Next week Agatha Christie's "The Mousetrap" arrives at The Capitol. As a result those attending the Horsham District Neighbourhood Watch AGM were greeted with posters urging them to "Suspect Everyone". Propitious perhaps - although they would be the first to point out that Neighbourhood Watch is not just there to "keep an eye" out for potential criminal activity. There are numerous circumstances in which having a friendly neighbourhood network helps. There are many across the District that benefit from Neighbourhood Watch: as many as 15,000 people may be covered by around 700 street co-ordinators.
Neighbourhood Watch has a valuable role to play as our District Commander, Howard Hodges, pointed out. He knows that Sussex Police need all the help they can get as they continue to reduce traditional crimes while also getting to grips with newer offences. Despite having to manage substantial cost reductions, over the last five years crime fell across Sussex by 6 per cent. In the current environment further cost cutting is inevitable but the Police continue to perform brilliantly in adapting new strategies to tackle crime.
Over twenty years, effective use of computers, forensic science (especially DNA analysis) and anti-crime technology (everything from car immobilisers to cctv) has helped the police remain at the cutting edge. However crime has evolved too These days we are far more at risk of being defrauded on the telephone or through an internet scam than any number of "traditional" offences. Modern policing has to confront a dual challenge. It must provide the reassuring presence of the “bobby on the beat” or the PCSO in the village, cutting the fear of crime and “getting to know” the community. However it cannot neglect the golden rule of policing – that it’s the likelihood of being caught that deters criminals: which these days may call for hours of computer analysis behind closed doors.
To meet the dual challenge Sussex Police will be producing ever “smarter” policing in coming years – there is room for further technological innovation but there will always be the need for the community to work together – including through Neighbourhood Watch.