September 2022 Bulletin

Watch this space

Neighbours Every Day
As you receive this Bulletin, Relationships Australia will be announcing their year-long campaign of Neighbours Every Day (NED). The objective is to recognise and promote the importance of maintaining respectful relationships on every day of the year. Neighbourhood Watch is also about building good community relationships and looking out for each other – so it is only natural that we would want to embrace and support NED at every opportunity.

Traffic Policing – Road Deaths Tasmania

Our intelligence report this month provides an analysis of data relating to road deaths in our state. It is not easy reading to digest the serious state of affairs with road safety in Tasmania at the moment. The extract below is taken from the report to provide an indication of what the statistics are telling us about serious injuries and fatalities – and why the government and Tasmania Police are so concerned with driver behaviour and the impact crashes have on our communities.

The year-to-date (January 22 – August 22) data shows there have been 40 road deaths in Tasmania during this period, an increase of 60 per cent from the 25 deaths recorded for the same period last year (January 21 – August 21). The 60 per cent change recorded by Tasmania is the highest per cent change across all the states and is significantly higher than the national average change of 5.9 per cent. Read the full report under Research Reports at: https://nhwtas.org.au/media-and-resources/.

The Road Safety Advisory Council and the Motor Accident Insurance Board are supporting Tasmania Police with the Over is Over campaign. Inspector Gary Williams who has been appointed as the new State Road Safety Coordinator, has reinforced the known causes of serious and fatal crashes,
We talk about the fatal five: seatbelts, drink and drug driving, speeding, fatigue, and inattention, because it’s these things that cause people to die in crashes.

Crashes are rarely accidents, invariably the cause will be because someone did not obey a road rule!

Neighbourhood Watch Week/Bunnings Crime Prevention Week (The Week)

Neighbourhood Watch is very fortunate to have a national partnership with Bunnings to deliver our Neighbourhood Watch Week in conjunction with Bunnings Crime Prevention Week from 7 – 13 November 22. We call it The Week!

Please encourage your Coordinator to contact the Activities Coordinator at your local Bunnings Warehouse to see what opportunities are available for you during The Week. Bunnings have previously been very supportive in helping our groups set up an information stand, they often provide a prize for NHW to run a raffle in-store and if you are quick enough, they may be able to schedule you in to run a barbecue.

Please keep in mind that these are excellent opportunities to team up with other community organisations to run an event and build on your local neighbourhood connections. If you want more information, just send an email to admin@nhwtas.org.au.

A Ready Reference from Crime Stoppers. Who do I report what to?

What do I do in an emergency?
If there is a life-threatening emergency or a crime happening now – Triple Zero (000).

What do I do if I am a victim of a crime?
Non-urgent matters or a crime has happened to you – 131 444 or your local police station.

I think I know something about a crime but don’t want to get involved?
If you have information about unsolved crime or suspicious activity, contact Crime Stoppers online or at 1800 333 000.

Where can I report cybercrime?
The use of computers or online networks to commit crimes such as fraud, online image abuse, identity theft or threats to intimidate should be reported to the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC).

Where can I report a scam?
Scams should be reported to Scamwatch which is run by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

Where can I report online abuse?
Report cyberbullying, image-based and illegal or harmful content for children or adults to the Australian Government’s eSafety Commissioner.

Where can I report Centrelink or Medicare fraud?
Call the Australian Government Fraud Tip-off line 131 524 or report it to Centrelink or Medicare via the Services Australia website.

Help, I’ve had a traffic accident.
If you have had a minor traffic accident where you have swapped details, report online at Tasmania Police Traffic Crash Reporting.