A comment on what a Co-ordinator does.

The title is perhaps rather grandiose, possibly implying somewhat onerous duties. A Co-ordinator is essentially a receiver and distributor of information, generally originating from the Police and relating to crime and security in our area. Individual Co-ordinators may choose to extend their activities beyond that but that really would be their choice. For example, a Co-ordinator is not expected to be a gateway for information to be passed to the Police; any member of a Watch - in other words, a resident in a street covered by Neighbourhood Watch - who believes he or she has something of significance to report to the Police should in the first instance do so him/herself. In this context, if for any reason the person reporting information to the Police wishes to remain anonymous, then the call can be to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Otherwise, use 01480 456111 to reach the Cambridgeshire Police central switchboard - you can then ask for St. Neots Police Station. ONLY IN A REAL EMERGENCY USE 999.

Without Co-ordinators we cannot have effective Neighbourhood Watch. To register as a Street Co-ordinator, please contact the St. Neots Sector Neighbourhood Watch Administrator at St. Neots Police Station, Dove House Close, St. Neots, Cambs. PEl9 lDS, tel: 01480-385654 (often an answering machine) or E-mail:
admin@NeighbourhoodWatch.InUk.com

Gamlingay and The Hatleys Area Co-ordination Team.