Street Watch volunteer celebrated for 1,000 hours of service

A volunteer watch scheme co-ordinator has been praised for giving up the equivalent of 125 working days to serve his community’s Street Watch scheme.

Peter Appleyard, a retired police staff member who worked for the Metropolitan Police, has dedicated 1,00 hours to the initiative, which conducts targeted patrols based on reports of community concerns and anti-social behaviour.

The scheme supports the work of Community Policing teams who help to problem-solve at a local level, and can take forward intelligence about criminality and nuisance activity.

Peter’s troop – the Wigmore Street Watch - initially started out in 2019 with over 20 members who were made up of current members of the area’s  Neighbourhood Watch Scheme.

To date, between them, they have accumulated over 4,150 hours of patrols, despite having to cease active patrols during the Covid lockdowns.

Peter said: “I enjoy the freedom that patrolling our local streets offers our members, and the new people I have met by being part of the scheme.

“Making a difference in our communities is invaluable, and with a small amount of time, it proves that having a visible presence can help to reduce ASB and criminality.

“As co-ordinator for Wigmore Street Watch, we have a close relationship with our Community Policing Team, who try and support our patrols whenever possible.

“I regularly hold engagement events to recruit more members, as I strongly believe that Street Watch patrols have a positive impact on our neighbourhoods.”

Speed Watch teams across Bedfordshire have clocked up an impressive 30 hours of activity in January alone.

During the month, they sent 188 letters informing motorists of their excess speed to help prevent this going forward.

Also in January, volunteers across the county have conducted an incredible 281 hours of Street Watch patrols, on top of 135 Dog and Horse Watch patrols.

These patrols have resulted in 33 incident reports being created.

The force’s Community Watch Scheme co-ordinator Juliet Wright said: “Peter and his fellow volunteers up and down the county who willingly give their time in support of their communities are nothing short of inspiring.

“Our neighbourhood policing teams are committed to working with their residents to identify and tackle issues at a local level before they grow, but we do need the public to help be our eyes and ears and report anything of concern. This is why Watch Schemes – covering issues such as anti-social behaviour, speeding, concerns for dog and horse owners etc – are so important.

“Our Watch Scheme partners are always seeking more volunteers, so if you are passionate about supporting and helping us to protect your neighbourhood, please consider volunteering.”

You can contact Street Watch to find out more about Speed Watch, Horse Watch and Dog Watch schemes we have in place in Bedfordshire.

For more information about the work of your Community Policing team, join our neighbourhood alert service Beds Connected or follow your nearest policing team on Facebook.