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Neighbourhood Policing

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that comment. Like him, I am a keen supporter of neighbourhood watch. He will recall, as I do, the kerfuffle a couple of years ago at the national level about the organisation of neighbourhood watch. That was partly a dispute within the organisation itself and it has now been resolved. At the local level, I would say that the best way to secure funding to support neighbourhood watch activities is through the safer communities partnerships and local area agreements. Certainly in Staffordshire there are good relationships between police, councils and other partners. Our neighbourhood watch annual conference is an effective and well-attended event.