The London Neighbourhood Watch Association (LNWA) has been established for over three years and already represents the interests of more than three quarters of the London Boroughs.

The aim of the LNWA is to make the community a safer, better and more enjoyable place to live, work and play.

We achieve this through actively promoting issues such as security and safety, and work closely with key community groups including the The Metropolitan Police, City of London Police, Home Office, and representatives from each of the London boroughs.

Across Greater London, about a fifth of London homes are members of a local Neighbourhood Watch which strongly reflects the high level of community spirit and support from households towards building a better community.

Newsletter

The LNWA also produce a regular newsletter for members, which are sent out by email and also contained on this site, click here, to go to our newsletters page.

For more information or to become a member contact:

0844 669 6535
and ask for the commercial director

WATCHDOG WARNING AS PUBLIC IS SCAMMED OUT OF £3.5BN

The trading watchdog today warned people to be vigilant about scams which
cost the public around £3.5 billion a year. The Office of Fair Trading said
three million consumers become the victims of mass marketed scams each year,
under which fraudsters use methods such as mailings, email, the internet,
telephone and text message to recruit victims. More than 7,000 scams were
reported last year, the most common of which were deceptive prize draws and
sweepstakes, followed by bogus foreign lotteries. Under both of these
scams, victims are told they have won a large sum of money but are asked to
hand over cash to pay for fees or taxes before they receive their prize,
which never arrives. The third most common scam was advance fee fraud under
which people are asked for help transferring money from overseas and they
are promised a chunk of the cash if they pay the fees involved. This was
followed by frauds relating to homeworking and business opportunities and
property and land investment scams. The figures were released at the
beginning of the OFT's Scams Awareness Month, which marks the launch of a
campaign with 90 Trading Standards Service across the country.

The OFT called on consumers to drop off any scam mailings they receive in
designated 'Scamnesty' bins at local libraries and other public areas across
the country. The information was used to help the OFT and its enforcement
partners identify and develop strategies to combat the worst frauds. In a
similar campaign in 2008, the OFT collected more than 15,000 mailings. The
campaign is being backed by television presenter Angela Rippon, who also
features in a new DVD being launched by the OFT, highlighting common scams
and setting out how vulnerable groups, such as the elderly, can be
protected. Ms Rippon said: "Scammers use psychological techniques to gain
vulnerable people's trust. They exploit fear and insecurity to steal as much
money as they can from those who can least afford it. "Though anyone can
fall victim to a scam it is always the oldest that are hit the hardest."
John Fingleton, OFT chief executive, said: "Scammers are sophisticated at
targeting people who are often the most vulnerable in society. As we enter
tougher economic times it is more important than ever for people to be alert
to prevent themselves, or friends, families and neighbours from falling
victim to these heartless money-making schemes."

taken from issue 21 of the LNWA Newsletter

Reporting
A Crime:
What to do

please visit this link if you want advice on reporting a crime: