Merton Police has created a new role of Neighbourhood Watch Manager.  I am Annette Anderson, a sergeant based at Wimbledon Police Station, but I cover Mitcham and Morden too.  My job is to establish and maintain
an effective Neighbourhood Watch Scheme throughout the Borough.  It has been proved that crime does decrease in areas where an active Neighbourhood Watch Scheme has been established.

My role is long term and I intend to :-

Be a regular point of contact for Neighbourhood Watch co-ordinators together with the beat manager.)
Provide regular information on crimes in your area.
Provide details and contacts for other agencies to improve the quality of your life e.g. graffiti and abandoned vehicles  removal.
To help improve your scheme and encourage re-launches to gain more members.
To increase the number of Neighbourhood Watch Schemes in the borough.
To publish a regular newsletter and crime prevention advice within 6 months.
Provide training for co-ordinators if required (with the assistance of the National Neighbourhood Watch trainer).
To promote an association of co-ordinators on the borough to share infor mation and advice.

I attended Wimbledon Park Residents' Association AGM on 1st October 2001, and was impressed with the number of residents who attended and the action taken as a community.  The Residents' Association and Neighbourhood Watch are obviously active and therefore an excellent method of lowering crime. The crime statistics for this year have been substantially decreased in the majority of crime compared to the same
period last year. Remember that Neighbourhood Watch works well if crime prevention advice is implemented and you communicate with your neighbours.

If anyone would like to start up a new Neighbourhood watch, discuss an existing watch or to find out if you live in a Neighbourhood Watch area please do not hesitate to contact me on 0208 649 4021 (Mon and Tues 8-4pm or leave a message if unavailable).  I can also be contacted on e-mail at annette.anderson@met.police.uk