Looking back at 2015 NHWNT President Vicki Whitney

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1 December 2015 Newsletter It certainly has been another fantastic year for Neighbourhood Watch in the NT, my sincerest thanks to all our dedicated and passionate volunteers, Board of Management members, Patron and Police Support Officers. Highlights of 2015 Include: The NHWNT support office moved from Casuarina Police Station to the police shopfront at Parap Shopping Village. Assistant Commissioner Lance Godwin has encouraged NHW volunteers to use the new facility. Membership has increased to over 720 with another 20 pending, including new members in Tennant Creek, Nhulunbuy and Alyangula. Facebook followers have also continued to grow to 2969 participants. The launch of the Mark Your Territory initiative on the 27 March 2015 was a huge success with thousands attending the stalls across the NT (Casuarina, Palmerston, Alice Springs, Katherine, Nhulunbuy and Tennant Creek) to get their free UV Marker Kit. Most stalls had given away all their kits within hours, there were over 400 people on the waitlist for the next order as a result! On Crime Stoppers Day, 16 February, Neighbourhood Watch NT in conjunction with Crime Stoppers NT, the National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council and TIO Insurance, aligned to raise awareness of the high frequency Looking back at 2015 NHWNT President Vicki Whitney of vehicles stolen with keys in the NT. The Reduce NT Crime campaign is aimed to remind Territorians to lock up their homes and keep their car keys safe. You can view the website at Crime Stoppers received funding from the Office of Youth Affairs to run a Protect Yourself competition over the months of May to June. 90 double passes were won by young people from the Top End to see Jurassic World on Thursday 25 June 2015 by answering simple safety questions on the NHWNT Facebook page. The Safety House program continues to grow with 167 Safety Houses throughout the Territory, an increase of 47 since last year. New locations include two residential premises in Alyangula, one business and two residential premises in Nhulunbuy and two businesses in Tennant Creek. Over 400 people were in attendance at IMA s birthday held on the 3rd May 2015 at Lake Alexander and 10,500 school children have been taught about the program throughout the year. Volunteers and support Officers have been involved in a large number of community activities partnering with a wide range of other community and support organisations across the NT. NHW NT continued to work closely with Neighbourhood Watch Australasia (NHWA) who is conducting remote community pilot project across Australia. The program aims to provide a framework to assist community and Police to address local problems with local solutions, the pilot sites in the NT are Papunya and Wurrumiyanga (Tiwi Islands). NHWA also launched the Speak Up resource in Darwin at Parliament House on the 31 August. Speak Up is an educational resource for Indigenous community members and other community members where English is not their first language. It is designed to enable people who need help, to know how and when to call emergency services. The future of Neighbourhood Watch looks bright with many exciting initiatives being explored for 2016! I would like to thank again ALL our wonderful volunteers and NT Police (especially Tracy-Dale Middleton, Suzanne Seears and Norma Atkinson), for their ongoing support, passion for crime prevention and hard work. 1

2 Alyangula Picnic Fun Day 8th August Neighbourhood Watch NT was delighted to receive an invitation to the Alyangula Picnic Fun Day on Saturday 8th August. Senior Sergeant Alex Brennan (Officer in Charge of Alyangula Police Station), local police and Senior Constable Tracy-Dale Middleton, Support & Liaison Officer for Neighbourhood Watch NT attended with other community organisations to make this a hugely successful day. Our Neighbourhood Watch UV Marker Pen Kits and merchandise bags were extremely popular and the interest in personal safety in the community resulted in a Community Meeting being held the next day. At this meeting Senior Sergeant Alex Brennan, local police and Senior Constable Tracy-Dale Middleton spoke to 8 members of the community about crime prevention and provided safety tips on personal safety. As a direct result of the inaugural visit to Alyangula, Neighbourhood Watch Membership has increased to 7 members with 3 NEW Safety Houses in the Community. Teddy Bears Picnic George Brown Botanic Gardens, Darwin 9th August Darwin s weather turned it on for the annual Teddy Bears Picnic held at George Brown Botanic Gardens on Sunday 9th August, what a glorious sunny day it was. Our Neighbourhood Watch volunteers entertained the crowd with badge making, colouring in, fingerprinting and giveaway merchandise bags. It made it easy for pack up when we had nothing left! Alice Springs Emergency Service Expo 13th August IMA the Safety House made an appearance at the Emergency Service Expo in Alice Springs for the HIPPY Programme (Home Interaction Program for Parents and Youngsters). This program runs out of a demountable at the Yipirinya School. NT Police, NT Fire & Rescue and St John Ambulance were all in attendance with Neighbourhood Watch Volunteers. IMA was mobbed by all the little and not so little ones. Our information stall was left almost empty with parents taking a copy of all information that was available. Approximately 80 people were in attendance and the event was enjoyed by all. 2

