Residents take a stand against crime

A number of Scarborough residents have joined forces with police to form a new Neighbourhood Watch group.

Resident Shona Sylva had the idea to start the group last year and reached out to Moreton District Crime Prevention Coordinator, Sergeant Sarah Grayson from the Redcliffe Police Station, to help her get the group up and running.

“I have been chatting to Sarah about starting this new Neighbourhood Watch group for a while now, and she has been extremely helpful,” Shona says.

“We want to teach the community about crime prevention and create awareness about what is happening in our local area.

“We have a good mixture of young families and elderly residents that live here, so the group will be a good way for everyone to communicate, especially since a lot of older people are not on Facebook.”

Following a public consultation at the PCYC in November last year, which saw around 50 people in attendance, a committee was formed.

On the committee is Eduardo Suarez who will act as the coordinator, Shona as secretary, Darryl Neild as treasurer and Ken Lew as the media coordinator.

Ken says while the area “does have low crime, one crime or offence is too many”.

The group plans to host regular meetings as well as host a number of community initiatives like community barbecues and fundraisers.

Sergeant Sarah Grayson is hoping the community will throw their support behind the group.

“We really want the Scarborough community to jump on board and come and join the group as a volunteer,” she says.

“We can all play a part in keeping the community safe.”

Residents are also reminded to report any crime or suspicious behaviour to Policelink on 131 444 and not the Neighbourhood Watch Facebook page.

Policelink is available 24/7 and provides Queenslanders with an additional method to report a range of matters, or seek policing advice.

If it is an emergency, call Triple Zero (000).

Head along

The first meeting of the new Scarborough Neighbourhood Watch will be held at Scarborough State School on Tuesday, March 21.

This will be an opportunity for members of the community to get to know the committee, ask questions and share their thoughts, feelings and ideas on what they would like to see happen in the area.

The meeting will begin at 6pm and will run for roughly one hour.

To find out more, email scarboroughneighbourhoodwatch@gmail.com or search Scarborough Neighbourhood Watch on Facebook.