Neighbourhood Support Group Expo
On Sunday I was happy to have a stand at the Neighbourhood Support Group’s Expo at the Horowhenua Events Centre. I supported the expo because I’ve been so impressed by what the group has been able to achieve in the past two years.
Since coming under the leadership of co-ordinator Wendy Foreman two years ago, she and a strong group of volunteers have been able to muster close to 290 Neighbourhood Support groups encompassing nearly 2900 homes in Horowhenua. This is a fantastic achievement.
As Horowhenua has been so successful in the rejuvenation of its Neighbourhood Support in recent times it was chosen to host the New Zealand Neighbourhood Support Conference in Levin earlier this month, which also tied in with the Australasian conference in Wellington.
While the Police do a good job in our community, they simply can’t be everywhere. That’s why a strong neighbourhood support group in your community is important to help reduce crime. It also helps to:
Encourage neighbours to talk to each other
Minimise burglaries and car crime in the local area
Share information that will help reduce the risk and fear of crime
Educate and empower neighbours to take responsibility for their own safety
Support victims of crime
Enhance the safety features and appearance of the neighbourhood
Know when and how to contact Police, and other emergency services or support agencies.
I helped facilitate a meeting, with Deputy Mayor Dave Colling, to establish a Neighbourhood Support Group in Koputaroa. This was particularly well attended and enabled neighbours to meet other people living on their road that they may not have had the opportunity to meet before. So, it has positive spin-offs in fostering better community relations.
The Police also attended this meeting and passed on valuable information and resources for people to use when potentially confronted by an intruder. We all know we should report anything suspicious or note any strange activities. Something I picked up was the use of a special pen – not visible to the naked eye – that enables you to name your belongings, such as TVs and DVD players. Police are able to scan any stolen gear for pen markings to help identify the stolen property.
We bought home a bag of resources from that meeting, including stickers highlighting to any potential intruder that we are part of Neighbourhood Support.
The National Party has been working hard on ideas to help reduce crime in our communities. Some of these ideas will be covered in our Law and Order Discussion document soon to be released. I will cover this in another column and look forward to your feedback on our ideas.
Crime has a huge impact on everyday lives and National wants to ensure that it has a higher priority than under the present regime.
On Saturday I was invited to present the awards at the Tokomaru Volunteer Fire Brigade Annual Honours night. This group of 14 volunteers provides another example of an organisation well supported in this small settlement and doing an excellent job for its community.
Finally, thanks to all the volunteers for doing a wonderful job in our community.