DERBYSHIRE NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH ASSOCIATION TRUST ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31[st] MARCH 20222
CHARITY DETAILS
The Charity’s registered name is Derbyshire Neighbourhood Watch Association Trust (DNWAT) and the Charity Commission registration number is 1064711. The Association operates under a constitution originally adopted in 1997 which has been amended subsequently on several occasions. The registered address for the charity is Chesterfield Police Station, NHW Office Room 312, Beetwell Street, Chesterfield, Derbyshire S40 1SH. DNWAT also has a dedicated web site: www.derbyshireneighbourhoodwatch.co.uk.
Trustees during 2021/2022 were as follows:
Lynn Farrar (Chair), Kenneth Alsop (Treasurer), Gill Riley, Kevin Miller, Peter McKeown, Philip Arrandale, Barbara Arrandale. Hugh Tyler retired on the 10[th ] of November 2021.
STRUCTURE AND MANAGEMENT
DNWAT acts as the central organisation responsible for promoting and coordinating Neighbourhood Watch in Derbyshire. Previously there were also two regional groups responsible for North and South Derbyshire (based on the respective police areas) but during 2021/2022 these were no longer considered to be viable organisations, and it was decided to centralise control under DNWAT. Both North and South Derbyshire NW have been deleted from the central register of charities and funds have been transferred to DNWAT.
The Trustees held five general meetings and an annual general meeting during 2021/2022. Due to covid restrictions all these meetings were held online via Teams.
The AGM which was open to all to attend and included presentations by the Police and Crime Commissioner and the Assistant Police Constable. Following retirements from DNWAT in the past few years successful efforts have been made to recruit new members. This has partly been due to word of mouth but also by appealing to NW organisations across the county. The website also carries a standing request for anyone interested in being a trustee to make contact.
For the past few years, thanks to funding from the Derbyshire Police and Crime Commissioner DNWAT has been able to engage a specialist contractor to help with the ongoing management and development of neighbourhood watch across Derbyshire (further details of activities and achievements are provided below).
OUR OBJECTIVES
Derbyshire NHW Association Trust exists to improve links within the community, joint problem solving, preventing and deterring crime, including protecting the most vulnerable people in the community and promoting neighbourliness, thereby improving the quality of life in the neighbourhoods of Derbyshire. NHW communicate regularly with their Safer Neighbourhood Teams about crime, intelligence and incidents.
Our key objectives for the year included:
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Encouraging and helping local communities to join and participate in Neighbourhood Watch in Derbyshire.
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To review and update membership records to ensure all NW groups are accurately recorded.
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To develop easily accessible information to enable local communities to set up NW in their local areas.
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To administer a funding scheme provided by the Police and Crime Commissioner in order to provide additional resources and tools to local communities to proactively deter crime and keep local people safe.
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To provide information to address those issues that concern local communities including safer streets, anti-social behaviour and cybercrime.
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To encourage Derbyshire Police to make better use of the Alert System in order to provide reliable and useful information to local communities.
REVIEW OF ACTIVITIES AND ACHIEVEMENTS
Despite the restrictions placed by Covid on activities DNWAT was able to make good progress in developing and promoting neighbourhood watch in Derbyshire due in great part to using contracted services to deliver our key objectives.
Achievements during the year 2021/2022 included the following:
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A booklet was developed and produced to provide Neighbourhood Watch Coordinators with guidance on what is needed in setting up, running and growing their watches. It also supports members of schemes with helpful advice and links. The 15-page booklet is available as an e-book and in print.
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A Safer Streets campaign video was launched initially targeted at Derby West End with a view to increasing the number of Neighbourhood watches in the area. This was undertaken in conjunction with the PCC and the Safer Streets campaign and included words from the Chief Constable, Rachel Swan. It also included Neighbourhood Watch Coordinators talking about what Neighbourhood Watch means to them and the difference it makes in their area.
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A major database cleanse and update exercise was undertaken to ensure Neighbourhood Watch membership records are as accurate and up to date as possible. At present there are almost 980 Neighbourhood watch organisations registered in Derbyshire.
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Social media and website content was created and promoted in order to provide a focus for Neighbourhood Watch in Derbyshire.
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DNWAT administered a grant scheme set up by the Derbyshire Police and Crime Commissioner to help neighbourhoods prevent crime and increase safety. The total grant was £5000 with grants of up to £250 being available to individual applicants. The first tranche of grant amounting to £2403 was provided in 2021/2022 and enabled grants ranging from £113 to £250 to be made to 11 successful applicants.
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The public Annual General Meeting of DNWAT included presentations by Derbyshire Police specialists covering Cybercrime and Violence against Women and Girls.
FINANCIAL REVIEW
The audited Financial Accounts for 2021-2022 are attached and were prepared on a Receipts and Payments basis.
Receipts for the year amounted to £49,772. The Derbyshire Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) continued to provide annual financial support, in the sum of £22,800 to enable DNWAT to use a contractor to develop and promote Neighbourhood Watch in Derbyshire and to help cover daily administrative costs. DNWAT also received a 50% advance payment of £12,300 from the PCC in respect of 2022/2023 which has inflated the total income for the year. The PCC also provided funds for the Neighbourhood Watch Support Fund Grants (£2403) and Safer Streets Video (£470).
DNWAT also received a total of £11,414 from Neighbourhood Watch organisations in Derbyshire that are no longer active or are having difficulty in opening or maintaining bank accounts. A sum of £6508 has been ring-fenced for the local organisations to use as and when required.
Payments for the year amounted to £22,440. The major item of expenditure was in respect of project consultancy fees which amounted to £19,680. The work undertaken has been invaluable in enabling Neighbourhood Watch in Derbyshire to develop and progress and is described in the previous section of this report. Other significant payments included utilisation of ring-fenced funds (£1,500), Safer Streets Video (£420) and the web site e- brochure (£420).
DNWAT held bank funds of £32,359 at the financial year end including a balance of £5028 brought forward from the previous year. However, this includes the following earmarked funds:
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PCC Financial Support 2022/2023 (paid in advance) £12,300
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Neighbourhood Watch Ring-Fenced Funds £ 5,008
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PCC NW Support Fund Grant (allocated 2022/2023) £ 2,403
Adjusting for the above earmarked monies results in DNWAT having a balance of £12648 available at the financial year end.
Lynn Farrar
Chair (Derbyshire Neighbourhood Watch Association Trust)
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