Clive Stewart Castle Point District Co-ordinator writes: -In the early weeks of October 2021 I took up the reins as District Co-ordinator of Castle Point District Neighbourhood Watch. Since then, I created a weekly Castle Point District Neighbourhood Watch weekly newsletter yes, every week. Including Bank Holidays and also Christmas and New Year. I have been managing Castle Point District Neighbourhood Watch now for four years and since that time everyone who registers with the Castle Point scheme has received not only the weekly newsletter which is a summary of the weekly crime report but also the six monthly newsletters too…and also the opportunity to receive FREE Neighbourhood Watch items not just window stickers, wheelie bin stickers and No Cold caller stickers but Members Guides ( both hard copy and online) , official members badges too ( as the old 3cm badges are not valid in Essex as they can be bought from any website whether or not you are a member of Neighbourhood Watch )..The weekly newsletter is very welcome by so many of you and is published on the Castle Point District Facebook Group ( administrator John Metcalfe) and is received by local Essex Police Team too …PC Ian Risden is supportive of Neighbourhood Watch and very keen to work more effectively with Neighbourhood Watch members and will be advising me of the events that we can share a table with him soon.As regards finance we are receiving our normal annual £1,000 from The Police Fire & Crime Commissioner’s Office soon via Essex County NW Association.. These funds are held in the ECNWA account and are ringfenced to cover any expenditure..If anyone who is a member of Castle Point NW needs to know how the funds are spent please contact me and I shall send you the details ….Items are purchased entirely due to the demand by members of any items….Finally we do not have a committee ie Chairman, Secretary & Treasurer as no one wants to attend any meetings at all..but that is fine ..That is why I am Castle Point District NW Co-ordinator ..so I am keen to be available 24/7 for any enquiries to be part of Neighbourhood Watch where you live ..Call me on 0750 8057636 or email [email protected] So my role as Castle Point Neighbourhood Watch Co-ordinator is to keep you up to date with Neighbourhood Watch information and supply you with NW items too e.g. window stickers, wheelie bin stickers, No Cold caller stickers, members guides and valid NW members badges, and many other items too. All free.... Essex Chief Constable Mr. B. J Harrington has told me that he wants to see an increase in Neighbourhood Watch throughout Essex and also more street signs to be placed on appropriate posts as he believes that they do help to reduce crime, so maybe I can help you with that? Please contact me.Finally, I was advised by many who replied to my email in October 2021 that they remember having newsletters to distribute and they collected them from the Castle Point Borough Council Offices. Well, I brought them back, but they are now delivered to your door by Neighbourhood Watch .....So, thank you all again. Finally, if you know of anyone who is interested in being part of Castle Point District Neighbourhood Watch, please ask them to send me their full name and postal address to [email protected] Regards Clive Stewart Castle Point District Co-ordinator
REPORT TO ECNWA FOR MEETING ON 12TH AUGUST 2025
NEW WEEKLY CRIME REPORTS Yes we all agree the reports are not very useful for Neighbourhood Watch members if we are to be the “eyes and ears” for Essex Police. The basic minimum is not very helpful to encourage more members either..So in the weekly newsletter ( it is a Neighbourhood Watch newsletter which was created in October 2021 ), in addition to the limited information on the crime reports, I am publishing crime information which I receive from Essex Police Castle Point Dispatch newsletters and also what Essex Police publish on Castle Point Facebook Groups.As not all members of the communities actually subscribe to Dispatch newsletters or use facebook and the details are very very useful…This helps a little to give to all those who receive the newsletter some information on local crime but also there are details of whom commit crimes and have been arrested and sentenced .In fact I have received many compliments on publishing such information… In addition , with Stuart Rawlins ( Crimestoppers Volunteer Chair Essex ) permission I have created a column which includes regular information on Crimestoppers provided by Stuart …Again this is interesting too for more NW people …..I will say ..finally on this matter ..that I have had a few comments about the lack of basic crime information on the new crime reports ( in response to my giving reasons for the crime reports in that format ) ..but not one resignation…The reason, is that I am explaining ( every week) what we are doing such as having regular meetings and communications with Essex Police in the hope that they ( Essex Police ) will be able to add more meaningful details on to automated reports soon.Ss most of you know I did not send out the new crime reports in the new format …In fact I never have done so in Castle Point since 2021 as I summarise the information in a newsletter ..But I did explain why it has changed and prepared them for it a week earlier…
ESSEX POLICE AND WORKING WITH NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH: On Sunday 3rd August Essex Police Officers teamed up with Neighbourhood Watch (and Volunteer Active Citizens) for a successful community engagement event. Together they fitted thirty five cycle tags to bicycles belonging to Castle Point residents who has preregistered for this free service. The cycle tags , generously donated by Castle Point Borough Council help deter theft and assist in recovery of stolen bikes. It was fantastic to see so many residents taking proactive steps to protect their property and engage with local safety initiatives . A BIG thank you to everyone who participated and helped make the day a success SIX MONTHLY NEWSLETTER JULY to DECEMBER 2025: The latest newsletter had been emailed out to all on my Castle Point District NW database when I requested who was willing to distribute them and how many copies they needed on top of their sending the email version to their members….For the second six monthly issue in 2025 the response was amazing with more people wanting hard copies to distribute than before .So those who requested them had them delivered to their door ( no need to go anywhere to collect them ) .GENERAL MEMBERSHIP This is increasing on a regular basis . Yes every week…. with emails sent to me directly due to the not only THE excellent Castle Point Facebook Group (managed by John Metcalfe) but also due to Co-ordinators and members advising everyone of Neighbourhood Watch However I still see those who register with NWN ( no problem with that ) and I make contact with them to introduce them what we offer on local Neighbourhood Watch…IF I do not hear from them ( after a reasonable time ) I do NOT delete them from NWN database..but move them out of the Castle Point scheme ( if they have “joined it” ) and leave them alone. They are notified by NWN of this action by the way…..So if they were keen to remain in Castle Point scheme then they would reply to my Welcoming” email ..but I never hear from them again FINANCE Yes we have received the £1,000 from The Police Fire & Crime Commissioner’s Office via ECNWA..and these funds are still ringfenced in ECNWA accounts until anyone one wants to create a Castle Point NW District with a Chairman, Secretary and more importantly Treasurer …The funds are safe to use to purchase any NW items ie wheelie bin stickers and No Cold Caller stickers and cover postages and printing of the six monthly newsletters and couriers to deliver them .
SUMMARY So, in general , a successful three months..apart from the fact of the crime reports ..Well they are still weekly!!I know from emails that many like to know, who live in Castle Point District, there is someone they can contact regarding Neighbourhood Watch….By the way one Co-ordinator advised me last week that a street sign was broken and needed a new one..Within a day the person was advised it was available for her to collect from Castle Point Borough Council Offices reception area….All thanks to John Metcalfe who still has access to Castle Point NW stock of street signs and organised it . The person was very impressed..
Clive Stewart Castle Point District NW Co-ordinator