This page will be used to pass on important information from the Local Police. It may relate to crimes in the area with advice as to how to ensure that residents and their property can be kept safe and secure. There may be requests for information that could help the Police. But, importantly, the Police are very keen to let people know they can help everyone in the area to feel safe.

Any resident can sign up to the Online Watch Link (OWL)  This is a service like the old Neighbourhood Watch system and is a user friendly, confidential communication system.
This system allows the Police to send messages directly to members on a localised street level – by either email or telephone, dependent upon preference.

OWL can give you real-time updates about what’s going on in your local area.  It can be accessed from computers and mobile phones with an internet connection at www.owl.co.uk

What sort of things is the OWL used for?

• Emergency safety messages in the case of critical incidents (such as the Buncefield explosion of 2006)
• Rogue Traders or Suspicious Vehicles operating in your area
• Warnings about emerging crimes in your local area (e.g. if there was a sudden rise in Burglaries)
• Urgent enquiries (such as a missing child)
• Community events (such as a Police or Councillor surgery, a fete or new community projects)
• In addition, you will also be able to access Neighbourhood Watch resources such as lists of trusted traders, links to the council and fix my street, and receive crime prevention advice.

​For any queries at all, please do not hesitate to contact your Watch Liaison Officer – Nathalia.smith@herts.pnn.police.uk or your local PCSO Chris Brabrook – christopher.brabrook@Herts.Pnn.Police.Uk or call 101 and ask to speak to the “Watch Liaison Officers Team”

OR to sign up to OWL just complete and submit the form below.

* INDICATES REQUIRED FIELD

If a property in Barkway is likely to be unoccupied for a period of time, the form below can be completed and submitted and the Police will endeavour to keep an eye on the property. In the unlikely event of something untoward happening the Police will at least know who is the keyholder.

The Police can also provide crime prevention advice by carrying out a survey of a property in Barkway and giving advice and suggestions as to how to make the property safer and more secure from the risk of burglary or damage. To request a crime prevention survey please complete and submit the form below right

Police advice for the Winter period

There is a great deal that residents can do themselves to reduce the risk of their property and home being targeted:
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• Check that all ground floor windows and doors are closed and locked when you leave the house or go to bed. Upstairs windows should be closed and locked when the house is unoccupied
• PVCu doors can only be properly locked by lifting the handle and using the key
• Car and house keys should be kept out of sight. Don’t leave them on display on window sills, in porches, hallways or kitchens
• If you are away overnight or on holiday, use timer switches indoors to turn lights on and off, giving your home a ‘lived-in’ look
• A good quality alarm and external dusk till dawn low energy lighting, fitted near doors and other entry points, are excellent deterrents
• Register your valuables on the free database www.immobilise.com – it is quick and easy to do and can help police return them to you if they are lost or stolen. It also helps police to prove that property found in a suspect’s possession is stolen.

For comprehensive crime prevention advice, please complete and submit the coupon above.
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Fly-tipping is considered seriously by North Herts and they wil prosecute. To report any incident, please go to their website