State Member for Wallsend, Ms Sonia Hornery MP, is calling on the local community to join with other locals and help form a Neighbourhood Watch group.
At a local community meeting last night, local residents concerned about crime in the Wallsend, Maryland and Fletcher areas agreed to form local Neighbourhood Watch groups for each suburb.
Residents heard from local Police and from Neighbourhood Watch leaders about the success of the program in other areas.
Statistics provided by local Police showed a distinct lack of under reporting of crimes in the local area, with some residents happy to post about them on social media but failing to report them to Police.
Quotes attributable to Member for Wallsend, Sonia Hornery
“It was great to see the community turn out in numbers and hear about the great work Neighbourhood Watch is doing in suburbs around the Hunter.”
“It is evident from the reports on social media and to my office that people are not reporting crimes to Police.”
“The NSW Police spoke about the importance of reporting all crimes to either Triple Zero, the Police Assistance Line or directly to a local Police Station.”
“The local crime statistics are what determine the allocation of Police resources and if crimes are not reported then Police are not allocated to local areas.”
“Residents last night were in favour of forming local Neighbourhood Watch groups and will be working with local Police to get the ball rolling.”
“I would encourage local residents to think about being part of a local Neighbourhood Watch program and if they are interested in being part of a local group, they can contact my office and we will pass their details on to the organisers.”