Welcome to Rural Watch Scotland

Scotland is renowned for its great natural beauty and the rural communities of Scotland are safe places in which to live, work and visit. However, the nature of the environment and way of life means there are some crime prevention tips particularly relevant to rural life.

'Rural Watch Scotland' is an extension of the Neighbourhood Watch Scotland movement and a product of the Scottish Partnership Against Rural Crime (SPARC) aimed specifically at the rural community of Scotland and aims to bring all the benefits of Neighbourhood Watch to your community irrespective of its location, size or demographics.

The objectives of Rural Watch Scotland mirror that of Neighbourhood Watch, namely to:

• Reduce crime and the fear of crime by providing the right information, to the right people, at the right time
• Encourage people to think about safety and security for themselves, their neighbours and their community
• Improve community cohesion and well-being by supporting communities to develop 'their watch, their way'
• Work in partnership with national and local service providers to develop more resilient communities that are better prepared against threats, intentional or unintentional, such as crime or extreme weather

The experience of Neighbourhood Watch throughout Scotland and elsewhere across the world is that members of Rural Watch Scotland will be less likely than non-members in the rural community to be a victim of crime.

By joining the Rural Watch Scotland scheme you can receive alerts and advice by phone, text or email. By keeping you informed about crime and other threats in your area, we help prevent crime, keep your community and its residents safe, and your response to these alerts can help us catch criminals or be better prepared to deal with other threats to your community. To join Rural Watch Scotland simply click the green JOIN button at the top of the page. For manual registration forms and other resources, visit the Neighbourhood Watch Scotland website.