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Police and Crime Commissioner Joy Allen has praised the work of County Durham and Darlington’s Neighbourhood Watch volunteers for their vital role to protect local communities.
To mark Neighbourhood Watch Week, Joy visited a number of local groups to show support for the excellent work that volunteers do across County Durham and Darlington.
The national event is an opportunity to celebrate the crime prevention work that Neighbourhood Watch groups carry out every day to help keep their communities safe.
Joy's community safety career began when she was a Neighbourhood Watch co-ordinator. This role gave her a valuable insight and first-hand experience of the vital role volunteers play in deterring crime and gathering intelligence to catch offenders.
Speaking during a visit to Howden-le-Wear, Joy praised NHW members who give up their own time to make their communities safer, stronger and more resilient, particularly during the last difficult year.
She said: “On behalf of the people of County Durham and Darlington, I would like to say thank you to all the Neighbourhood Watch volunteers who do so much to help keep people safe.
“If the pandemic has taught us anything, it is that looking out for our neighbours and playing our part in the wider community is as important now as it has always been.
“Neighbourhood Watch coordinators play a key role by helping share relevant information about local crimes and advice on how to protect ourselves and our belongings from criminals.
“Working with the police they help provide intelligence to officers, support the elderly and vulnerable and go out of their way to make their local area safer.
“Crime prevention work is important for all of us and Neighbourhood Watch works closely with Durham Constabulary to spread that message.
“Just knowing that Neighbourhood Watch are active in an area can play a large part in preventing crime for happening in the first place.
Ms Allen added: “Neighbourhood Watch Week 2021 is a tremendous opportunity for us to build on the connections we already have with our neighbours and work together to make positive change in our communities”.
If you want to contact your local Neighbourhood Watch group and join up, you can search for details at www.ourwatch.org.uk/
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