Whaddon Neighbourhood Watch

Update 14 November, 2011

Whaddon has had an active Neighbourhood Watch scheme since it was re-launched in 2003 after a series of shed and car break-ins. So successful did it become after the re-launching that Whaddon won the South Cambridgeshire Community Safety Competition at the end of that year.

There are 12 Coordinators at present, attending at least four meetings annually. We have a close liaison with the local Community Beat Officer, and some delegates attend the Police run Cambridgeshire Neighbourhood Watch Executive Group Annual Conference in November. Additional volunteers are always being sought to fulfil a role which is not onerous but is extremely important if Whaddon is to maintain its current low crime rate. Anyone who would like to consider becoming a Coordinator should ring the Cluster Coordinator, Mike Monks in Bridge Street (01223 208236), for further information. They will be given a warm welcome!

Speedwatch, a volunteer-based effort to monitor and control local speeding vehicles, also comes within the purview of Whaddon Neighbourhood Watch. Information and statistics will be found below.

A link to the new police.uk web site will be found at the right.

News and reports
Speedwatch latest
Introduction to Speedwatch
Links
Coordinators

Mike Monks' latest report

Speedwatch continues in the village with sessions about every 10 days or so. We focus on Meldreth Road and Church Street monitoring cars both entering the village from Meldreth and passing through the village from the Whaddon Gap direction. In the main, we operate during the peak hours in the morning and late afternoon and, not surprisingly, we see many of the same cars. We continue to identify a number of cars exceeding 46mph, which is the speed that results in a letter from the police. Since we started Speedwatch in 2009 we have tracked nearly 9000 cars of which nearly 550 have received letters. We have seen an overall reduction in speeding but not enough to make us feel that Speedwatch is, in itself, reducing speeds. That said, we do feel that it is worth our time while efforts are made to reduce the speed limit in the village to 30mph. There is still much to be done to achieve this but there are signs that the County Council, under the “localism” agenda is slowly moving in our direction.
A note about the Speedwatch project will be found on an adjacent tab
Results of the checks since March 2009 (opens a new window)
Presentation given on Speedwatch to Neighbourhood Panel Meeting on 18 October 2009 (opens a new window)

Speedwatch--an introduction (from Feb 2009)

Speedwatch is a scheme being run by Cambridgeshire police to permit local residents monitor the speeds in their villages. Some details can be obtained from a police press release; an article about Speedwatch may be found online in the 12 August 2010 edition of Cambridge First.

The police have a small number of kits of equipment which can be used by suitably trained volunteers. These individuals, usually in groups of three, note down speeds of vehicles exceeding the speed limits and hand the information on to the police. No prosecutions will result from this, although the police will send out polite notes to those breaking the speed limit--only a police officer (or a police speed camera) can actually cause a driver to be prosecuted. The idea is that of "peer pressure"--the very presence of visible persons noting speeds tends to slow traffic down, and lets drivers know that the particular area is being monitored.

On 21 February 2009, three of us from Whaddon attended a training course, for which I had offered the village hall. The first part of the morning took place inside the hall, when we were familiarised with the equipment and the rules. The second part of the morning was practice outside. We set up the equipment on Church Street by the noticeboard to cover traffic coming from the Meldreth direction--this is not the best location as there is probably not a lot of speeding in this direction, but the idea was to test out the principle. It was interesting to see how many drivers instinctively slowed down, even if they were nowhere near the 40 limit! A team of three people does seem the ideal number, as it takes quite an effort to record a number plate, make and model, and the speed at the same time. See the photos below.

We have three more volunteers ready to take another course. If anyone in the village wants to get involved, then please contact Mike Monks.

Nigel Strudwick

The local policing profile, known as the Melbourn Neighbourhood Policing Team Neighbourhood Profile is available for download at http://www.cambs-police.co.images/profiles/190707_214.pdf
Cambridgeshire Neighbourhood Watch Executive Group web site

Mike Monks	Whaddon Village Coordinator
Malan Peyton	Deputy Cluster Coordinator

Anne Brandon
Karen Coningsby
Carole Aldred
Wendy Evans
Maria Mould
Andrew Townsend
Geoff Lane
Mike Monks
Malan Peyton

WHADDON

Cambridgeshire

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