Whittlesea’s Neighbourhood Watch program will be reborn later this
year with a serious recruitment drive under the new police liaison
officer.
The group will also apply to be part of Victoria Police’s social
media initiative, Eyewatch, where the public can get the latest
information about crime via Facebook and mobile phones.
Eyewatch, which has already rolled out across several police
areas, lets people know about local crime and ask questions of police
and allows police to post photographs of missing or wanted people or
safety information.
Whittlesea Neighbourhood Watch’s new police liaison officer,
Leading Senior Constable Sandy O’Connor, said she hoped the group could
become part of Eyewatch next year.
She said the group was planning to re-launch Neighbourhood Watch later this year and get as many residents as possible involved from across the municipality.
“Victoria Police supports the Neighbourhood Watch groups and they
work with police on various crime-prevention and community engagement
strategies,” Senior Constable O’Connor said.
She said this could include responding to the theft of motor
vehicle number plates by running a community awareness campaign about
anti-theft screws.
“It’s all about getting proactive messages out there,” she said.
“About 80 per cent of crime is opportunistic, so crime prevention methods are important.”
Senior Constable O’Connor said Neighbourhood Watch aimed to
strengthen the spirit of the community and make residents feel safe
through its partnership with police.
She wanted to rejuvenate the group with a “boost of energy” and use marketing tools and social media to engage young people.
People wanting to join the group during the recruitment drive later this year would be subject to police checks, she said.
