Keeping Our Community Safe Together.

It always makes me shake my head when I hear people say, “we don’t have any responsibility in crime prevention or community safety.” The truth is, we all have a role to play. Today, I visited the car park between the Whittlesea City Council offices and the South Morang railway station. Although it’s private property, many people park there to catch the train, and I have personally witnessed there many many incidents of vehicle damage and broken glass resulting from car break ins.

I was happy to see that crime prevention and community safety initiatives to reduce vehicle related crime has commenced. These measures are helping to protect our residents and commuters from vehicle thefts and break ins. The Victorian Crime Statistics Agency recently reported a significant increase in both motor vehicle theft and theft from motor vehicles over the past 12 months, in the City of Whittlesea.

So let’s be clear community safety is everyone’s business. Council, police, residents, businesses, and local groups all play a vital role.

And more importantly, don’t listen to ill informed misinformation that suggests otherwise. By working together, we really can make a difference. Here are five simple steps we can all take to reduce risk:

ü  Always lock your car.

ü  Remove bags and valuables.

ü  Park in well lit areas.

ü  Use alarms or wheel locks; and

ü  Report suspicious activity immediately.

Community safety isn’t just someone else’s job it’s all of us, working side by side. Let’s keep Whittlesea safe. As your Councillor on the City of Whittlesea Council, I am totally committed to community safety in our municipality, and our community should expect nothing less.