Mr. Mark Toland:

There are some successful schemes. Some 50% of the neighbourhood watch schemes operate in Dublin. In rural parts, these schemes tend to be called "community alert" schemes, but they are equivalent. These schemes are fantastic, because they engage the communities in looking after themselves and in getting involved in policing and looking after vulnerable neighbours. When I lived in London, I was a co-ordinator of such schemes. This involved a huge amount of work, probably more work than I did as a police officer, but it was very rewarding. The community pulled together and became more vigilant and looked after each other's property.

Therefore, it is a win-win situation for the police service in getting people involved in policing and helping with crime prevention.

We have seen some excellent successes where the community has rung in with resulting prevention of crime or arrests of suspects. Many neighbourhood watches start off with great enthusiasm, but if they are successful the enthusiasm tends to wane. Approximately 30% of neighbourhood watches are described as dormant. While they are operating in that they have signs up, people may have lost a bit of interest. One must also ensure that one's neighbourhood watches are in the right area. Are they in the hot spots for crime? If not, one should focus on developing new watches or community alert schemes in areas that suffer from crime. As one needs the police to provide information, attend meetings every so often and encourage people to property mark, there is a key role for local community officers to encourage the starting of schemes.

I acknowledge that it is a great deal of work, but it is very rewarding. Internationally, a good neighbourhood watch will impact on crime levels and make the community more alert and aware. Criminals do not want to operate in an area where people are marking property and are vigilant. They would rather go where there are less vigilant neighbours. I am a huge supporter, therefore, but note that it is not a one off. There are some 4,000 to 5,000 schemes in operation and 30% of them could be working more effectively. I would develop schemes in areas that are currently being attacked by criminals who feel free to operate in, for example, isolated rural communities. I am a member of my local community alert scheme. It is a very important thing to do.