Neighbourhood Watch joins the digital age

Published Thursday, 27 March, 2014 at 06:00 AM

Minister for Police, Fire and Emergency Services
The Honourable Jack Dempsey

Neighbourhood Watch Queensland has entered the digital age with the launch of new online blogs to keep communities up to date with crime prevention strategies in their area.

Police Minister Jack Dempsey said the move was an important step to connect residents with their local police and bring crime fighting strategies into the 21st century.

“The Newman Government is committed to making Queensland the safest place to live and raise a family and the Neighbourhood Watch blogs are a simple, modern tool for residents to raise crime or safety concerns with their local police,” Mr Dempsey said.

“At the election we promised to revitalise frontline services and the Neighbourhood Watch blogs are an example of that pledge. Going digital means you can now get involved in Neighbourhood Watch wherever you are, whenever you want to.

“The blogs allow Neighbourhood Watch groups to disseminate key safety and security messages to large groups of people, meaning they can connect instantly with their constituents and reduce the need for groups to continuously seek out volunteers to be coordinators.”

An advertising campaign to promote the Neighbourhood Watch blogs will also begin today. The Become Your Neighbourhood Crime Fighter campaign embraces the latest digital advertising techniques. After viewing one of the digital ads, a person can immediately click on a link and subscribe to more information or join up. Traditional press advertising will also be used as a part of the overall campaign.

Assistant Commissioner Paul Stewart said the launch of the Neighbourhood Watch Queensland blogs is an additional tool for police to engage with the community to address crime.

“We have seen from the success of our myPolice blogs that there is an audience for this kind of community information,” Assistant Commissioner Stewart said.

“Greater public awareness regarding crime and an increased willingness to report such incidents is imperative for the success of policing.

“We have experienced overwhelming feedback with some the sites having more than 26 million hits.

“This new site should not only serve as an investigative tool but as a community engagement opportunity for officers and the public.”

Minister Dempsey and Assistant Commissioner Stewart encouraged residents to visit the blog and join in protecting their community: www.nhwq.org

[ENDS] 27 March 2014

Media contacts:

Minister Dempsey: Andrew Blow 0408 912 821                  Police Media: (07) 3015 2444