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>September 2002
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September, 2002 Free graffiti clean-up program for South Yarra FOLLOWING a positive evaluation of the pilot Graffiti Management Program, Stonnington Council has extended the program to cover all areas of South Yarra. Residents can now get one free clean-up of graffiti on front fences, walls or building facades which is visible from the street. It does not include graffiti in laneways, walkways or rights of way. For graffiti problems not covered by the free clean-up, Council is providing the following options: • Freecall Hotline - 1800 067 072 - to report new graffiti or seek advice; • Free graffiti removal kits from Council's Service Centre; • Provision of paint, or discounted professional graffiti removal, for specific problem areas. Your support, by taking an active role, is required in helping to eradicate graffiti vandalism. Rapid removal of graffiti is the most important thing you can do to prevent graffiti from re-appearing. Aim for removal within 24 hours. The longer graffiti stays visible, the more satisfaction the graffitist will enjoy. It is also much easier to remove graffiti within the first 24 hours. Preventing graffiti TO PREVENT your property becoming a target for graffiti you can use smart design techniques. Graffitists may see a blank wall as an ideal 'canvas' for their work. Ideas to deter graffiti include: • Plant trees and shrubs to cover target areas. • Ensure good lighting of target areas. • Make large walls textured rather than smooth. • Use anti-graffiti coatings in high risk areas. • Use dark colours rather than light and keep surfaces evenly painted. • Use pebbles or gravel where people walk to create noise. Graffiti removal PAINTING out is effective where the surface has been previously painted, or if you are willing to have the surface painted on an ongoing basis. Try to remove as much of the graffiti as you can before painting. Some types of graffiti markers tend to bleed through paint, so try over-painting a small area first to see if bleeding is going to be a problem. If so, use a sealer coat over the graffiti before painting. Removal of graffiti is not always easy. Precautions like using anti-graffiti coatings can make removal easier. Incorrect use of removal products could make graffiti more difficult or impossible to remove. The degree of difficulty of removing graffiti will depend on the type of marker or paint used, and the surface material. For example, removal may be difficult where paint has penetrated deep into porous brickwork. Designing out graffiti Limit the use of larger surface areas. Try breaking down larger areas into smaller panels. For example face brickwork with raked joints is less attractive to graffitists than rendered or bagged brickwork. Landscaping and planting bushes against high risk surfaces will act as an effective barrier and assist in breaking up the surface area. Avoid using lighter colours on walls and fences as they are more vulnerable to graffiti. Good lighting and visibility usually reduces the incidence of graffiti. Consider treating exposed surfaces with anti-graffiti coatings to make graffiti removal easier. Help a Tagger TAGGERS are attention seekers. By painting out their "tags" you are showing that they have got your attention! Neighbourhood Watch is 'different' in the Maldives USING a search engine on the internet can sometimes produce unexpected results. One day I was searching for Neighbourhood Watch in other countries around the world. Here's what I found when requesting sites ending with ".mv" which is the code for the Maldive Islands. Neighbourhood Watch A man was walking down the road when he noticed someone knock on the door of a house. A woman answered, announced the time and closed the door again. Soon after, a second visitor called and got the same response, then a third and a fourth. Curious, the man went up and knocked on the door himself. "It's 2.30 p.m.," the woman said and closed the door. On the way back down the path, the man bumped into another caller. "Excuse me, but why do people keep asking this woman the time?" he asked. "She's the neighbourhood watch," replied the visitor. Remembering fallen police officers BLUE RIBBON Day this year is on Sunday 29 September. The Victoria Police Blue Ribbon Foundation was established to perpetuate the memory of members of the Victoria Police killed in the line of duty. This is achieved through fundraising with money going to specialised medical facilities in Victorian public hospitals. To date, the Blue Ribbon Foundation has allocated more than $2.5 million to community projects that give specialised treatment and medical care to over 50,000 patients each year. The Foundation is a community - based organisation made up of people just like you - people who care enough about their community to allocate some time and energy to helping others. The same type of people who believe in law & order and appreciate the role our Police Force plays in keeping our communities safe. If you match this description, then you may be wanted by the Victoria Police Blue Ribbon Foundation! Listed below are just some of the ways you can help: Become a member of the Blue Ribbon Foundation. Register as a volunteer for: - Fundraising events - Work projects - Raffle ticket sales (once a year) - Preparation of mailouts - Other skills you may be able to offer To join a dedicated army of volunteers who are working "to make a difference", send your details to the CEO at: P.O BOX 2012 Moorabbin 3189 Victoria, Australia Telephone (03) 9555 8000 E-mail: blueribbonday@hotmail.com Talk on security alarm systems THE Toorak branch of Neighbourhood Watch has arranged a talk on household monitored security alarm systems. The speaker will be Wayne Connell from Australian Security & Fire Systems. Details: Tuesday October 15, 2002 at 7:30pm St.Catherines School 17 Heyington Place, Toorak. Contact: Di Simmons 9824 1684 Comments sought on Community Safety Plan THE Local Safety Committee is currently preparing a draft Community Safety Plan for Stonnington Council. The plan will examine the social conditions and risk factors that mitigate crime while including measures that attempt to reduce the opportunities for anti-social related activity in the physical environment. Council will be undertaking an extensive community consultation process to encourage feedback on the draft plan prior to it being adopted by Council. The draft plan is due to be released for public comment at the end of September. The draft plan will be available for comment at the Prahran Town Hall and all Stonnington libraries and on-line at www.stonnington.vic.gov.au Residents and interested parties are encouraged to comment on the draft plan and make suggestions on potential strategies and actions. Next Meeting
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Last modified 7September 2003.