Neighbourhood Watch: STN 1 South YarraRegion 1 Division 2 Stonnington, Victoria, Australia.
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Neighbourhood Watch: STN 1 South Yarra
Region 1 Division 2
Stonnington, Victoria, Australia.
You are here: Home>Newsletters>May 2001
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May, 2001 Time is on YOUR side in an attempted house break in THE Rolling Stones song said "Time is on your side". And time is a key factor in most burglaries. With enough time, determined burglars will find a way into a home, no matter how well it is protected. Burglars, however, usually will not spend a lot of time trying to get in. This is because they fear being seen and caught. To prevent burglaries effectively, you should delay burglars for as long as possible in order to make the risk seem unacceptable. Cause the thieves delay and more often than not they will go away. It is a fact that most burglars are not highly skilled professionals. They are amateurs looking for easy opportunities - an empty, poorly secured home, an unlocked window, a door without a proper security lock. Your objective should be to discourage them enough so that they give up. Make their entry difficult and it is likely the prowlers will go elsewhere in search of easier prey. The most recent research available indicates that a burglar would work no longer than 60 seconds to gain entry. Burglars will put themselves at risk of being caught for as little time as possible. For them the risks are highest when they are conspicuous to passers-by or in the short time they have to complete their burglary after a burglar alarm has gone off. Testing has found that if a lock on a door system will hold under attack for 30 to 60 seconds, it will continue to hold under prolonged attack. Burglars know that intuitively. It takes a good lock to resist the forces of an attack. The burglar carries tools that are portable, small, and easily concealed to apply this force. The smaller the tool, the easier to conceal its presence going to the burglary or leaving the home after the crime. The tool is usually a large screwdriver or a small crowbar. About one third of all household burglaries are committed by using force. Burglars don't like double deadlocked doors, that is doors fitted with security locks that can be locked on the inside and outside of the door. A five lever mortice lock or a double cylinder deadbolt provides excellent security for standard doors. Installing good locks, and USING them, would eliminate a high percentage of residential burglaries. Reverse the trend with crime prevention CRIME has been a growing problem all over the world in the last 30 years. But we are not powerless against crime. Much is being done - and more can be done - to reverse the trend. And you can play a part in it. The first step towards preventing crime is understanding its nature. Most crime is against property, not people(a ratio of 12:1). Most is not carried out by professionals; nor is it carefully planned. Property crimes thrive on the opportunity. They are often committed by adolescents and young men, the majority of whom stop offending as they grow older. Peak ages for offending are 15 to 18. Also, and not surprisingly, the risk of crime varies greatly depending on where you live. This reliance by criminals on the easy opportunity is the key to much crime prevention. Motor cars, for example, are a sitting target for the criminal. Expensive, attractive and mobile, they are often left out on the street for long periods at a time. The police estimate that 70-90% of car crimes result from easy opportunity. Surveys have shown that approximately 1 in 5 drivers do not always bother to secure their cars by looking all the doors and shutting all the windows. It's the same story with out homes. In approximately 30% of domestic burglaries, the burglar simply walks in without using force; the householder has left a door unlocked or a window open. If opportunities like this did not exist, criminals would have a much harder time. The chances are that many crimes would not be committed at all, which would in turn release more police time for tackling serious crime. The schoolboy locking up his bike, the man fitting window locks, or the woman making sure her home is secure before she goes out, are all in the business of tackling crime. It's just a question of how much we choose to do to reduce opportunities for the criminal. We all know why people should look out for one another. But when it comes to turning good intentions into action, people may not realise how much they can help. If we want a safer place for our families, friends and neighbours, citizens like you need to take an active part. Learning and creativity continue in The Third Age THE Third Age is sometimes called the age of active retirement. For many, it is the age of achieving one's maximum potential after the stresses of the Second Age of a working life and home-making, and the First Age of childhood and dependence. The University of the Third Age (U3A) is a totally voluntary organisation which aims to provide educational stimulus and support for older people. U3A is a community of people who come together to learn from one another. It is a learning co-operative of older people. It encourages positive ageing by enabling its members to share many educational, creative and leisure activities. No educational qualifications are required. There are no examinations to be taken or certificates to be obtained. U3A operates by drawing upon the skills and interests of its members. It taps the huge resource of skills, experience and wisdom which exists among Third Age people. Among the members you will always find some who are willing to share their knowledge with others by acting as course leaders or tutors. These members will be leaders in some classes and learners in others. U3A Stonnington has about 400 members and most of its courses are conducted at 578 Orrong Road which was formerly the Armadale Branch Library. It has two semesters, the second of which runs from August to November. The variety of courses offered can be gauged from the sample of the more than 50 courses in this year's first semester. Details of courses in the second semester (beginning in August) and a membership application form will be available in the June newsletter of U3A Stonnington. Further details can be obtained by calling U3A on 9500 1288 or visiting the office at 578 Orrong Road between 10am and 1pm Monday to Friday. U3A Stonnington Courses (1st Semester) Current affairs History of Australian Science Financing health care Book discussion groups Film criticism Composers and their music Gems of opera Microscopic study of human cells Military intelligence 1946-50 Isolated post-colonial societies The Botanic Gardens Languages - French, Italian, Spanish, Russian Games - Chess, Solo, Scrabble, Bridge, Mah Jong, Crosswords Latest from Australian Institute of Criminology Problem-oriented policing success A Problem-oriented policing operation by the South Australia Police was found to be successful in checking drug related crime. Operation Mantle was successful in arresting the upwards rates of drug-related crime reported to police. Problem-oriented policing is a systematic, intelligence-driven approach which seeks to address the underlying problems which cause crime rather than focusing on individual incidents. It has been found that the most effective police interventions are specific both to the type of crime or disorder and to place. Police health risks identified KEY findings from two recent research papers by the AIC included: - 187 police officer homicides in Australia since 1830. - 10% of assault victims per year are police officers. - assailants are usually male, alcohol or drug affected, aged between 15 and 29, have prior convictions and are unmarried. - alcohol use among police is about double that of the general population. You've got to laugh... MORE quotes from military performance appraisals: Some drink from the fountain of knowledge; he only gargled. The wheel is turning, but the hamster is dead. He got into the gene pool while the lifeguard wasn't watching. If he were any more stupid, he'd have to be watered twice a week. He has two brains; one is lost and the other is out looking for it. One-celled organisms out score him in IQ tests. If you give him a penny for his thoughts, you'd get change. She fell out of the family tree. If brains were taxed, he'd get a rebate. Got a full 6-pack, but lacks the plastic thingy to hold it all together. Donated his body to science before he was done using it. The gates are down, the lights are flashing, but the train isn't coming. |
Last modified 7 September 2003.