August 2023 Bulletin

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CWACs Still Going Strong

Cuppa with a Cop (CWAC) is still going strong across the state. This month we share some photos from a very successful event at Meadow Mews Plaza in Kings Meadows. Thanks to Knight Frank and the Plaza business community for their ongoing support. Also, a special thanks to Commander Kate Chambers and the attending officers from the Northern District as well as Phillip Atkins, our NHW Coordinator for the event.

National Volunteer of the Year and Police Commissioner’s Awards

Our peak body, Neighbourhood Watch Australasia (NHWA), is calling for nominations for their two annual awards:

The Malcolm Grant OAM NHWA Volunteer of the Year Award, and
The NHWA Police Commissioner’s Award to recognise a Police employee.

If you know of a NHW volunteer, or a member of Tasmania Police (sworn or unsworn) who is deserving of recognition for their community contribution, please access the nomination form here: https://www.nhwa.com.au/news-media/awards/ and then send it through before 31 October 23.

SCAMWATCH

Phone and email scams are now commonplace. In 2022, Australians reported $3.1bn in scam losses. More than a billion phone scams alone have been blocked by telcos in the last year.

The SCAMWATCH site at: https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/ provides quick access to qualified information about scams, how to recognise them and how to report them. It really is a one stop shop for anything you want to know about possible scams and protecting yourself.

Their basic advice for all messages you receive is:

STOP Don’t give money or personal information to anyone if unsure.
THINK Ask yourself could the message or call be fake?
PROTECT Act quickly if something feels wrong.

Get Online Week

Seven Tasmanian groups are delivering a presentation for Get Online Week (GOLW) between 16 and 22 October 2023. If you live near any of these venues, please contact the coordinator to attend and support their event. The events are friendly, fun and informative. There are good prizes and there are always refreshments!

Rokeby Neighbourhood Centre | MON 16 OCT 23 at 11am
Coordinator: Tina Brown

Clarendon Vale Neighbourhood Centre | TUE 17 OCT 23 at 11am
Coordinator: Tina Brown

Sorell RSL | WED 18 OCT 23 at 7am
Coordinator: Peter Edwards

Tullah | WED 18 OCT 23 Time TBA
Coordinator: Meygn Barstow

Blackstone Heights | FRI 20 OCT 23 time TBA
Coordinator: Graham Houghton

ABC Hobart | FRI 20 OCT 23 at 11am
Coordinator: Peter Edwards

Perth | TBA
Coordinator: Jo Saunderson

August NHWA Journal now available

The national magazine comes out three times per year and always contains Tasmanian articles. It is a handy resource to get ideas about simple projects that NHW groups from around the state and around the country are delivering. Hard copies of the magazine will soon be available from your coordinators. However, you can access it online now at: https://www.nhwa.com.au/news-media/journal/.

Say ‘Hello’ Day in Sorell

Speaking of good ideas, the Sorell Neighbourhood Watch is hosting a Say Hello Day at the Sorell Community Market, 47 Cole Street, Sorell on Sunday, 10 September 23. It would be great for people from Sorell and surrounds to drop into the market on that day and say hello to our NHW volunteers. But if you are not from that area, why not take a drive to see all the improvements in Sorell, and then drop in to say hello at the market?

Check out Hello Day and maybe this is something you could do in your neighbourhood. Apply for a small NHW grant to help fund a similar table at your local market. Food for thought?

I transferred to this role after a little over five years on the east coast of Tasmania at St Helens. I have been a police officer for over 38 years, and this is the seventh posting I have undertaken as an Inspector of Police. In that time, I have worked in uniform, traffic, the criminal investigation branch and drug investigation service, in city, rural and remote locations.

The Central North Division includes the municipalities of Northern Midlands and most of the Meander Valley, excluding Hadspen and Prospect. The division carries a large portion of the state’s major highways and the traffic that uses those roads, as well as an extensive urban and rural road network away from those major highways. We face similar crime and offending issues to other communities throughout the state.

I favour a style of policing that will see my team out on the road for the majority of their time, a back-to-basics approach to policing that puts the community as the focus of our activities.

I have attended a meeting of the Evandale Neighbourhood Watch and I look forward to engaging with existing and new watch groups within my division as the opportunities arise. In the meantime I can be contacted directly at michael.johnston@police.tas.gov.au if you have anything to raise with me, or even to get me along to your watch meeting or a meeting of other community groups.”

