Residents and police join forces to fight crime on the coast

The Neighbourhood Collaboration Association for Orihuela Costa has held a meeting with the Councillor for Citizen Security, Mónica Pastor, and Local Police to coordinate actions aimed at improving security in the area.
The Association was created in 2000, inspired by an initiative similar to the one that emerged in the United States in the 1970s and the UK’s Neighbourhood Watch Scheme. It brings together volunteers from different urbanisations and its objective is to help combat crime.
Due to COVID 19 activities ground to a halt but will now be resumed. The Association currently has nearly one hundred members, led by Chris Simpson, Paul Kelly and Graham Jones, who are responsible for monitoring their communities and alerting people to suspicious situations. Councilor Mónica Pastor highlighted that The Association does a great job at being in direct communication with the local police.
She explained: “We have agreed to hold a monthly meeting to exchange concerns and present a summary of the actions.”
In addition, a direct communication channel has been established between the association and the police and awareness and information campaigns will be carried out among loc al residents. The Association has volunteers residing in different urbanisations who communicate, by email or telephone calls, with the Local Police officers if they perceive any abnormal situation that raise suspicions that a crime is being committed.
Both the Association and the Councillor for Citizen Security recognise the importance of this collaboration and citizen participation that, as a preventive measure aims to foster a safe environment for all residents.
The ethos of the Association is ‘if it affects my street or my neighbour, then it affects me’. However, ‘Neighbourhood Collaboration’ does not patrol the streets, nor does it carry weapons nor does it confront suspects, its job is simply to observe and report.