Stephen McPartland, Member of Parliament for Stevenage is backing Neighbourhood Watch in a bid to get more local residents signed up to the scheme. He joined Assistant Chief Constable Bill Jephson, Chief Superintent Matt Nicholls and Safer Neighbourhood Sergeant Martin May for a walk about the town, including a visit to the Oval to chat to local residents and business owners.

Stephen McPartland MP said, “The Neighbourhood Watch scheme is an excellent way for local officers to keep in touch with their communities and vice versa. We have had some excellent results, which have come out of people receiving an email about a crime or incident and then responding with information which has significantly helped an inquiry.

“Residents don’t have to do anything other than act on any crime prevention advice sent to them, which encourages them to report any suspicious incidents or behaviour that they may have seen. When we are all working together for the greater good it makes it harder for criminals to operate, as well as helping to improve community spirit across the town.”

Around a quarter of Stevenage households already receive emails from the Online Watch Link which provide information about crimes, missing people, suspicious activity and police events in their area. You can sign up to Neighbourhood Watch via OWL @ www.owl.co.uk or contact your local Watch Liaison Officer - Verity Soued by calling 101 or emailing: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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