Dromore and Hillsborough Neighbourhood Watch networking event

A MEETING was held in Kinallen on the evening of Thursday, February 28, to develop a more innovative approach to tackling crime, antisocial behaviour and making communities feel safer by joining together Neighbourhood Watch groups from both the Lisburn and Banbridge Districts.

Currently a number of Neighbourhood Watch groups are in existence across the wider Dromore and Hillsborough areas, and each are working to improve the quality of life for local residents by helping reduce crime and making them feel safer and more confident in protecting themselves and their property.

However, groups who are in close proximity and who border each other currently have no formal links with each other as they are in two separate council and PSNI districts.

Kinallen Neighbourhood Watch took the initiative to close this gap and bring together these groups to form links and share information.

Sergeant Paul Ferguson and Constable Alex Swan from Dromore Neighbourhood Policing Team were in attendance along with Constable Mark Switzer from Hillsborough to advise on how the PSNI could help the various groups to network and exchange information on issues such as bogus callers or suspicious vehicles passing through the local areas.

Rhonda Abraham from Banbridge Policing and Community Safety Partnership outlined how the PCSP can assist the groups through co-ordinating networking events and administering the contact information. She explained that Neighbourhood Watch is about bringing people together and developing community links to prevent local crime, therefore it is important to overcome the gaps which currently exist in the local community due to the boundaries of PSNI and council districts. By bringing together Neighbourhood Watch Groups in Hillsborough and Dromore they can collectively to work together and make the whole areasafer.

It was agreed that the Neighbourhood Watch Groups should come together again around the start of May.

Any Neighbourhood Watch groups not present on the night who would like to find out more information about getting involved, or anyone interested in establishing a new Neighbourhood Watch Scheme, should contact Banbridge PCSP on 028 406 20248 or [email protected]