Neighbourhood Watch to hold safe plate day

Reduce your risk of number plate theft when Drouin and Warragul Neighbourhood Watch hold “Operation Safe Plate” in Warragul on Saturday, October 21.

The event will be held in the Mason Street carpark between 9am and noon.

“For a $5 donation, your car’s number plate screws will be replaced with ‘special one way screws’ to reduce the risk of your car number plates from being stolen,” said Steve Pascoe from Drouin and Warragul Neighbourhood Watch.

Neighbourhood Watch have held more than 15 events over the last 10 years, with over 600

The eastern region, which takes in the Baw Baw police services area, saw the highest number of firearms handed in during Victoria Police’s recent amnesty.

The three month amnesty aimed at reducing the risk of firearms and weapons falling into the wrong hands saw thousands of firearms surrendered in Victoria.

Rifles, shotguns, hand guns and swords were among the items crushed and melted or registered after they were surrendered during the National Firearm Amnesty, which ended at the end of September.

While 3654 firearms had been surrendered as of September 25, the final figures are likely to climb to about 4000 surrendered firearms once the returns have been finalised.

Almost half of those surrendered across the state were surrendered in the eastern region, which includes Baw Baw police services area, with 1681 firearms handed in.

In other regions, 1198 were handed in for the western region, 419 in the north west which includes Melbourne to Whittlesea and 356 for the southern region from Prahan to Mornington Peninsula.

Licensing and regulation division superintendent Paul Millett said police were pleased with the results which represented the most cars having had these “special” one-way screws fitted in Baw Baw Shire.

“If your plates are stolen it can cost more than $100 to obtain new plates from VicRoads as well as the lost time and personal inconvenience,” added Mr Pascoe.

All proceeds from the requested $5 donation will go to Warragul Hub, a not-for-profit organisation coming to Warragul. The Warragul Hub is a family-focused centre which will include an indoor playground, nine-hole mini golf, café and various family activities.

For further details about Operation Safe Plate” or Neighbourhood Watch, call Steve Pascoe on 0409 256 090. effective firearm amnesty Victoria had seen for a decade.

“The amnesty has resulted in a tangible benefit to community safety here in Victoria by ensuring firearms and weapons are kept out of reach of people who don’t need them for lawful purposes,” he said.

“Victoria Police has a number of dedicated resources in place to tackle the illicit firearm market and to ensure compliance by licence holders on an ongoing basis.”

A number of rare and historically significant firearms and weapons were handed in across the amnesty and these will be on display in museums across the country.

Although the amnesty has concluded, police encourage anyone with unwanted weapons to contact their local police station to arrange the surrender of these items.

“The safety of the community will always be Victoria Police’s first priority,” Mr Millett said.

“During the amnesty, items were surrendered to licenced firearm dealers whose assistance was invaluable during the amnesty period.

“While the majority of firearm licence holders are responsible when it comes to storage of their firearms, police will continue to conduct compliance operations aimed at ensuring proper firearm storage.”