Neighbourhood Watch collaboration
Manor Lakes has enjoyed a long-standing association with Neighbourhood Watch, becoming increasingly collaborative in recent years.
Neighbourhood Watch’s Victorian CEO, Bambi Gordon, says “it’s all about neighbours working together to make communities better, safer, friendlier places to live.”
Bambi has led Neighbourhood Watch since 2017, helping the organisation to continue to grow and evolve.
Supplied: Bambi Gordon, CEO, Neighbourhood Watch Victoria
Neighbourhood Watch has a history spanning over 40 years.
It was an initiative of Victoria Police in Frankston in 1983, based on a similar concept that they had seen overseas, set up as a pilot program.
Within twelve months it was operating across most of Victoria and also started to expand into the other states and territories.
There have been important changes along the journey, with Neighbourhood Watch transitioning from a Victoria Police program to an independent not-for-profit organisation around 2013.
Thanks to the dedicated efforts of tens of thousands of volunteers, working in partnership with local police, Neighbourhood Watch has grown to become one of Australia’s most effective crime prevention programs.
Each of the other states and territories now have different versions of Neighbourhood Watch in place and regularly share materials and resources.
Bambi’s arrival at Neighbourhood Watch as CEO helped put in place the foundations and structure of a more professionally managed organisation.
“We recognised many years ago that talking to new home owners in developing estates is very important to us, because this is a brand new group of people who may not know of us. There are generally a lot of people coming from overseas who may not have any prior knowledge of the concept,” Bambi says.
“On new estates where people may not really know each other, there can be times when they are not sure of what to report or when something may be suspicious. It’s important for them to understand what Neighbourhood Watch is and what it can do to help them connect with each other.”
Bambi also notes that there will be a number of different trades on site working on building jobs for a few months at a time.
“They are visible for a period and then they’ll be gone, so again they’re not going to be able to connect in any long term or meaningful way. It’s that social cohesion, getting people to know one other so they recognise if any suspicious or unusual behaviour is occurring which should be reported. That education and motivation role is vitally important,” she says.
The organisation is also mindful of breaking down any perceptions that Neighbourhood Watch is primarily an initiative for elderly people.
“The office bearers of local groups do tend to be retirees, simply because they have more time, but membership is right across the board. Working together to prevent crime in the local community is important to and involves everyone,” Bambi emphasises.
Neighbourhood Watch has developed an extensive catalogue of online crime prevention materials to help educate people across Victoria.
To find your nearest Neighbourhood Watch group.
Handy Hints
With the holiday season approaching, Bambi says Neighbourhood Watch recommends some simple tips to help keep your property safe if you’re planning to be away.
“The most important thing from our point of view is for people to do is to a self-assessment of the safety of their home. We have an online tool called How Safe is My Place which only takes about 5-10 minutes to do and you receive a report back based on the answers you’ve provided,” Bambi reveals.
“Police don’t have unlimited resources and can’t be expected to do everything. People have to take some responsibility for protecting their own property through adopting sensible, basic crime prevention measures.”
Christmas presents – When throwing out boxes from expensive electronic equipment or whitegoods, don’t leave them sitting by the bin for passers-by to notice.
Caravans – Owners who leave their caravan in the front yard all year and then go away on holidays are sending a clear signal they’re not home. Instead, put it in storage or somewhere out of sight during the year.
Doorbell cameras – The best kinds of doorbell cameras are those that include audio as well as video capability. If you can tell anyone you don’t know who is at your door that you are watching them, they usually leave quickly.
CCTV – If you have CCTV at your home, it is important to ensure you register your camera with the Safer Places network – which is free – so that if something occurs in your area, police can quickly go online and find out where cameras are located instead of having to go door to door knocking.
Check out How Safe is My Place