Police will be knocking on locals' doors in a bid to encourage them to sign up to neighbourhood watch, as part a new operation.
The newly initiated Operation Oarlock, will see the police carry out door-to-door visits to encourage locals to enrol into the neighbourhood watch system OWL.
The operation will also see an increase in patrols across Hatfield, aimed at combating issues including anti-social behaviour, drug-related incidents, and vehicle theft.
The patrols will take place in Goldings House, Goldings Crescent, Link Close, Wood Close, Wood Vale, Deerswood Avenue, Northdown Road, Garden Avenue, Roe Green Lane, and St Albans Road West.
Amy Sheldon, Welwyn Hatfield Safer Neighbourhood Team inspector, said: "Operation Oarlock will run for 15 months and it will include both high visibility and covert patrols.
"You can expect to see us in the area conducting sweeps of garages and looking for insecure locations, patrolling footpaths for abandoned or stolen motorbikes and carrying out stop searches and arrests where necessary.
"Residents can also play their part in this project by reporting any concerns to police."
Numerous stop searches have already been conducted while on patrols, as on January 3, police officers recovered an abandoned scooter, which is now under investigation to determine if a theft had occurred.
The scooter has been placed in council possession.
Complementing the increased patrols, safety measures such as upgraded CCTV and improved street lighting will be implemented across the specified Hatfield locations.
The Operation Oarlock is part of the wider Safer Streets initiate, involving multiple agencies for enhancing community safety.
Safer Streets, which secured funding from the government at the end of last year, will work in conjunction with Operation Oarlock.
This funding was obtained by the Police and Crime Commissioner for Hertfordshire.
David Lloyd, police and crime commissioner for Hertfordshire, said: "This area has been affected by higher levels of anti-social behaviour, drug dealing and vehicle crime.
"I am glad to see additional measures being put in place to tackle this, thanks to government funding secured by my office.
"The tactics being implemented are based on Hertfordshire’s Prevention First model of policing, which aims to prevent crime by early intervention.
"We have seen from previous projects that Safer Streets initiatives can make a real difference in people’s lives."
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