3 Teddy Bears Picnic, Katherine Museum 22nd August On the day we were supported by a number of volunteers and Katherine Police who cooked the sausage sizzle. The event was held on a different date and time from last year and the change of date was well supported by the community. On the day we gave away 40 UV Marker Pen Kits. Merchandise bags and crime prevention information was also given out on the day. A special thank you to Jenny Duggan, Narelle Cook, Dani Mattiuzzo, John Aland and Karl Gunderson for assistance on the day. A fun day was had by all who attended. Nhulunbuy Community Markets & Community Meeting 17th & 18th October Neighbourhood Watch played a key role at the Nhulunbuy Community Markets on 17 October. Many members of the public took the opportunity to meet and speak with Police and Nhulunbuy NHW volunteers Linda, Sharon and Judi about aspects of security and safety. Local man Brett Martin donned the Safety House costume (IMA) and delighted many children on his walks through the Town Hall while the markets were underway At the Nhulunbuy Community Meeting Senior Constable Tracy-Dale Middleton met with Nhulunbuy NHW volunteers Linda, Ivor, Sharon, Lynne and Ansel in Lynne Walker MLA s office to discuss local operations. The group discussed community plans for Neighbourhood Watch, promotion of the Safety House Program and the development of a Facebook presence to spread NHW messages. National Children s week Jingili Water Gardens & Humpty Doo Village Green 28th & 29th October We all thought we would get wet when the storm clouds hovered over Jingili Water Gardens on Wednesday 28th October but they eventually just blew away. Our volunteers were kept busy by visiting school students wanting badges and they sure loved the merchandise bags and fingerprinting. We were all kept busy on two very hot wet season days. As a direct result of both National Children s Week events Neighbourhood Watch NT signed up 4 new Safety Houses in Virginia, Humpty Doo, Nightcliff and Johnston. What a fantastic result for children everywhere for safe travel to and from school. Meet your Darwin Emergency Services Management Team Mindil Beach Markets 29th October On the last Mindil Beach Markets for 2015 the Management team for NT Police, Fire and Emergency Services teamed up to have a chat with the community. With the large mobile police station as a backdrop and NT Police Mounted Patrol riding around we were very popular with the crowd, both young and old. Almost 300 UV Marker Kits were handed out by Neighbourhood Watch who worked alongside NT Police, NT Emergency Services and NT Fire and Rescue to provide the public with valuable information on crime prevention, storm safety, cyclone preparedness and fire safety. The event was very well received by the community. We hope to attend the Mindil Markets again in

4 2015 ABC Emergency Services Expo, Parap Primary School 14th November Simulcast live by ABC Radio at Parap Primary School this event was all about Storm and Cyclone Safety. Providing the public with information on how to prepare for a cyclone, make allowances for power outages, source Centrelink assistance and stock your first aid kit. Exhibitors included; Neighbourhood Watch NT, TIO Insurance, Power Water Authority, Jacana Energy, St John Ambulance, NT Emergency Services, NT Fire and Rescue Services, NT Police Mounted Patrol, Care Flight, Red Cross, Bureau of Meteorology and Lifeline. Katherine Neighbourhood Watch NT volunteers participated in the Christmas Street Party which was held in Katherine on Thursday December 3. It was a busy night for our volunteers handing out merchandise bags, talking about Neighbourhood Watch, keeping yourself safe over the Christmas holidays and handing out Absentee Owner Advices for when people go on their Christmas holidays. The UV Marker pens were popular on the night and we handed out around 100 merchandise bags. Katherine Christmas Street Party 3rd December Northern Territory Crime Statistics Paddy the Platypus, NTES s mascot was very popular with the children and the Power Water Authority Power Outlet Mascot was a sight to see. Many patrons from the Parap Markets walked over after having a laksa or a fruit shake and were very pleased with the information available. Very useful information made available for everyone just before we experienced a very gusty afternoon storm that passed through Palmerston and Darwin that very day. The Northern Territory Balance consists of all the areas outside the defined urban centres, including urban fringes, rural areas near the main centres and small remote communities. This area represents approximately 32% of the Northern Territory s population. Selected Summary OFFENCE STATISTICS Crime 1 Oct Sep Oct Sep 2015 % Change Assault Domestic violence related assault Alcohol related assault Sexual assault House break-ins Commercial break-ins Motor vehicle theft Property damage Crime 1 Oct Sep Oct Sep 2015 % Change Crime against the person Crime against property The offence data were extracted from the NT Police PROMIS system on 01/11/2015. Offence rates have been calculated using the latest available estimated resident population data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (Australian Demographic Statistics, cat , with regional splits based on Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2012, cat ). 4

