Who We Are

The Rushcliffe Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) works closely with the community to provide a range of services that aim to eliminate crime and the fear of crime. Members of this partnership include Nottinghamshire Police, Nottinghamshire County Council, Rushcliffe Borough Council, Nottinghamshire Police Authority and Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service. Community Watch has been developed and funded by the CDRP.

Rushcliffe Community Watch is a joint venture between Rushcliffe Borough Council, Nottinghamshire Police, Nottinghamshire County Council and the population of Rushcliffe.

Structure Chart:

This new partnership helps protect the community against crime via a two-way sharing of information between the police and the public.

Why this Project?

Crime reduction and crime prevention are most successful when they involve everybody in a multi-agency approach. The police-public partnership is the ideal. The fight against crime is reinforced by effective two-way communication between the public and the police.

This co-operation promotes greater intelligence sharing, more public confidence, improved levels of reporting and, of course, higher detection rates. The more widespread and rapid the two-way communication, and the more feedback there is to the community, the greater is the sense of public empowerment.

There are currently several excellent crime prevention initiatives in Rushcliffe:

• Rushcliffe Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP);
• RUNWAY (Rushcliffe Neighbourhood Watch Association) incorporating many successful Neighbourhood Watch schemes run by committed volunteers and operating in close liaison with their local police stations. RUNWAY have an office adjacent to Rushcliffe Community Watch and they work closely together.

However up until the launch of Rushcliffe Community Watch, no comprehensive system was in place for continuous daily widespread community engagement and interaction in crime reporting and prevention.

The rapid-response Ringmaster 2000 system (the system Rushcliffe Community Watch runs on) is capable of telephoning, faxing and e-mailing members, and is the essential vehicle for achieving this two-way communication.

How does it work?

Using the Ringmaster computerised messaging system, the Community Watch officers send warnings and messages by email or phone to the members on the database relating to criminal activity within their locality. To find out how you can use the scheme, read the About Community Watch page.

The Team

Mick Turland and Carolann Henderson (pictured) are the Community Watch Officers based at West Bridgford Police Station. Both Carolann and Mick are former Notts Police Officers, between them they have more than 45 years experience of working in the community.

Mick and Carolann control the ringmaster system: they send your messages either by a telephone call or e-mail, targeting information that relates specifically to your area, for example 'Bingham Shopkeepers', 'Cotgrave Neighbourhood Watch' etc. They direct this message to which ever location you require - home or work - at a convenient time for you.

The two officers are also responsible for receiving and interpreting your incoming messages. Subsequently Mick and Carolann will take the appropriate action, for example ensuring your local Beat Manager (Police) is aware of the situation, and warning those residents to which the information applies.

The Watch Officers aim to update callers on the progress of calls they have made.

You can contact Mick or Carolann if you have any queries regarding Rushcliffe Community Watch by telephone on 0115 844 6054, or by email to rushcliffecommunitywatch@crime-prevention.co.uk.

Outcomes from the Community Watch Scheme

The outcomes of this information exchange across the integrated network will include:

• More effective police-community communication
• People more in touch with the police
• Increased crime reporting rates
• Public empowerment and confidence
• Improved crime detection rates
• A reduction in crime and fear of crime
• Increased quality of life