Following the recent Traffic Safety Group meeting, a new initiative has been launched to help reduce parking & speeding issues in and around West Bergholt. Based on a free community safety App, Trygve, users can share and receive local incident information in real time. This information can be as detailed as you want including pictures and GPS location but should always include:
Date.
Time.
Where (did it happen).
What (was the issue).
Using the App will allow the group to measure the number of incidents and identify hot spots.
Already in use in many communities in the UK, a Neighbourhood watch coordinator using it in his community has said:
The app has not only been good at creating a community, but we have also been able to help with a few incidents of anti-social behaviour and thefts, by being able to pass more information onto police. It can help map any crime trends, and make users aware of areas they may want to be more alert.
It is an easier and quicker way for the community to communicate with each other as Facebook is not as instant as this app, nor can it use GPS as accurately. I am proud to co-ordinate our group and use my skills from my job to share more safety tips.
You can download Trygve to Android or iPhone devices; there is also a mobile friendly web-version for other mobiles and devices.
Neighbours are asked to smile as part of social experiment in UK communities
Jay Crawford, one of the residents of Lingard Road, Manchester, who took part in a social experiment designed to strengthen residents’ links with their neighbours.
The Essex Police Neighbourhood Watch Liaison regularly issues reports and advice which are reported once a month on this site in the monthly crime update – this item we have received seems too novel and interesting to leave to the month-end compilation – enjoy and,don’t forget, SMILE:-
Do you smile at the people next door, pat their cats and dogs, take out their bins or know their names? If so, you are very much in a minority, as British people have been revealed as a reserved lot who don’t know their neighbours.
According to new research, one in 10 UK residents can’t name a single one of their neighbours, while less than a fifth of people know the names of even their immediate neighbours. But they would like to: almost two-thirds (65%) of people say their neighbourhood would be a “stronger” and safer place if people were encouraged to get to know each other better.
In a survey and a follow-up social experiment carried out to mark the 50th anniversary of the Neighbourhood Watch network, people were questioned about their connection with their local community. Less than a quarter of those surveyed said they felt a sense of belonging, but there was a clear sense of craving for neighbourly contact.
Neighbourhood Watch carried out the study with price comparison website comparethemarket.com. Then, taking one ordinary street, a social anthropologist was drafted in to work with a selected number of residents to get them to let go of their British inhibitions and reach out to the people they lived alongside.
In the month-long experiment, the participants – who all lived on suburban Lingard Road in Manchester – were asked to keep a diary of how they got on. Five households had strict instructions to smile at people in the street and offer help where they could, and to try to strike up conversations. Although several reported “strange looks” and some initial reserve, by the end of the four weeks all the Lingard Road participants reported success.
I’ve really seen a difference. People I’ve never met before have been a bit more sociable and said hello on several occasions. The study has been useful and really proven that we are a nice little street with a small community,
… said Jay Crawford, who had lived in the area for 24 years without plucking up the courage to talk to anyone, but now is delighted to be running a bin rota with his new friendly neighbours.
Social anthropologist Kate Fox, director at the Social Issues Research Centre in Oxford, said the experiment tapped in to a very real desire to be part of a community.
“The activity confirms my own findings that the English or British reserve stereotype is misleading,”
she said.
We are not reserved in the sense of introverted or misanthropic or unsociable: we are social animals just like all other humans, and have the same need for a sense of community and belonging. We are just a bit more socially awkward than other nations – and have stricter unwritten rules about privacy, not talking to strangers, and that kind of thing.
So we need more props and facilitators – pubs, clubs, pets, sports, games, weather-talk, alcohol, internet – to break the ice and get us interacting with each other.
Fox believes only the smallest “nudge” is needed to get people building a better neighbourhood.
The experiment shows even very small gestures, saying hello, can have a significant positive effect on a neighbourhood.
A Neighbourhood Planning Meeting is being held on Thursday 28th February starting at 7.30pm in the John Lampon Hall. All are welcome, why not come along and get involved!!!!
New Speeding & Parking Initiative
The app has not only been good at creating a community, but we have also been able to help with a few incidents of anti-social behaviour and thefts, by being able to pass more information onto police. It can help map any crime trends, and make users aware of areas they may want to be more alert.
