Weeknotes 20: 6th February 2026

Welcome to my roundup of community safety related news from the last few weeks. This newsletter is aimed mostly at Neighbourhood Watch Groups so that they can share information and news amongst their members. But if you’re part of any networks, please share it around (or encourage signup via the new signup form here) Remember all previous editions of this news summary are online.

Community safety

This is now a bit last minute, but if you’re connected to a Parish Council or a location that is interested in tackling speeding through installation of a speed safety device then the current round of funding for the Road Safety Measures Grant Scheme closes on 13th Feb.

The consultation is still open for feedback on the proposed Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) for Nuisance Motor Vehicles which will cover NEL. Closing date 8th March. Have your say.

Remember to keep an eye on the open consultations on the NELincs website. It’s your way to influence things that might affect your community.

The other proposed PSPO covers parts of Immingham town centre. This one closes very soon (13th Feb), so if you are around Immingham please take part.

National news about Reforms to speed up Police Response Times.

A reminder that VANEL have a supply of “No Cold Caller” window stickers available. Pop them in your window (and encourage your neighbours to do so too) to discourage rouge trader visitors. Collect stickers from VANEL offices or one of our information stands across NEL.

Do you suspect something isn’t quite right at a property within your area?

Ourwatch is now offering free Neighbourhood Safety Training to businesses/organisations. Find out more here or speak to me about this.

Scams and Fraud

If you’ve not seen it before, there is a very useful 16min video explaining about how to stay safe from scams and fraud here. It’s presented in easy terms and importantly has a British Sign Language version included. Prepared through FraudWatch and thanks to East Riding Council. Please share widely with anyone who you want to tell about scams.

Which? Provides regular updates on some of the very latest scams doing the rounds. Take a look at some of the latest here.

Phone scams take sinister twist as victims’ voices cloned – latest worrying news from National Trading Standards

This month there is a lot of focus on Romance Fraud. Read important advice and information here. Humberside Police have plenty of advice on this here which includes a number of videos (such as this one) that highlight just how traumatic this can be.

Policing

Grimsby Specials assist NPTs with day of action

You can help make our roads safer by contributing footage of dangerous driving through Operation Snap.

Locally in Nunsthorpe, Clear Hold Build has been confronting Organised Crime head on. This is part of a Humberwide approach to Organised Crime. Read about these efforts here: A relentless year against Serious and Organised Crime including a video.

Overall, there have been over 3,500 reduction in crimes across Humberside force area.

We recently promoted the consultation to determine the Policing precept for the coming year. That has now been set. Read: Police and Crime Commissioner welcomes approval of £18.49 precept for 2026/27.

You may have been following in the news about the new Government white paper: “From Local to National: A New Model for Policing”. The PCC has commented back on this.

There have been a few changes across a few of the Neighbourhood Policing Teams recently. So make a point of checking your local page on the Humberside Police website to find out who your team is, and especially when you can speak to them. There are more and more walkabouts, drop-ins and community engagement opportunities across all the teams. Check names and dates for your team here.

Fire

This week has been Electrical Fire Safety Week. Read the wise words from Humberside Fire and Rescue Services here and share with others.

Neighbourhood Watch

I’ve mentioned this before, but for those connected to Neighbourhood Watch it will be very useful to follow the new strategy that Ourwatch – the National Neighbourhood Watch Network – has now put in place. Read about it here.

Ourwatch have started sending out newsletters in a slightly different format. Read the February one here.

If you’re a coordinator for a Neighbourhood Watch Group locally then have you got yourself into the Knowledge Hub? There’s lots of useful resources in there for NW groups. If you’re having difficulties please get in touch with me and we can go through it together.

I still have a good supply of free Neighbourhood Watch window stickers for members of active schemes. Please contact me if you need some.

Local news

In Sidney Sussex we’re now scheduling monthly Community Safety/Police drop-ins at our community hub at 82 Grimsby Road. The Feb session focused on personal safety. The 3rd March session will talk about properly reporting crime.

South Ward is in the third year of the Clear Hold Build Nunsthorpe programme. There were some recent stats about the impact here, but a new video featuring Neighbourhood Police Sergeant Lorraine Paterson brings the programme into focus. Watch it on Facebook here. More videos from South ward coming soon.

Footnotes