PROGRAMMES .......WHAT WE ARE DOING

SAFE PLATE

This is a programme to reduce the number of vehicle number plates which are stolen. Every few months, a group of volunteers, with help from the police, assemble and replace normal number plate screws with anti-theft screws. This significantly reduces the likliehood of the number plates being removed and used illegally on other vehicles or in petrol station drive through thefts.

We have secured the number plates on over 2,000 vehicles in the Ballarat area since the programme commenced. We are curently partnering with the SES and approaching community groups to have their members' car number plates secured.

We would like to thank Bunnings in Ballarat for the use of their underground car park during recent months (very handy in detrimental weather!).

BALLARAT & DISTRICT COMMUNITY SUPPORT REGISTER

The Ballarat & District Community Support Register is managed by Ballarat NHW and is supported by Ballarat Police. Approved volunteers from Neighbourhood Watch (they are required to undergo police checks) help in the operation of the register.

A Community support Register is a record of a person's details which can be accessed in an emergency.It gives you confidence that if you are unable to provide information (say, due to accident or illness) your medical details and who to notify are readily available to relevant authorities. Your records will not be made available to any other person or organisation except Police, Ambulance, Hospital or Fire Brigade, and then only after the approval of a senior Police Officer.  more

PARK SMART

This is a campaign to encourage everyone to lock their cars and remove their valuables. An unlocked car is an easy target for thieves. Most car thefts, and thefts of belongings in cars are opportunistic. If it is easy and quick to steal, then it is an even greater temptation. Thieves see valuables left in unlocked cars as an invitation

Police reports show that most thefts of and from parked cars occurs when cars are left unlocked and valuables are left in the car (often in full view).

Ultimately, the safety of a car and its contents rests with the driver. Locking the car and removing any valuables goes a long way towards preventing car theft and theft from cars.

Consequently, we have embarked on a programme of educating car owners to leave their car locked and remove their valuables.

We do this by raising awareness through distribution of leaflets, articles in our local newsletters, articles in the local media and also promoting the park smart message at shopping centres and train stations. These promotions involve a group of volunteers, with help from the police, handing out free shopping bags carrying the Park Smart message. Park Smart stickers are also displayed on parking meters and wheelie bins in main thoroughfares.

 

DON'T KNOCK CAMPAIGN

Are you sick of salespeople door knocking your home? Do you have elderly relations who have been taken advantage of by door to door salespeople.

Did you know that where a “Do Not Knock” sticker, is affixed to a front door, it is illegal for a sales representative to knock on the door.

If you have a Do Not Knock sticker clearly displayed in front of your house, and a salesperson knocks on your door, you should complain about their conduct.

NHW Ballarat is becoming involved in this program in response to many requests from our own members.
WE CURRENTLY HAVE SUPPLIES OF THESE STICKERS.  50 cents each, just to cover the cost of printing. Get some now. Contact us

further information

 

LETTERBOXING HOTSPOTS

Where police analysis shows a hotspot of criminal activity, we supply volunteers to letterbox these areas. The aim is to promote awareness of crime prevention and safety measures and encourage reporting of suspicious activies. Every report helps put together the puzzle, just like a jigsaw. It may be that a particular report is the key to apprehending a criminal.

If you would like to help either in your own neighbourhood or anywhere in the Ballarat area, please contact us. This is an occasional activity depending on police requests for help.

 

PROMOTE CRIME PREVENTION

To achieve this, we aim to educate the community about ways to reduce the possibility of being a victim. This is an eduation programme and we approach it several ways. This web site contains information, as does our facebook page on how to make yourself less of a target. We also utilise the local media and newsletters to this end. We ake part in displays promoting home and personal safety. Our Coffee Club promote crime prevention and maintaisn a relationship with supporters who are unable to participate in our activities.

 

OPERATION BOUNCE BACK

Operation Bounce Back (OBB) is a car theft prevention awareness campaign aimed at educating residents on the myths and realities of car safety and security. The campaign involves the promotion of vehicle security through the installation of Australian Standard Approved engine immobilisers. Research indicates that an electronic engine immobiliser is the best form of vehicle security available to deter opportunistic thieves.

Many people believe that their car is too old to be of interest to car thieves. In fact, cars older than 10 years of age are most commonly stolen. This is because they do not have the security measures such as engine immobilisers that come standard on newer cars. Opportunistic thieves will target cars that are easy to steal.

 

SAFER COMMUNITIES

The safer communities programme is a partnership between the community and the police. NHW Ballarat has recently remodelled and now covers all residents in the Ballarat Police Service Area. We seek community involvement by having our meetings open to all residents in the area.

We seek to provide feedback to the police about the concerns of residents. What concerns you in the community at the moment? Street violence,? Hoon driving? Too much alcohol? So that the local police may be informed on what they need to address when they draw up their Annual Action Plans, all residents are welcome to come to our meetings and discuss them or let us have a few succint thoughts on paper so that your concerns can be passed on to those who are in a position to act on them. Your thoughts are valued. Recently at a Ballarat wide meeting, we held a survey to determine those issues which we, as residents of the area, view as important. This was then submitted to the Ballarat police for consideration in their Annual Action Plan. An example was street safety, and there has now been an increased focus on this by the Ballarat police.

A perfect forum to bring concerns about crime and safety in the Ballarat community to the attention of those who care.

safer communities - a partnership between the community and the police