Neighbourhood watch examines alerts system

The local neighbourhood watch group is to examine its alerts system following the two incidents in Gobions last month.

Click here to read about the first incident when a woman was knocked to the ground by a man, or click here for details of the second incident.

A number of users of this site’s forum posted to say that their roads had been missed out when a leaflet containing a police warning was delivered door-to-door.

According to the secretary of the Brookmans Park and Little Heath Neighbourhood Watch Scheme, Brenda Harris, a system is in place to cover all the areas where residents have requested neighbourhood watch activity.

The system involves the community police officer, Vojislav Mihailovic, contacting the neighbourhood watch team, and the information then being distributed over the phone and door-to-door.

Some neighbourhood watch co-ordinators also receive recorded messages from police headquarters with information to be spread throughout the community. The contents of those messages are always posted on this site.

There are nine neighbourhood watch area co-ordinators in Brookmans Park and Little Heath. They are responsible for delivering newsletters, and police alerts, such as the one concerning the incidents in Gobions, to the 81 local co-ordinators.

The local co-ordinators then deliver the newsletters, and alerts, to between 10 and 15 homes in their 'patch'.

Brenda Harris says not all areas of the local community are covered by the scheme because not all people want to be involved.

However it seems faily clear that had it not been for the feedback to this site's forum, Brenda and her team would not have been aware of the gaps in the information flow. The issue of how alerts are passed on will now be top of the agenda when the Neighbourhood Watch Group meets on Thursday 29 January.

If you are not receiving the regular newsletters and crime alerts through your door, but want to be included, you might need to contact the Brookmans Park and Little Heath Neighbourhood Watch Scheme to see who your nearest co-ordinator is and whether your house can be included.

You can contact Brenda Harris on 01707-655355. You can also contact the community police team on 01707-638112, if you have any information regarding the Gobions incidents.

Local residents have been discussing this issue in this site’s forum.

5 January 2004

Related News
Police investigate Gobions leads - 17 December 2003
Police report a second incident in Gobions - 15 December 2003
Gobions 'attack' warning remains in force - 10 December 2003
Police issue Gobions 'attack' warning - 9 December 2003

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