September 2021 Bulletin

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Honorary Life Memberships, Commendations and Awards

Neighbourhood Watch Tasmania Inc (NHW) is pleased to announce the names of members who are to receive awards at a ceremony immediately following our Annual General Meeting in Launceston in November. These awards particularly recognise NHW members who have provided outstanding and exceptional service to our organisation over a considerable number of years. The nominated recipients for Honorary Life Membership in alphabetical order are:

Mrs Gerry Bartley – Hadspen
Mrs Pat Martin – Cam-Somerset
Mrs Maureen Newman – Howrah/Shoreline
Mrs Joan North – Riverside
Mr Ian Peck – Riverside
Mr Roxley Snare OAM – Wynyard
Mrs Betty Wright – Ravenswood

Previously awarded Honorary Life Members who are to be recognised with the President’s Certificate of Commendation are:

Mr Wayne Burgess – Illawarra
Mr Malcolm Cash – Newnham

All previously awarded, as well as 2021 Honorary Life Members, are to receive a specially struck lapel pin to as a permanent memento of their individual contributions and achievements. Members invited to receive their Lapel Pin during the ceremony are former State President Ms Jan Dunsby, Ms Pat Leary from Midway Point and Mrs Linda Madill OAM from Newnham.

The Awards Ceremony will immediately follow the NHW 2021 Annual General Meeting. All members are invited and encouraged to attend this event to make it truly memorable and a springboard for the next 35 years of NHW in Tasmania. The ceremony will be followed by morning tea. The details are as follows:

What? NHW 2021 AGM and Awards Ceremony
When? 11am, Saturday, 20 November 21
Where? Mount Pleasant Showroom, Country Club Tasmania, Country Club Avenue, Prospect Vale, Launceston
RSVP to? admin@nhwtas.org.au
RSVP by? 5 November 21

For catering purposes, it is critical that everyone attending and the guests of recipients RSVP before 5 November 21.

Our Honours and Awards Policy can be reviewed on our website at https://nhwtas.org.au/about/.

Stolen Tank!!

Dolphin Sands is a registered Neighbourhood Watch community on the east coast, just north of Swansea. It is a unique coastal strip with only one road in and out. As we know, south-east Tasmania is one of the most bushfire prone areas in the world and the Dolphin Sands community is right there in that high-risk zone. Because of this, the Building Regulations Act 2016 requires all new buildings in that area to be equipped with a separate tank for firefighting.

Overnight on Monday, 27 September 21 this 10,000-litre galvanised water tank was stolen from Dolphin Sands Road. It was there for the Tasmania Fire Service to access water in an emergency. They cost $2,500 and some planning has gone into the theft. This is what it looked like in situ before it was stolen and what a new tank looks like close up.

Neighbourhood Watch is calling all Tasmanians to help solve this crime and keep Dolphin Sands safe from bushfires. The point is that by sharing this information you are keeping the conversation alive, and we all have friends, family and contacts across the state to help us do that. Someone knows who took it and where it is now, and that information can easily be passed to the police on 131 444. And of course, anonymous information can always be provided to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or https://www.crimestopperstas.com.au/ to be eligible for a reward.

If you don’t want to feel helpless about this, and you want to do something and show your support – share this story, cut and paste it into your newsletters and particularly share it through your social media networks. Being active like this can cause other like-minded thieves to think twice before putting others at risk.

International Coffee with a Cop Day

Officially this is the first Wednesday in October, but NHW is not restricted to celebrating this event on just one day. We have made our Cuppa with a Cop (CWAC) one of our flagship events on days and times that suit us and our local police officers. If you read this Bulletin in time and will be in Prospect or Latrobe on Wednesday, 6 October 21, you can get a free cuppa at these times and locations:

9.30am at Full A Beans Full A Beans Espresso Café, Prospect Vale Market Place, Launceston.
10am at Shadows Café, 143 Gilbert Street, Latrobe.

And if you are a forward planning person, and would like to be in New Norfolk at 10.30am on Wednesday, 10 November 21 there will be a CWAC at Banjos Bakery Café on High Street.

Please keep in mind, whatever the event you are planning, please let us know at admin@nhwtas.org.au and see if we can help with any merchandise or other resources.

Get Online Week 18 – 24 October 21

Congratulations to those eight Tasmanian NHWT groups that have taken up the challenge to host an event for Get Online Week and in the process receive a $700 grant with the assistance of Neighbourhood Watch Australasia to help make their event both a learning and a social experience.

