Luton Neighbourhood Watch relaunches with annual meeting
The relaunch event and annual general meeting took place at Luton Town Hall on Wednesday, October 28, and brought together coordinators, residents and community partners.
Dr Mohammad Alramahi, the new Neighbourhood Watch Luton Co-Chair and a local coordinator, emphasised the importance of community involvement and stronger neighbourhood relationships.
He said: “A safer Luton begins with stronger neighbourhoods. And stronger neighbourhoods begin with people who care.”
He also highlighted the importance of working with local partners, he said “Not by replacing the police or the Council, but by working alongside them. Not by encouraging people to become suspicious of their neighbours, but by helping neighbours become more connected.”
Dr Alramahi said: “My hope is that, following tonight’s relaunch, we can build a more connected, inclusive and active network across Luton.
"A network where coordinators feel supported, residents feel involved, and everyone has an opportunity to contribute, because ultimately, Neighbourhood Watch is not just about watching our neighbourhoods. It is about looking out for one another.”
Bedfordshire Police and Crime Commissioner John Tizard said understanding local communities was essential to tackling crime, highlighting the role of residents and neighbours alongside the police.
He said Luton faced a range of crime and anti-social behaviour issues, including burglary and violence, “We know there is crime, too much crime, in Luton as there is in other parts of the country.”
Mr Tizard said anti-social behaviour could cause “irritation and problems” for residents, and stressed the importance of listening to them. He said preventing crime was preferable to detecting it after it had happened.
Luton Council’s portfolio holder for public health, Cllr Khtija Malik, said the town had set a target for 90 per cent of residents to feel safe in their local area by 2028.
She said: “It requires trust, connection, communities that are confident, informed and resilient.”
Cllr Malik praised Neighbourhood Watch’s “watch, connect, act” approach and said it supported the council’s Luton 2040 vision of a town where people feel safe, communities are connected and residents take pride in where they live.
Neighbourhood Watch representative Cheryl Spruce told the meeting: “In 1982 the Neighbourhood Watch started in this country, the main focus was burglary, now the focus has shifted to violence to women and adults and cyber crime.”
She shared figures showing Luton has 1,772 members across 235 approved schemes, covering 4,627 member households. The town has one area coordinator, 166 main coordinators and 39 deputies.
By comparison, North Bedfordshire has 3,019 members across 145 approved schemes, covering 8,059 households, while Central Bedfordshire has 1,701 members across 252 schemes, covering 9,892 households.
Local coordinator Martin Lewis said volunteers had clear limits on what they could do. He said: “We haven’t got the powers to arrest anybody – that’s why we rely on other organisations as well: council, police, and any other bodies that can help out.”
He said he wanted to understand how the council and police set their priorities, “But I’d like to understand where the priorities lie, and this is where the communications bit comes in. We are just a part of a chain of partnerships.”