The Association of Scottish Neighbourhood Watches
(The official portal for Neighbourhood Watch in Scotland)

Support for Neighbourhood Watch in Maryhill

Following a brief presentation and discussion with our National Development Officer at the end of last year, the residents of Maryhill and Ruchill in Glasgow have backed plans to set up Neighbourhood Watches to help keep their communities safer:

Residents in Maryhill and Ruchill have said they would back plans to create a NeighbourHood Watch scheme in their communities.

Maryhill Housing Association surveyed local people in a major sampling of public opinion on community safety. It found overwhelming backing for such a scheme to keep the streets safe for local families.

The housing association carried out the survey under its Neighbourliness Project to assess local views on how safe people considered Maryhill and Ruchill.

It is the biggest survey of local opinion ever undertaken by the housing association. It found 100% of those questioned would support a Neighbourhood Watch scheme in their area. When asked if they had been “affected by any community safety issues” half said yes and half said no.

Thirty eight per cent of local people said they would be willing to attend a regular monthly meeting about Neighbourhood Watch while 70% said they would be interested in hearing about their local residents’ group.

Maryhill said the figures showed people were not significantly affected by community safety issues but were, however, enthusiastic about making the community safer with a Neighbourhood Watch scheme.

Read the rest of the article at Scottish Housing News

Cold Calling - some positive news.

At the end of 2009, Angus Trading Standards carried out an evaluation of no cold calling areas, with many Neighbourhood Watches in the Angus area actively involved too. The initial findings make for some positive reading. Brian Smith from Angus Trading Standards said the results indicated a significant reduction in those who worry about doorstep crime (at least halved.) In addition, over 80% reported a reduction of cold callers and over 70% said they feel better informed about doorstep crime.

The full results will be available in March.

Counterfeit Capital Bond Vouchers

On 22 December 2009 multiple reports were received of forged Capital Bonds having been tendered in numerous retail stores throughout Scotland in the last few days.

If someone offers to sell you Capital Bonds, do not accept them.

Please report this to the police or via Crimestoppers (0800 555 111).

More Awards for Manor Way!

Frank Conway, who was the recipient of the AoSNW 'Service to Neighbourhood Watch' award in 2009 is pictured above, receiving the Lanarkshire Caring Community award on behalf of Manor Way Neighbourhood Watch in Rutherglen. The award is to recognise the efforts of unsung heroes.

Since starting with 34 houses in 1997, Frank and his team have built up the watch and now support over 450 households.

We would like to congratulate Frank and Manor Way Neighbourhood Watch on their award.

Dumfries & Galloway - SmartWater goes region-wide

On the 2nd December AoSNW committee member Brian Smith MBE attended the launch in Dumfries of the Dumfries & Galloway SmartWater strategy. This is the first phase of its introduction as an additional tool in fighting crime and the fear of crime

The force is the first in Scotland to take up the SmartWater system region-wide to snare thieves.

More information to follow in our newsletter.

Presentation to William M Campbell

William (Bill) M Campbell was elected Chairman of the Association of Scottish Neighbourhood Watches (AoSNW) in 2004 and served in that capacity until he resigned from that post on Wednesday 2nd September, 2009. During his time as Chairman, Bill committed an extraordinary amount of his personal time in developing AoSNW to be the professionally organised charity that it is today. He enjoyed many achievements but probably his main achievement was securing a three year funding package from the Scottish Government which allowed the appointment of the Development Officer – Lisa Toon, the Administrative Assistant – Angela Edgar, and the provision of office premises within the Scottish Business Crime Centre at Stirling University Innovation Park.

Bill has used his knowledge and experience of NW issues to great effect in chairing both the Trustee and Committee meetings and the chairing of Annual General Meetings. The staging of a full day conference at the Westerwood Hotel in Cumbernauld on Thursday 16th April, 2009 followed by an awards ceremony at night and the AGM on the following (Friday) morning was a highlight of his time as Chairman.

Bill continues to support the development of NW in the Fife Constabulary area where he is the Chairman of the Fife Association of Neighbourhood Watches.

On 7th October 2009, Ian Fowler, the then Vice Chair of the Assoc of NW, was elected as the Chairman in place of Bill and Victoria Patterson, from the Northern Constabulary area, was elected Vice

Bill enjoyed a pleasant surprise at the start of the AGM of the Fife Association of Neighbourhood Watches at Fife Constabulary HQ in Glenrothes on Wednesday 24th November, 2009, when Ian Fowler arrived and presented Bill with an engraved decanter and bottle of malt whisky in recognition of his efforts over the past five years.

The Trustees and Committee members of the AoSNW wish Bill every success in the future with his efforts in expanding the NW philosophy across the Fife Constabulary area.


