Staying Safe. Together

Neighbourhood Watch

Since its inception in 1982 Neighbourhood Watch has become the largest voluntary movement in the UK with 170,000 schemes running throughout the country, including Aynho.

If you  see anything suspicious or witness any anti-social behaviour in the village, your first line of action is to contact Northamptonshire Police on the 101 non-emergency calls number.

Thankfully, Aynho experiences relatively low levels of crime and the local Neighbourhood Watch scheme was set up with the intention of bringing those crime levels down still further, reassuring residents and developing community involvement.

The principles of Neighbourhood Watch are about taking sensible precautions and being vigilant for both your own property, your neighbours and the community. It’s all about a few simple steps:

• When you go out always lock doors and close windows (especially in hot weather) even if you leave just for a few moments!
• Be vigilant in your surroundings and if you see anything suspicious call the Police on 101 or contact neighbourhood watch (Linda) and other co-ordinators.
• Most people who come to your door will be genuine callers. But it’s best to make sure. Genuine callers will not mind waiting whilst you contact their company for verifrication.
• If you live next door to someone elderly or venerable just pop in on them from time to time to make sure everything is ok.
• Don’t leave anything on display in your vehicle, such as bags purses or anything that may look of value..
• Don’t leave tools in work vehicles as this is an easy target for criminals .
• The fitting of a burglar alarm is a good deterrent to any burglar (and is not just a ringing box) they want to get in and out as quick as possible without any audible warnings that may alert others.
• Keep a list of any serial numbers and model numbers of any property and mark with u/v pen your postcode.
• When out make use of timers to switch on lights and TV’s/radios to give the appearance of someone at home.
• Visible alarms, good lighting and carefully directed security lighting together with strong door and window locks can put off burglars.

Our local community officer is Clive Ashmore, who can be contacted at Brackley Police station. For more information regarding Neighbourhood Watch and the Aynho area take a look at the national ‘Our Watch’ web site.

Remember – Use 999 only for emergencies.