What is Neighbourhood Watch / Support?

It’s a voluntary grouping of 10 to 12 households that band together to safeguard their homes and properties. The primary focus is crime prevention but these relationships can extend to emergency and disaster management or lobbying the council on local issues.

Organisation – Areas, Sectors and Groups

All Neighbourhood Watch / Support groups within the northern suburbs of Wellington are part of a network organised by the Community Policing Centre in Johnsonville. This network extends from Crofton Downs to Grenada Village and from Ohariu Valley to Kaiwharawhara and is divided into 11 areas, each with an Area Co-ordinator. Geographically larger areas are then sub-divided into sectors under the control of a Sector Co-ordinator.  Ngaio is divided into  7 sectors.

How to set up a new group

Households interested in forming a new group should contact their local Area Co-ordinator* or the Community Constable**.  They will attend a meeting (usually held in the home of one of the group members) and formally set up the new group. The set-up process involves;

·           an explanation of the structure of the organisation

·           watching a 15 minute video called “Getting Involved"

·           hints and tips on security

·           producing a list of telephone and contact details of members

·           selecting one member of the group to be the Group Leader

·           distribution of signs and stickers for letterboxes to publicly indicate the existence of the group

Enquiries about setting up a new group, or joining an existing group, may be made either to:

 *Hazel Cameron, Ngaio Area Co-ordinator  479 6250

*Ray Wright, Northern Suburbs Co-ordinator  478 4059

**The Community Constable, Johnsonville   478 3583

Then what?

Once established, there is no commitment to hold meetings but the group will be part of a network for assistance and information purposes only.  Members are expected to keep in contact and support each other, however informally, to protect the interests of the group eg: reporting immediately any suspicious activity in their neighbourhood to the Police.

Reports on criminal activity

Incident reports based on Police records are produced and distributed to Area Co-ordinators weekly which are then passed on to Group Leaders and members to keep them informed of criminal activity in their neighbourhood.