National Schemes

National Schemes are country-wide Neighbourhood Watch schemes organized, controlled and financed by governmental offices or authorities and operating as national umbrella organizations. They advise, on a national level, their member schemes, providing organizational assistance for forming new local schemes. In many cases they provide extensive national coverage leaving little room for other grassroots schemes.

National Schemes in Germany require classification in a category of its own. German citizens are encouraged to participate in state- or community-run schemes organized by the federal states or large communities where they are trained in crime prevention and community service and are designated as police support volunteers. Such schemes are known under various names like “Safety Partnership in Crime Prevention”, “Social and Public Order Partnership” and similar designations. They are frequently managed by the State Crime Prevention Councils established in most German states. We call them “German Organizations”.