It has been my experience that these challenges are more readily addressed when different levels of government and the public, all work together to solve them. Neighbourhood Watch is one of those key partners that can assist us to make Clarence safer. I encourage everyone to report crime and anti-social behaviour to the police every time it occurs. From that data, we can better shape our patrols and responses to ensure those who wish to cause trouble are held to account. I am confident that by working together we can continue to ensure Clarence remains a great place to live.”

National Secure Your Home Day – 23/24 September 2023

National Secure Your Home Day provides an opportunity for all householders to prioritise making your home more secure. Neighbourhood Watch Australasia (NHWA), in partnership with the University of Queensland (UQ), invite you to dedicate one day of the year to crime prevention awareness and a security assessment of your home.

Held on the last weekend of September – Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 – National Secure Your Home Day supports householders to assess security and target harden homes against crime to provide long-term protection against break-ins, property damage, theft, and poor security. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), in the past year on average 2% of Australian households experienced break-ins, with an estimated additional 2% encountering attempted break-ins. There was also a correlating increase in motor vehicle theft due to car keys being stolen from inside homes.

All registered participants will receive a FREE National Secure Your Home Day Kit from NHWA on Friday 1st September, including an evidence-based home security checklist, developed in collaboration with UQ, including tips, tools, and advice on cost effective ways to keep your home secure. Plus, a home security activity booklet for kids. As an added bonus, kids can showcase their creativity and enter the National Secure Your Home Day drawing and colouring competition, with the 6 winning entries each receiving a $50 gift card.

Please share the National Secure Your Home Day information with your friends and family to help them keep their homes safe too – the more people who participate in National Secure Your Home Day, the greater the impact!

Neighbourhood Watch groups are encouraged to hold an event during National Secure Your Home Day weekend for neighbours to get together and meet each other.

Register Now and participate in National Secure Your Home Day and gain access to valuable tips, resources, engaging activities for kids, and more. Registered participants will also go into the draw for the chance to WIN a home security prize pack valued at $3,000!!

https://secureyourhomeday.com.au/

Get some FREE resources – flyers and posters (printed or electronic) are available to all community groups to share information with their members. Please contact NHWA — phone 0428 377 901 or email admin@nhwa.com.au — to order.

And talking about safety

If you are walking at night, there have been reports of close calls with pedestrians because they are not so easy to see. There do seem to be more people exercising and in the dark, there are other pedestrians, cyclists, scooters and some animals on shared paths. Of course, there is always traffic and vehicles entering and leaving driveways etc.

In the interests of your own safety, please wear visible clothing or perhaps carry a torch so that others can see you from a distance.

Motor Vehicle thefts

We regularly report the national data that seven out of ten vehicles are stolen with their keys. Sometimes we wonder if this could be true, and if it is true – how does it happen? The following article appeared recently in the Mercury newspaper. No further comment is required from this editor!

A young Tasmanian methamphetamine user told police he ‘saw a free car’ when he was walking past a service station and saw an unattended vehicle with its keys in the ignition, a court has heard…On February 23, Digney walked past the Coles Express service station at Invermay and saw a 2004 Ford Ranger at the bowser with its keys in the ignition, hopped in, and took it on reckless driving crime spree…

Key Dates for 2023

16 August CWAC at Prospect Vale Market Place at 11 am – (Blackstone Heights)
23 August CWAC at Glenorchy Central at 11 am
14 September RUOK Day

23-24 September National ‘Secure Your Home Day’
4 October International Coffee with a Cop Day
4 October CWAC at New Town Plaza at 11 am
4 October CWAC at Shadows Cafe, Gilbert Street, Latrobe
10 October ‘Hello’ Day at Sorell
11 October CWAC at Liv Eat, Glebe Hill Village (TBC)
16 – 22 October Get Online Week
28 October AGM and Awards Ceremony, Country Club, Launceston
6-12 November Neighbourhood Watch/Bunnings Crime Prevention Week.

And in conclusion

Join NHWT online – it’s free!

“The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall ” (Confucius?).

Yours in Neighbourhood Watch
Peter Edwards, President
Good Neighbours Create Safer Communities

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