Humberside Police - protecting communities, targeting criminals

Country Business Watch

This page provides a central point for highlighting the work undertaken by our divisions in relation to Country Business Watch.

North Lincolnshire

North Lincolnshire Country Watch logo Humberside Police, in conjunction with Safer Neighbourhoods have set up a Country Watch scheme to cover the rural parts of North Lincolnshire.  Increasingly the rural areas are being visited by criminals looking for opportunities to commit crime, in particular serious acquisitive crime, criminal damage and poaching offences.  The majority of criminals now have access to vehicles and the rural areas are generally more vulnerable as there is less likelihood of being seen than in more densely populated areas.  Gone are the days when we had a police officer in every village which makes it all the more important that we work closely with the community.   The aim of the scheme is to promote sharing of information to prevent crime in the first place and increase the chances of catching people when a crime has been committed.  We also believe that such a scheme will foster greater community spirit and reduce the fear of crime.

If you decide to join the scheme you would be allocated a coordinator.  If you see anything suspicious or witness a crime in progress you would send a text message to the coordinator who would then forward your text to a computerised system that would in turn send out a bulk text to other members in the scheme.  In addition the local police would be able to circulate messages to the members about stolen property or suspicious activity.  This system is currently in operation in other areas of the Humberside Policing area and they have had some excellent results recovering stolen property and catching criminals.   The annual subscription has been set at £20 per mobile phone to cover the cost of the text messages.

If you would like to join please contact 101 and ask to speak to a member of the neighbourhood policing team at   Brigg, Barton or Epworth.   We are hoping to launch the scheme in early July so we require the subscriptions in by 1st July 2011.


Find out more about the work ongoing in the North Lincolnshire (B Division) area.