The photograph above shows Ian Fowler (left) with Bill and Jim Watson, the AoSNW Treasurer.

Arbroath Neighbourhood Watch groups join forces

TWO NEIGHBOURHOOD Watch groups that covered Arbroath and the surrounding area have now merged to form one organisation.
Up until recently, the town was covered by both the Arbroath and Area Association and the Arbroath and District Neighbourhood Watch.

But now, following a recent successful public meeting in Inverbrothock Primary School, the two organisations have joined forces so they can work together to make Neighbourhood Watch relevant in the 21st century.

Read the rest of the article in the Arbroath Herald

Scottish Policing Awards

Tayside Police recently received an award under the category of Police Reassurance and Community Safety. This followed the successful partnership initiative Doorstoppers involving Neighbourhood Watch in Arbroath as well as other partners.

The success of Doorstoppers was down to the efforts of all partners working together. In light of this, Gordon Young-Ewen, secretary of the Association of Scottish Neighbourhood Watches will receive a personal certificate from Kenny MacAskill, Cabinet Secretary for Justice, in recognition of his work with Arbroath Neighbourhood Watch during the Doorstoppers initiative. Chief Suprintendent Alan Campbell will present Gordon with the certificate at a ceremony on 4th December 2009.

We congratulate Gordon for the work and effort he has put in to make Doorstoppers such a success

Safety Reminders from the Scottish Business Crime Centre

The Scottish Business Crime Centre have alerted us to some trends that have arisen recently. Please remember to always be careful with your personal details and be vigilant when using your credit or debit cards.



PIN number compromise and distraction thefts have recently been carried out at supermarkets in Bathgate, Fife, Irvine, Perth and Stirling.

The details of the crime are as follows. A member of the criminal team loiters at the check out and notes the pin number being entered by a customer. Often the perpetrator is apparently talking on a mobile telephone which is actually being used to record the pin number.

The victim is then approached outside the premises by other team members who ask for directions and produce a map in order to distract the victim. During this time the victims’ purse is stolen from their handbag or pocket. The victims’ card and PIN number are then used to withdraw cash from their account.

The criminal team comprises of both male and female members and have been described as pleasant and friendly while carrying out the crime.

In the most recent incident in Irvine the perpetrators have been described as of being of eastern European appearance.

In order to reduce the opportunity for this type of crime stand close to the PIN keypad and always shield the keypad to avoid anyone seeing you enter your PIN number.

Handbags should be closed, carried in front of the body with an arm held loosely across it. If approached by strangers for any reason be aware of the danger of theft from your handbag or person.




Advertisers in newspapers and magazines are being targeted by fraudsters telephoning the contact number in their advert. The fraudster claims that accounts department have been unable to process the card transaction and they require the details again. The fraudster of course can provide details of the advertisement and where and when it was published.

Please be vigilant to ensure that card details are never disclosed on the telephone to any person calling you. Neither is it sufficient to return a call on the number given to you by the caller. You should establish what department the caller is from and telephone a number you know to be genuine. Then ask to be transferred to the appropriate department.




We have been advised that a new fake e-mail purporting to come from HM Revenue & Customs, this time with the subject heading "Notice of Underreported Income", is in circulation. If you do receive this e-mail, please do not click on the link as opening executable files over the internet can potentially compromise the security on your machine.

Unfortunately new fake e-mails of this type will continue to surface, therefore please remember that HMRC would never under any circumstances contact you by e-mail and request personal details. If therefore you do receive any e-mails in the future which appear to come from HMRC requesting such details, please do not respond.

Scottish Centre for Intergenerational Practice Conference

Lisa Toon attended the Scottish Centre for Intergenerational Practice conference in Perth on 1st October. The conference was very practical and engaging and showcased a number of projects which sought to bring together the younger and older generations.

These included:

Youth for Old Bikes (YOBS) - A scheme where young people are given a bike to use, in return for them delivering fruit, vegetables and other items to older people in their community on a Saturday morning.

Sing Together - Naturally - A group which offers singing sessions to communities, free of charge. They had everyone at the conference singing!

Intergenerational Kitchen - A research project which involved school children and older people in designing a nutritional guide for people who live alone and want to eat well.

Playbusters - A project which encourages younger people and older people to share their knowledge and skills with each other - these have included sending texts and knitting. The groups have also worked together on an allotment.

North Edinburgh Intergenerational Project - A group that was formed to try to resolve some of the intergenerational conflict in North Edinburgh and which brings together different generations to discuss issues and resolve problems.

There are lots of great projects going on all over Scotland. Look on the SCIP Website to see if there's an Intergenerational Network nearby that your watch could join.

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