Keeping residents safe
Baw Baw Neighbourhood Watch members are back at it again, educating the community on how to best protect themselves from criminals.
Recently, the group partnered with Drouin Rotary Club for the club’s Australia Day event and provided valuable information to community members.
With them, they brought a tiny house, provided by NHW chief executive officer Bambi Gordon, who also attended.
The tiny house was used to educate children and adults on how to make their homes more secure and reduce the risk of being targeted by burglars - making them feel safer.
The three key messages were the importance of locking everything up, keeping valuables out of sight, and where people should - and should not - store keys.
Baw Baw NHW also held a raffle, which was supported by local businesses.
Also present at the event was the eye-catching NHW van, with the slogan ‘making crooks cranky since 1983’.
The Warragul NHW was launched in 1998, to help people feel safer and to educate the community on crime prevention. At this time there were several smaller groups spread across Baw Baw. The other groups eventually disbanded and Baw Baw NHW formed to oversee the region.
Currently, there are 18 committee members.
The committee meets every three months and members are regularly visited by officers from Warragul Police Station, who inform them of current crime trends.
The organisation’s positive relationship with local police allows members to focus their efforts on informing the community in the best way possible.
The group faced challenges during the pandemic, but is back in the swing of things and is open to more members.
The annual general meeting will be held in July at the Warragul Country Club.
The best way to get in contact with the local NHW branch is through the NHW website, https://nhw.com.au/