Nominations are now open!

It's Neighbourhood Watch Week and it's also Volunteer Week and so we are delighted to announce the launch of our 2025 volunteer recognition awards and invite you to nominate your local Neighbourhood Watch volunteer. It is so important to us to celebrate the great, often unique, work that our volunteers do in their communities and to recognise individuals, whose work, goes above and beyond the usual expectations.

Our categories are:

· Innovation and reach

· Crime prevention

· Community health and wellbeing

· Young volunteer award

· Special recognition award

Innovation and reach

This category celebrates the innovative way a volunteer brings communities together, encouraging more people to join together and become members or engage with Neighbourhood Watch in their communities.

· Do you know a Coordinator or Neighbourhood Watch group who have overcome challenges to grow their group?

· They might have thought of a unique way to connect with others or have created effective new partnerships.

· They might have considered an innovative way to encourage new members to join or ensure diversity and inclusion shine through.

· Are there neighbours that traditionally would not have joined but did because they helped them feel included?

Crime prevention

This category celebrates volunteers who support their neighbours to be stronger, more resilient, and safer by raising awareness of crime prevention.

· Do you know of a Coordinator or Neighbourhood Watch group who have done something different to help prevent crime?

· Do people feel safer from something they were involved in and want to recognise the Coordinator or group for their actions?

· Are there examples of how working with partners helped prevent crime?

· Has the Coordinator or group raised awareness of crimes in different ways to encourage the whole community to be involved?

This could include working with youth groups, supporting vulnerable people to be more aware of crime, developing inventive ways to reduce crime in the community or fear of crime.

Community health and wellbeing

This category celebrates Neighbourhood Watch groups and Coordinators who have gone the extra mile to look out for the needs of their neighbours and neighbourhood.

· How do you and your neighbours feel about your area?

· Do you look after your local environment?

· Do you support each other through life's ups and downs or those who are more vulnerable?

· In many towns and streets, Neighbourhood Watch helps neighbours look out for each other, look after their environment, and feel optimistic about where they live. This helps to reduce crime.

· Do you know of a Neighbourhood Watch group or Coordinator who encourages positive community values?

· Do they include people of all ages, genders, and ethnicities in activities?

· Do they show compassion, empathy, and kindness?

· Do they help local people to feel better about their area?

Young peoples volunteer award

This category celebrates young volunteers aged 16 - 24 years old, who have been making a difference in their neighbourhood and community.

· Do you know a young person who has been volunteering with Neighbourhood Watch and making a positive impact in their community?

· Maybe they've been holding fundraising activities with their school or college, or have supported organising litter picks, street parties or other events.

· Do you think this young volunteer deserves to be recognised for their hard work and commitment to Neighbourhood Watch?

Special recognition award

This category celebrates a Neighbourhood Watch volunteer who has gone above and beyond to make a difference in their neighbourhood or area.

· Do you know a volunteer who has exceeded standard day-to-day expectations, and has committed their time and efforts towards improving their area and the life of their community?

· This person may have been volunteering with Neighbourhood Watch for a number of years, or they may be a fantastic asset to your community but do not fall into the other Award categories.

· This award could recognise the work of a Neighbourhood Watch Association or committee member that has supported you and deserves the recognition.

· It could be a Cyberhood Watch Ambassador that has gone the extra mile to support communities against being victims of online scams.

· The only stipulation for this category is that the person or group is a Neighbourhood Watch Volunteer or group.

How to nominate

Nominations can be made online using the form on our webpage HERE. Nominations will be judged on the information supplied on the online form. Nominations must be up-to but no more than 400 words.

We encourage you to nominate as many deserving Neighbourhood Watch volunteers as you wish. However, please ensure you only nominate the same person for each category once. If multiple nominations for the same individual in the same category are received from a single nominator, only the first submission will be considered. Any additional or duplicate entries from the same nominator will be disqualified.

If we receive multiple nominations for a single nominee, an editorial decision will be made as to which nomination will move forward to the judging process.

Nominations will open at 9.00am on Monday 2nd June 2025 and must be received no later than 5pm on Sunday 6th July 2025. Any nominations received after this time will not be accepted.

Our team may contact the nominator, the nominee (his/her parent or guardian, where applicable) to verify facts and/or events, and whether the relevant consents/permissions have been obtained. We may share nomination information (including the name of the nominator) submitted in the 400 words with nominees

Best of luck everyone!