​Arthur Franklin started a Neighbour Watch after a violent episode with thieves. Three years on it has become so much more

Confronting violence isn’t something we should face in life and while it’s rare, when it happens it can be life changing. I was run over by my own car after two thieves stole it from my drive. My leg was broken and my pelvis was fractured while the perpetrators got just two years.

It made me think about security for my family in a whole different way. Despite being a police sergeant, safety was something I gave little consideration to; now it’s an integral part of my life.

Three years ago, shortly after the incident, I established a local Neighbour Watch and since then it has become so much more.

The estate was new when we first moved in. Cleland, North Lanarkshire, is a close community so crime sticks out when it happens. We started out briefing the community on security and safety measures but now we’ve become an integral part of the community offering support to older people and helping families with disabled children.

The group has grown so much that the community safety aspect is now just part of what we do. Last winter our main focus was on supporting families who had been affected by the storms. We also helped a local family with fundraising for a specialist wheelchair they needed for their disabled daughter.

People’s faith in their community is kindled by their interaction with it. Those who believe community spirit is dead are usually those who don’t take part. A community is as active as you want to make it. But it takes effort. People need to be included, to be proactively engaged and never coerced. And those who take part, those who interact, create far safer secure environments for everyone because they believe they have a stake in their area and a bit of ownership.

Crime has since gone down in the area. We work closely with community police officers as well as the local authority and they’re eager to adopt our neighbour support model to other areas in North Lanarkshire.

To this end I’ve been visiting community councils across the local authority and helping them set-up either a neighbourhood watch or a community support group. Both function the same way but for many the term neighbourhood watch conjures ideas of vigilantism. Of course that’s not the case but it can have very negative connotations for many.

The secret to success for any community group is never being static or staid. Allow people to shape the group and give them ownership. In Cleland we proactively ask residents for ideas and to bring their own projects to the table. We want to know how our Neighbourhood Watch scheme can facilitate others in the community – we always seek to know how we can support more people in the area. And for that we need the community to be involved, to tell us their hopes, aspirations and indeed what they need.

Everyone can change their areas for the better. We're living proof of this. You just need the motivation and the determination.