Neighbourhood Watch is for everyone. Neighbourhood Watch is also about bringing people closer together and involving them in local life. A stronger community spirit grows as people get to know each other and look out for one another. Anyone can join a Neighbourhood Watch team and everyone can play a part in its achievements. And any community or neighbourhood - however large or small - can set up a scheme. A scheme can be made up of just a few houses in a street, or a few households, the residents in a square or a whole estate. Each scheme can be different - you don't even have to use the stickers in your windows. Schemes aim to meet the needs of the members and their neighbourhood. They are run by members and belong to the members - so the members make a real difference to improving the quality of life.

How does it work? Every one who joins a Neighbourhood Watch scheme plays an important part in making their neighbourhood a safer, more friendly and pleasant place to live in. One of the most important things scheme members do is to look out for activity in the neighbourhood that seems suspicious or unusual and then report it to the police. Some things you see may help the police to solve or prevent a crime - and so stop some- one becoming a victim: When you join a scheme, you are given advice about the sort of things to look for. But it is important to remember, when you see something that concerns you, to dial 999 and let the police check it out - you must never challenge someone behaving suspiciously or put yourself at risk. The police may also offer other advice, from simple idea's like seeing that circulars, newspapers and letters cannot be seen in letter boxes while householders are away on holiday, to promoting crime prevention schemes and home security measures such as marking property with a postcode.

Everyone is valuable. A local coordinator runs each local scheme. He or she is chosen by the members of the scheme and acts as a link between them, the local police and council, other watches and community groups. The link goes in both directions. As well as reporting suspicious activities or seeking help and advice from the police, the coordinator will hear from them about incidents likely to affect the neighbourhood. These could be about burglars operating in the area, reports of bogus door-to-door "salesmen", car thieves at work, or local drug dealing, for instance. Some members may be part of a support committee that shares the work. Others can keep an eye on the more vulnerable people in the neighbourhood, contribute to the schemes newsletter, help to arrange events or approach local business for support- or simply do the most important job of all - looking after others in the community. Everyone in a Neighbourhood Watch scheme plays an important and worthwhile part in making their community safer. Every member is valuable and every task they do contributes to bringing people in the community closer together.