Neighbourhood Watch is switching its focus from tackling burglars to challenging wolf -whistlers following a big rise in the number of people suffering street harassment.

The community-based organisation, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, was set up to help neighbours keep an eye on one another’s homes and report suspicious activity.

But with the number of burglaries falling dramatically in recent years, Neighbourhood Watch members are now finding the most common crime they experience is harassment, with many complaining of misogynistic comments, wolf-whistling and cat-calling.

Many older members have also reported being subjected to abuse from young people who make fun of them and make them feel uncomfortable whenever they go out in their own communities.

In a recent survey of 16,000 members, a fifth of respondents said they had been a victim of crime in the past 12 months.

Third of members ‘abused in street’

But while just nine per cent reported being burgled, 34 per cent said they had suffered some sort of abuse in the street.

Neighbourhood Watch is now offering advice to its members on how best to deal with such incidents.

The organisation is even asking people to intervene, when safe to do so, in order to create a “hostile environment for perpetrators”.

Jayne Pascoe, head of partnerships and projects for Neighbourhood Watch, said harassment and anti-social behaviour were becoming major concerns for members, especially among the elderly and vulnerable.

She said: “The sort of things we are talking about is street harassment, misogyny, violence against women and girls, hate crime and general anti-social behaviour that is intimidating for people in public places.

“We are looking at how Neighbourhood Watch can empower people to have some options when they see something happening, whether that is through reporting it, supporting the victim or calling it out.

“We want to create a hostile environment for perpetrators to do that sort of thing.”

While wolf-whistling and cat-calling are not necessarily offences themselves, Ms Pascoe said such conduct can be very upsetting and intimidating for those on the receiving end.

Schoolgirls among victims

She said: “I think it quite shocking that a lot of so-called low-level behaviour towards women is not considered an offence and cannot be dealt with.

“Wolf-whistling, cat-calling, non-overtly sexual touching on a train, getting too close to someone, these are things young girls, all the way down to school age, are experiencing and there is nothing in law that people can do.

“This is where we see our role currently as encouraging people to recognise these things happening and to do something about it.

“We talk about being an active bystander and that rings true with Neighbourhood Watch volunteers. We began intervening with burglary and now we are intervening in a safe way as an active bystander in street harassment.”

The organisation – which has around 2.3 million members – has been attracting more young people in recent years thanks to campaigns running on social media.

Deborah Waller from Neighbourhood Watch said: “We are encouraging different ways to get involved, through Facebook, through sports clubs, faith communities, work groups. Younger people are engaging digitally rather than through the traditional model.”

Neighbourhood Watch is also taking a more active role in helping to prevent fraud and cybercrime and to support those who have been targeted.

Online scams now account for 53 per cent of all crime, with perpetrators often targeting older and more vulnerable people.

Ms Pascoe said: “We see a real role for Neighbourhood Watch in terms of using their local relationships, to help identify those who are most vulnerable, particularly the elderly.

“Also there is a huge void in support for victims so we are trying to look at how we can provide a supportive framework for someone, even if it is just to get some empathy and to have someone to talk to.”