Co-op Insurance and Neighbourhood Watch partner for safer communities

The Co-operative Insurance has been announced as the primary sponsor of Neighbourhood Watch for 2016. The agreement will initially last for 12 months, and will see them working...

The Co-operative Insurance has been announced as the primary sponsor of Neighbourhood Watch for 2016.

The agreement will initially last for 12 months, and will see them working together to help bring neighbourhoods together. They also aim to promote safety among communities, giving individuals greater peace of mind.

Neighbourhood Watch, established 33 years ago, is the largest volunteer crime prevention movement in the UK, with over 173,000 co-ordinators covering 3.8 million households across England and Wales. It has traditionally focused on burglary and car crime, but volunteers also cover cyber-crime and fraud.

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The new logo

This year Neighbourhood Watch has refreshed its brand and updated its iconic logo. Through the agreement, Co-operative Insurance will distribute new window stickers to members and provide local co-ordinators and members with resources.

“As part of the Co-operative Group, our purpose is to champion a better way of doing business that helps to strengthen communities,” said Mark Summerfield, CEO of the Co-operative Insurance.

“Teaming up with Neighbourhood Watch gives us a great opportunity to work with a voluntary organisation with a vision that fits with our own and has aspirations to ensure people feel safe in the place where they live. The scale of our two groups combined gives us the potential to reach out to a huge part of society to help make this possible.”

The two organisations are now calling for new Neighbourhood Watch members and are aiming to set up 30,000 new schemes, following independent research that shows Neighbourhood Watch can reduce crime by up to 26%.

“We are delighted to work with the Co-operative Insurance to help ensure communities are safe and secure,” said Lynn Farrar, vice-chair of the Neighbourhood and Home Watch Network. “However, we are not in every community and we need volunteers to come forward to help us. Being a co-ordinator is a very rewarding role which is flexible and can fit around other commitments including work and family responsibilities. With the new window stickers and resources, it really does help communities come together to look out for one another.”

  • For more information about joining or setting up a Neighbourhood Watch scheme visit: www.ourwatch.org.uk.
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