Australia Day congratulations go to Commander Joanne Stolp and Senior Sergeant Sally Cottrell of the Tasmania Police Service. Both officers were recognised in the Australia Day Honours by being awarded the Australian Police Medal. Very few of these awards are made each year so to be recipient is a cause for great pride for the officer their family, organisation and community. NHWT congratulates Jo and Sally for their outstanding service to the people of Tasmania.
Australia Day was also a special day for Neighbourhood Watch and Tasmania Police because National Australia Day Council Ambassador (NADC), Senior Constable Ian Edwards from Cam-Somerset Neighbourhood Watch, helped officiate at the Clarence City Council awards ceremony. Ian has previously been recognised as the 2011 Tasmanian Local Hero for his work with ‘at risk’ youth. In 2019 he was further recognised by Neighbourhood Watch Australasia with their annual Police Commissioner’s Award for his contribution to crime prevention and developing strong community partnerships.
As a NADC Ambassador Ian continues his community service. Congratulations Ian and well done – NHWT is proud of you.
When not doing our NHWT State Secretary duties, Kate Dobson, is the Principal Advisor – Security & Emergency Management, with the Tasmanian Department of Education. A qualified teacher, Kate has specialised in emergency management interstate and now in Tasmania for over 15 years. Kate was recently announced as one of only nine Tasmanians to be awarded a Churchill Fellowship to be taken up in 2021. Churchill Fellowships offer everyday Australians a life-changing opportunity to travel overseas for four to eight weeks to explore a topic or issue that they are passionate about.
Kate’s project is to travel to the USA and New Zealand to investigate ways to minimise casualties from school attacks. In these countries Kate will work with schools, community groups, and local law enforcement and emergency medicine agencies to understand what they do to minimise the harm caused to students and staff by these types of incidents.
We are very fortunate to have Kate as a Director on the State Board of NHWT, we congratulate her for being awarded this Fellowship and we look forward to hearing her presentation upon her return.
In 1986 the very first Neighbourhood Watch started at Clarence in the suburb of Risdon Vale. With the assistance of a Clarence City Council Community Recovery Grant celebrations for this anniversary will commence with a Cuppa With a Cop (CWAC) at the Risdon Vale Neighbourhood Centre at 11am on Wednesday, 17 February 2021. Planning is well underway for members of the Risdon Vale community to enjoy a cuppa and some morning tea with their local police officers. If you are in the area at that time you would be most welcome to join in.
If you can’t make it to Risdon Vale on this day, keep an eye out in future Monthly Bulletins for CWACs at other locations. Better still, work with your local police and invite them to one of your own CWACs!
Facebook is probably the best known and most commonly used form of social media at the moment. The reality is that Facebook is a fast and effective method for sharing information. NHWT cannot stand still, sharing information is our core business and we will be using social media more and more into the future. Some of our groups have been using Facebook for years and others are just getting started. Riverside Neighbourhood Watch is about to commence using their Facebook Page to circulate regular crime reports as well as other important news and updates for their suburb and surrounds. Please give them support by visiting their site at https://www.facebook.com/RiversideNHWTAS/ and make sure you Like and Follow it! After that, do the same at the NHWT Page, https://www.facebook.com/NHWTas/ and check out the recent updates.
The inaugural International Conference will be held at Sea World on the Gold Coast on Friday 21 and Saturday 22 May 2021. An international NHW conference has not been held in Australia before. Events such as this create a reason to travel within our safe COVID-19 borders to experience what works in the Neighbourhood Watch world. The benefits of social contact with other like-minded people can be stimulating and rewarding. Conferences are designed to be enjoyed with the added benefit of learning something new. Tasmanian members are encouraged to have a holiday in the sun with fringe NHW benefits. Keep monitoring the NHWA website at https://www.nhwa.com.au/ for further updates.
Most scams go through three stages: the approach; communication; and payment. Scammers pretend to be something or someone they are not. Email is a favoured delivery method and in some cases the scammer will use a name you know and will follow up with a request for money. A recent example occurred this week when one of our members received an email purporting to be from our immediate past President, Jan Dunsby.
A close examination of the email revealed it had grammar, punctuation and syntax errors, and of course, the email address was nothing like Jan’s. With Jan’s permission we are reinforcing the basic rules to protect yourself:
The December Bulletin contained a list of six NHW initiatives that have previously been successfully delivered. NHWT members are encouraged to do things that make a difference for their community. Primarily that is sharing information about crime trends, incidents and importantly things we can do to protect ourselves and our property. This Bulletin provides another six initiatives that can improve the safety of our community members and their belongings.
Yours in Neighbourhood Watch
Peter Edwards, President
Good Neighbours Create Safer Communities
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