Stay Safe guide booklets have been circulating around North East Lincolnshire since 2020 when VANEL produced the very first edition. Each guide contains lots of advice, tips and phone numbers related to community safety issues, and have been written to be accessible to any resident, especially older people.
VANEL have been working with the Police and partners for years on new editions of the Stay Safe guides, and this June, during the 40th Neighbourhood Watch Week, a brand new edition has been published under the Humber Watch name and covering the whole of Humberside.
Thank you to Karl at VANEL for producing these and thank you too to our funders: the Office of the Humberside Police and Crime Commissioner whose funding reached Humber Watch by way of the North Lincolnshire Community Safety Partnership.
Thousands of copies of these guides are now available across Humberside via our four Humber Watch partners – VANEL, Neighbourhood Network, East Riding and North Lincolnshire Councils. Watch out for them in a venue near you soon.
Hopefully the content of these guides will help readers, and you’ll also find plenty of information within the pages about Neighbourhood Watch and about Humber Watch itself.
The bi-annual Humberwatch conference for 2024 took place on 6th June 2024 at Alf Marshall Centre in Hull. The event of course focused on Neighbourhood Watch, and coordinators from across Humberside attended to listen to presentations, network and enjoyed a great buffet! Humberwatch are grateful to everyone attending or supporting the event and especially to the North Lincolnshire Community Safety Partnership who used Police and Crime Commissioner Funding to help fund this years event.
Read on for details of the event, photos and our video of the presentation for all those that missed it.
We would like to thank everyone who attended the Humber Watch Conference during Neighbourhood Watch Week. The event celebrated the invaluable work of volunteers across the Humber region who coordinate their own Neighbourhood Watch schemes. It also showcased how the Neighbourhood Watch Force Association (Humber Watch) can further support these efforts.
A special thank you goes to our guest speakers:
Jonathan Evison, Humberside Police and Crime Commissioner: Mr. Evison opened the event with an inspiring speech, sharing his vision and plans for the next three years in office. His commitment to enhancing community safety and supporting Neighbourhood Watch initiatives was clear and encouraging.
Cheryl Spruce, Partnership Manager from the National Neighbourhood Watch Network: Cheryl highlighted the extensive support available for Neighbourhood Watch across the country. She detailed the online resources, access to the coordinators’ Knowledge Hub, and the exciting future plans aimed at strengthening community watch efforts nationwide.
Sgt. Kevin Jones, Humberside Police: Sgt. Jones provided an in-depth overview of the Rural Crime Task Force Team. He shared the significant work and outcomes the team has achieved since its inception, emphasizing the importance of collaboration between the police and community volunteers in tackling rural crime.
The conference was organised by Neighbourhood Watch leads from all four unitary authority areas across the Humber region, ensuring a well-rounded and comprehensive program. The dedication and effort put into organising this event were evident and greatly appreciated by all who attended.
Thank you once again to our speakers, organisers, and most importantly, our volunteers. Your commitment to community safety and support for each other is what makes the Neighbourhood Watch initiative so impactful. We look forward to continuing our work together and achieving even greater success in the future.
The Video
If you missed the event (or if you simply want to re-live it) then we’ve just released a video of the presentations. It’s just over 2 hours long. Enjoy.
Video filmed and edited for Humberwatch by Focus-7
30th April 2024 Humber Watch hosted a Hustings event at the Alf Marshall Centre in Hull in advance of the upcoming elections for the Humberside Police and Crime Commissioner.
Humber Watch hosted the event but thanks go in particular to the team at Neighbourhood Network for all the admin of the event and letting us use the community centre as a venue for the event. Thanks too to the Humber Watch partners and for all other volunteers and attendees on the evening.
On 6th July 2022, the Humber Watch team, along with 60 Humber wide Neighbourhood Watch Coordinators celebrated everything ‘Neighbourhood Watch’ and more importantly celebrated the fact that it’s Neighbourhood Watch’s 40th Birthday!
The event at the Country Park, Hessle included an address from Humberside Polices’ Adil Khan and Mark Lovell, along with a presentation of the history and current campaigns from Central Support Team staff member, Cheryl Spruce. The Humberside Police and Crime Commissioner Jonathan Evison also took time to address and thank attending coordinators.
After refreshments and networking, attendees were treated to an interactive production by Spin Off Productions; a play focusing on telephone fraud during the lockdown period. Coordinators were invited to offer advice and help play out an alternative more positive outcome to the potential fraud.
The Humber Watch event was the culmination of ’40 years, 40 actions’ campaign, where the four unitary authority areas supporting NHW, organised 10 actions each, in the months leading up to this special 40th year event. 40th Anniversary | Neighbourhood Watch Network (ourwatch.org.uk)
It’s been 4 years since the last Humber Watch event and feedback was very positive from all involved.
Attendees enjoying the event40th Birthday celebration cakeSpin Off Productions, performing their ‘Fraud’ play
‘The play was full of great information, but delivered with humour’
‘The speakers were great, so interesting and so much relevant information to take in’
The event was well organised, delivered at a friendly pace and had a good atmosphere’
‘The event was a great celebration, bringing together lots of our valued coordinators from around the Humberside force area. It was a chance to celebrate all things Neighbourhood Watch and more importantly the contribution our volunteers make towards keeping the communities of Humberside safer’ – Lucy, Neighbourhood Network, Hull
Original article from Neighbourhood Network website here.
After a ‘break’ for Covid, the Humberwatch team has got going again in 2022 with meetings and projects and it’s time for us to have a new space to talk about what we’re up to. So please share www.humberwatch.org.uk with anyone who needs to know about it.
The website is a joint initiative between the four areas involved with Humberwatch, so please speak to your appropriate local coordinators if you have any thoughts or questions. Or if you’ve got a specific website concern then please contact Karl Elliott at VANEL direct who is currently acting as admin for the site (karl@vanel.org.uk)
From our archives: about the first Humber Watch conference…
On Wednesday 13th June 2018 the Humber Watch Association held their inaugural regional conference at the Country Park Inn, Hessle.
The event was attended by approximately 70 Neighbourhood Watch coordinators from all across the Humberside Police region along with all four regional support teams, Humberside Police personnel and staff from the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner.
The aims of the event were to provide a networking platform for NHW coordinators to discuss their experiences with like-minded coordinators from different parts of the region. The event also allowed for discussion on particular issues affecting communities in Hull along with suggestions of solutions and examples of best practice. The event provided the opportunity to put anonymous questions to a panel made of of NHW support Steve Lynn, Humberside Police Inspector Tim Harvey, PCC Engagement Officer Claire Welford for discussion on the evening.
We would like to thank all those that attended and hope you found the event useful.