For those groups that are participating, please take photos and send them through to admin@nhwtas.org.au so we can promote the benefits to members who have missed out this year.

If you would like to be involved as a participant, you can contact the Coordinator of the following groups to find out when and where their event is being held. You can find our Coordinators on our website at https://nhwtas.org.au/local-groups/. Many of the events will be online over a Zoom connection – but don’t be daunted by this because you can get advice on how to join up.

Neighbourhood Watch Blackstone Heights
Neighbourhood Watch New Norfolk
Neighbourhood Watch West Hobart
Neighbourhood Watch Howrah Gardens
Riverside Neighbourhood Watch
Southern Launceston Community Development
Cam/Somerset Neighbourhood Watch
Southern Beaches is also an outside possibility.

National Partnership with Crimsafe

A fundamental purpose of Neighbourhood Watch has always been to improve the security of our homes and prevent burglaries and the theft of personal property. Our peak body, Neighbourhood Watch Australasia (NHWA) has recently entered into a partnership with Crimsafe to help raise awareness about home security. Crimsafe particularly specialise in security doors, windows and enclosures and their range of products are also designed to withstand cyclones and bushfires.

This partnership has produced a simple home security audit tool called Secure Score that rates the effectiveness of a householders’ overall home security which takes into account current home features and security set up. By using their calculator you get a score out of 100 for the security of your home. If you wish you can then access a tailored action plan highlighting the steps that can be taken to improve your score and better protect your home.

You can access the Secure Score calculator through the NHWA website at https://www.nhwa.com.au/resources/secure-score/

Key Dates for 2021/22

6 October 21 – International Coffee with a Cop Day
18-24 October 21 – Get Online Week
8-14 November 21 – Neighbourhood Watch/Bunnings Crime Prevention Week (the Week)
20 November 21 – NHWT Awards Presentation and AGM in Launceston
6 March 2022 – Clean Up Australia Day
27 March 22 – Neighbour Day
8 June 22 – Thank a First Responder Day

A Brief History of Neighbourhood Watch in Australia

Neighbourhood Watch (NHW) is the largest community-based, crime prevention movement of its kind in Australia and possibly in the world. After recognising that crime control could not occur without the assistance of the community, police departments in the western world worked at developing closer relationships with members of their community to support them in their crime prevention objectives. NHW was one such initiative which started in the USA in the 1970s.

By the early 1980s NHW had gained momentum and acceptance throughout Australia. It was sanctioned by the respective police jurisdictions as a crime prevention program in which members of particular neighbourhoods accepted their personal and social responsibility to help prevent and reduce the fear of crime. The original strategy revolved around residents:

Improving their personal and household security
Participating in a property marking scheme
Being aware of the crime that is occurring in their area
Reporting anything suspicious to police.

As the Neighbourhood Watch movement became established in every state and territory of Australia, it was also taking hold in New Zealand where it is now recognized as Neighbourhood Support.

In 2013 sponsored research identified many other advantages associated with NHW programs that were not directly related to crime reduction outcomes, which included the following:

Helping isolated and lonely community members to form social relations
Facilitating positive interactions between police and community members
Reducing fear and anxiety about crime through the informal benefits of NHW programs.

More recent research has added to this evidence that NHW can be effective in reducing crime and being the mechanism to bring communities together. Our activities and initiatives don’t have to be complex or labour intensive, sometimes a smile or a wave can make others feel safe and supported.

And Finally

It has previously been reported that Riverside Neighbourhood Watch has been working through its transition from the traditional committee format to the more contemporary arrangement of sharing its information and connecting through Face Book. The group had its last formal meeting on 1 September 21 with some supper and a thank you to their regular newsletter deliverers. This social media model for doing our work into the future is proving to be successful but there is no reason why members can’t continue to gather and share information – even at more convenient times and places – perhaps over a coffee or an occasional lunch.

Long-standing secretary, Joan North was presented with flowers by Senior Constable Annabel Shegog.

Newsletter deliverers were recognised with a NHW lapel pin.

For Our Newer Members

Tasmanian COVID-19 information is at https://www.coronavirus.tas.gov.au/ and you can always find this link at the very top of this website. You can also find copies of previous Monthly Bulletins and Annual Newsletters.

Yours in Neighbourhood Watch

Peter Edwards, President

Good Neighbours Create Safer Communities

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