Neighbourhood Watch NHW alerts & messages Get Started with Your Neighbourhood Watch or Business Watch

OWL keeps communities safe, helps reduce crime and keeps people informed of what's going on locally. It's a secure platform for the public and shared with the police and local authority to maximise the potential of Neighbourhood Watch, Rural Watch, Business Watch and dozens of other schemes. OWL sends you the latest local crime alerts and provides management tools for maintaining and expanding watches. OWL was featured on BBC Crimewatch. (Watch clip)

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Find your NHW (Neighbourhood Watch) Join Your Nearest Watch Scheme

Register for free or get in touch with your nearest watch. Select the scheme you're interested in and type in your residential or business postcode. OWL currently operates in the following locations: Hertfordshire, Brent, Barking & Dagenham, Redbridge, Tower Hamlets, Barnet, Ealing, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Hackney, Harrow, Richmond upon Thames, Wandsworth, Waltham Forest, Enfield, Haringey and Havering.

Watch Scheme:
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OWL supports over 80 different types of residential & business schemes. Only a few are listed above and varies between police forces and boroughs.

OWL success stories through NHW and other watch schemes Good Communication Leads to Good Success Stories

Find out how OWL has helped find suspects, brought offenders to justice, found missing people, and more...

Secured by Design, police preferred specification
OWL is Accredited by Secured by Design

OWL is the first and only communications system to be an approved member of Secured by Design and is an official police security initiative. Secured by Design is the only way for products to achieve police recognition in the UK. It's a flagship police initiative to help 'design out' crime through the use of high-quality, innovative products and processes, such as OWL.

McAfee SECURE - click to verify that OWL is secure OWL's security is tested daily. Click the McAfee Secure logo for verification.

From the login page all data sent between your computer and OWL is securely encrypted over the Internet. Please keep your OWL password a secret and never disclose it to anyone, not even police or OWL staff.

How does OWL help?

Police & Councils send out alerts via OWL about crime & local issues happening right now in your area. It helps prevent burglary, finds missing people, makes people feel safer, and also catches suspects. The video below shows just one of many ways OWL can keep you safe.

Want to reduce rural crime? Watch these videos...

OWL Card Minders

Looking for OWL Card Minders, as shown on BBC Rip Off Britain? Also available are signal blockers for keyless car fobs, all Secured by Design accredited. Profits donated to good causes.

Partners & Sponsors

OWL Spotlight

Jun 2023: Gang members jailed, with help from watch members, after £1m crime spree.
Dec 2022: Burglar jailed for 11 years, with help from watch members, for nearly 70 offenses.
Sep 2021: Hertfordshire have 36% of all homes individually registered in NhW on OWL. The most in any county in the UK!
Jun 2018: Car stolen in Ickenham at 3am. NhW coordinator sends out OWL alert at 5am. At 8am a watch member spots the car. Owner is delighted his car is recovered so quickly.
Mar 2018: Man charged with 42 fraud and ATM distraction offenses after an OWL alert sent by Barnet police prompted a watch member to supply crucial evidence.
Jun 2015: Missing 11 year old boy in Stevenage found by watch member after seeing photo via OWL.
Jun 2013: OWL received award from the Prime Minister at 10 Downing Street in recognition of crime reduction and empowering communities.

Awards

e-Government National Awards 2008 WINNERe-Government National Awards 2008 Winner: Innovation in local strategy
Prime Minister gives Big Society Award to OWLAwarded by the Prime Minister for reducing crime & empowering communities.
British Chamber of Commerce Regional WinnerBritish Chamber of Commerce Winner for East of England.
Britain's Digital Elite awarded for OWLWinner of Britain's Digital Elite awarded by Microsoft & Real Business.
Network Wales AwardsNetwork Wales Awards 2010, runner up for Best Communications.
Hertfordshire Business Awards, Best Business WebsiteWinner of Best Website & finalist of Creative Innovation.
Join your local watch scheme to help keep yourself, your home and your neighbourhood safe. The most successful schemes in the UK are managed using OWL. It's free and quick to join and your details are kept secure. OWL has national police approval and makes a genuine difference to your community. If you're a coordinator you can manage your own watch using OWL. Type in your postcode below to check if there's a nearby watch or to register now.
Great! If your details have been registered and approved you should have received a welcome email and a password. Go to the Login page and follow the instructions.
Are you looking to reinvigorate your watch schemes, to increase local engagement with communities, to build trust and confidence and reduce crime? OWL has proven to do all this and more. It's used by 1,000 police & local government staff including Trading Standards, Fire & Rescue, housing, schools and licencing officers. It's the only messaging system to have won national Government awards for its innovation, crime reduction and ability to strengthen communities. Contact us for full details and case studies.