5 New Safety Houses (From July 2015) These NEW Safety Houses will provide children with more options if they need help when travelling to and from school: DARWIN, PALMERSTON & RURAL Casuarina Casuarina Child Care Centre Coconut Grove 80/3 Old McMillans Road & 12 Ostermann Street Driver 3 Canonbury Circuit Gray 3 Schollert Court & 86 Priest Circuit Jingili 34 Borella Circuit Johnston 14 Balik Papan Court Malak Malak Family Centre, Malak Crescent Nightcliff Goodstart Early Learning Centre, Dickward Drive & 20 Jacksonia Circuit Rosebery 35 Kenbi Place & 25 Lancewood Circuit Stuart Park 10 Armidale Street Tiwi Goodstart Early Learning Centre, Tiwi Gardens Virginia 45 Osbeck Road ALYANGULA 7 Ayawurra Crescent & 16 Connie Bush Street & 220 Brunker Street NHULUNBUY 4 Mimosa Avenue & 5 Aisa Street & Nhulunbuy Community Health Centre, Endeavour Square KATHERINE YMCA Katherine, Sth Stuart Highway TENNANT CREEK T&J Contractors, Paterson Street & Little Rippers Lifestyles, Paterson Street ALICE SPRINGS Congress Child Care Centre & Gap Community Child Care Centre & Central Australian Toy Library 16 Harvey Street & 49 Lackman Terrace & 16 Caruthers Crescent & 5 Laver Court & 16 Cliffside Court Is there a Safety House in your neighbourhood? Do you want to help make your community safer for children travelling to and from school? Contact Safety House on or safetyhouse@nt.gov.au for more information. Safety House School Visits & Datjala Work Camp Community Meeting Nhulunbuy 20th & 30th November & 2nd December A recent serious incident involving an escaped convicted murderer and rapist from the low-security Datjala Work Camp in Nhulunbuy generated an unprecedented level of fear in the community and prompted Nhulunbuy NHW Volunteers to advance their plans to visit local schools and talk about the location of Safety Houses in the community. These visits were undertaken on 20 November (Primary School), 30 November (High School) and 2 December (Christian College) by Sharon, Linda and Ivor. All students listened attentively to the Safety House messages and noted the locations around town. We appreciated this opportunity to promote this important program managed by NHW to a large number of young people in the school environment. This incident was so serious it resulted in a number of changes to Correctional Services policy in the NT on the classification and rating of prisoners and their eligibility to be involved in low security Sentenced To A Job Work Camps, and ultimately a public meeting held in Nhulunbuy on 25 November. A number of NHW members attended this public meeting and asked questions of the panellists who included the new Correctional Services Commissioner and departmental representatives, as well as Nhulunbuy Police. Nhulunbuy NHW Members have also developed their own Face Book presence; neighbourhoodnews. Helping Nhulunbuy residents keep in touch with what is happening in their community. 5

6 Upcoming Events 14th 24th December CCTV Police Photo Shopping Centre Display Casuarina Shopping Centre 17th 19th December CCTV Police Photo Shopping Centre Display Palmerston Shopping Centre 5th February 2016 Safety House School Assembly Visits recommence for 2016 If you are interested in volunteering at any of these events please get in touch! Are you going away on holidays? Going away over the festive season? What can you do to help prevent property loss and damage in your absence? Here are some helpful hints and tips to protect your home. Contact Neighbourhood Watch on or for more information 6