In fact, there are. Street Watch, a scheme
that began in East Hampshire, England, and Street by Street, a programme
developed by East Belfast Alternatives, are both community policing initiatives
designed to help citizens take back their shared spaces from petty crime and
young people committing anti-social behaviour.
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Street Watch is the creation of Chief Inspector Philip
Kedge, a police officer who was concerned about the level of disruptive
behaviour and practices of young people in his town of Four Marks. On his own
time, he began to put together plans for an organisation that would get
citizens involved in patrolling and monitoring their own neighbourhoods.
When Street Watch began in 2008, it was initially met
with scepticism – what could middle-aged, middle-class adults do about young
people drinking and partying in the streets, or doing drugs in the town green
spaces after dark?
As it turns out, they can do quite a lot. From 2008 to
2010, two areas of criminal activity were significantly reduced: vehicle crime
by 47%, and criminal damage by 30%. Complaints of rowdy behaviour also dropped
by 17%.
The programme itself involves recruiting community
members to join the organisation and sign up for monthly shifts. The volunteers
are put through training and paired up to go out, equipped with bright yellow,
reflective vests and notepads to keep track of what they observe.
Feedback from both the volunteers and the young people
they encounter has been positive. Speaking to the Telegraph,
one 19-year-old said that he ‘used to be typical of teenage ‘hoodies’ that
locals were frightened of’ but that Street Watch had made a real difference in
how he and his friends acted.
‘Our attitudes towards [Street Watch
Volunteers] changed – we became more respectful, and if they ask us to do
something, we’ll happily do it. It’s all about the way they approach you. If
they are polite and respectful, taking a genuine interest in you, we’re polite
and respectful in return.’
Inspector Kedge says that while the reduction of crime is
a hugely positive step for the programme and the community, ‘the scheme’s [real] success lies in a reduced fear of
crime in Four Marks.’
A similar scheme was adopted
in Belfast last year by an organisation
called East Belfast Alternatives (EBA), a branch of Northern Ireland
Alternatives, which is a restorative justice-based outfit that works with youth
to divert them from crime and anti-social behaviour as well as reconciliation
between offenders and victims.
The EBA model is called
Street by Street, and performs essentially the same function as Street Watch.
Trained and highly visible volunteers patrol their neighbourhood streets Friday
and Saturday nights, on the lookout for potential problems.
Volunteers with Street by
Street are well aware of the tensions between the communities they work in and
the PSNI. Often it is the volunteers, not the police, who will have better luck
deterring or stopping petty criminal activity taking place because they have
taken time to build up relationships with people in their neighbourhoods.
Both of these programmes are
quick to say that their aim is not to replace the police or form a vigilante
citizens’ group. They are about ‘good citizenship,’ getting community members
involved in their own neighbourhoods, and creating safer places for all people.
And while they do have working relationships with the police, involving them
when actual crimes have occurred, both groups say that often their presence
alone is enough to put off trouble.
Street Watch has been so
effective that it currently has ten schemes in operation and has attracted the
attention of Home Secretary Theresa May. Why it works, Inspector Kedge says, is
because it ‘works as...a partnership model and approach between the community
and police where residents are empowered...Street Watch enables residents to
take a stand whilst supported by police.’
Speaking on the BBC’s Politics Show, Maz Heebron, one of Street Watch’s founding members, had these last words about Street Watch: ‘...when you actually get out there and engage with the youngsters, 99%of them are fantastic. Let’s get to know them, see what their problems are.’
What do you think about
these programmes? Do you think they would be effective in your community? Do we
need strong community-police relations? How can we build them?
