The schemes exist primarily to prevent and reduce crime. They do this primarily through sharing information on security measures and other crime prevention methods, rather than as a result of people literally ‘watching’ – though the unfair stereotype that schemes are for ‘nosey parkers’ does still persist.

Alongside crime prevention, Neighbourhood Watches also aim to provide reassurance about crime, and to create neighbourhood cohesion. Whether or not the schemes actually cut crime is not entirely clear. Some researchers have found that they do: Neighbourhood Watch itself cites a study carried out in 2006, which found that property crime in a ‘watched’ area was about 10% lower than a similar area outside a Neighbourhood Watch scheme. Other researchers – it’s about a 50/50 split – have found that the schemes make no difference to crime rates. Perhaps the most detailed study to date, a 2008 meta-analysis (or review of lots of studies) estimated that Neighbourhood Watch reduced crime by on average between 16 and 26% – although it was unable to say exactly why.

Even if you are sceptical as to whether or not Neighbourhood Watch schemes actually reduce crime, they might reduce your home insurance premiums. Some – not all – insurance providers offer discounts. It is hard to find reliable figures, and insurers are cagey about what informs their actuarial calculations, but it seems that about a third of insurance companies recognise Neighbourhood Watch schemes, and belonging to one can attract a home insurance premium discount in the region of 5%.

There is a catch. If you mention membership of a Neighbourhood Watch scheme on your insurance application, you might have to prove, in the event of a claim, that the scheme exists, that you are a member, and possibly even that it is a verified scheme – which means verified either by the police or an official Neighbourhood Watch volunteer. Some schemes are ‘self-declared’. These can be perfectly legitimate, but they may not be. And insurance companies may not believe they are.

The benefits of Neighbourhood Watch to a property purchaser may extend beyond home insurance, however. When the scheme was first launched in the UK in the 1980s, it was in response to historically high rates of property crime and relatively widespread anxiety about burglary. Since then – and as burglary has given way to other kinds of theft, notably online fraud – the scheme has evolved. It is seen now as a ‘gateway for citizens to engage in their locality’ and a contributor to ‘community health and wellbeing’.

Information passed on to police and council services through Neighbourhood Watch might now include anything from fly-tipping and drug-dealing to domestic abuse and cyber-crime. As John Hayward-Cripps, CEO of the Neighbourhood Watch Network, told The Times in January 2022, ‘We are calling for people to talk more about hidden and under-reported crimes in their communities rather than only those we have traditionally worried about, such as burglary and car crime. We are asking people to look beyond their own personal safety and consider what is happening on their streets and behind closed doors.’

Of course, Neighbourhood Watch is far from the only show in town, these days. Websites and apps have arrived. For local information and contacts www.nextdoor.co.uk is popular – featuring everything from give-away guinea pigs to web-cam footage of intruders. The community messaging system www.neighbourhoodalert.co.uk has over a million registered users. Fixmystreet.com allows you to report local nuisances such as fly-tipping and illegal parking. You can also feast on reports made by other people; if you want to spy out everything that’s going wrong in an area, mostly in a minor way, Fix My Street is a useful tool. For more major concerns, the official police site, www.police.uk, features a crime map; if you plug in a postcode it gives headline monthly and annual numbers for different categories of crime, such as ‘public order’, ‘violence and sexual offences’, ‘burglary’ and ‘criminal damage’.

None of these applications quite delivers the particularly local feel and benefits of Neighbourhood Watch, however. During the pandemic, for instance, some WhatsApp groups set up under the aegis of the Neighbourhood Watch evolved into neighbourhood support groups, where people looked out for the vulnerable, arranged shopping deliveries and so on. You won’t find that on a website.