By Laura Michell
Dave Slattery joined the City of Whittlesea Neighbourhood Watch five years ago when he moved to the municipality with his young family.
What’s your connection to the City of Whittlesea?
I moved to the City of Whittlesea five years ago with my wife and two daughters. For us, it was a chance to build a new home and connection in one of the fastest growing communities in Australia. I had a goal of making new friends and getting involved with the community.
What do you like about where you live?
The fact that we are close to the local parks, shops, schools and, now, Mernda rail is a real positive. The sense of community where we live is very strong. My wife did do some research before selecting a block and area to build. We are very lucky to be surrounded by some awesome neighbours in our street. We often socialise together and another group of us local blokes get together for regular bike rides in the estate a couple of times a week. It’s also a nice place just to take the dog for a walk around a park or wetland area.
What, if anything, would you like to change?
Hmmm where do I start? I am grateful for what we have already, but I personally think more opportunity and choice for locals to work locally is needed and is very important. It amazes me how many people have to commute great distances to get to work and it seems like such a waste of time.
How long have you been volunteering at City of Whittlesea Neighbourhood Watch – and why did you first join?
I joined Neighbourhood Watch five years ago with a strong desire to see crime reduce where I live. Being new to the area, making new friends in the group was the bonus. I do have some experience in the risk management of crime and therefore felt confident I could have a positive impact on this. Neighbourhood Watch has offered me the flexibility around volunteering that some other groups cannot. This is not to diminish the great volunteer work of other groups, it’s just that Neighbourhood Watch was a good fit for me as I work full-time and have a young family. I have really enjoyed working with my fellow volunteers at community events and talking to the community. Working with the local police, SES and others has also been interesting and fun. It feels really good when you give back to your community.
Tell us about some of the work you and the other Neighbourhood Watch volunteers do in Whittlesea.
Neighbourhood Watch aims to improve the quality of life within Whittlesea City by minimising preventable crime and promoting closer community ties and the reporting
of crime to police. A recent example was
the group’s response to growing registration plate thefts and deciding to target this crime during a year-long campaign in 2018 called Operation SAFEPL8. Volunteers have distributed thousands of free anti-theft screws at various stalls and stands all over the municipality. We know these screws are highly effective as they can be easily applied with a
flat-head screw driver, however once applied they cannot be removed by conventional tools. Part of this campaign has also been about educating the community that it is important
to fit the screws. Did you know that 820
vehicles in the City of Whittlesea had number plates stolen in the 12 months prior to June 2018?
Where is your favourite local place to spend time?
That’s a great question. For me its lunch at Carome Homestead (Two Beans and a Farm restaurant). I just love the location, feel of the place, the service – and those tasty grilled
barra burgers in brioche bun are simply to die for.
Anyone interested in joining Neighbourhood Watch should visit: nhw.com.au/volunteer
