Safety

RACV and Neighbourhood Watch join forces to help keep Victorians safe in the home

RACV External Communications

Posted July 10, 2020

How safe is your place? That’s the question RACV and Neighbourhood Watch want Victorians to answer as part of the new ‘How Safe Is My Place’ campaign, designed to protect families from the increasing threat of home burglary.

Latest figures from the Victorian Crime Statistics Agency show crime on the increase. RACV's Burglary Statistics report showed that three Victorian homes are burgled every hour or one every 20 minutes.

Crime Statistic Agency statistics (see table below) showed there were more than four thousand (4,065) aggravated burglaries in 2019, with the top 10 Local Government Areas accounting for 40 per cent of them.

Aggravated burglaries 2019 by local government areas

Greater Geelong

258

Ballarat

218

Casey

198

Brimbank

178

Greater Dandenong

158

Wyndham

135

Boroondara

127

Melbourne

127

Moreland

127

Stonnington

118

Burglary Stats also showed:

  • 53 per cent of people could be doing more when it comes to their home security, and
  • 34 per cent of people with a home security or surveillance system reported that they are not using these either because they are simply never turning them on, or they no longer work.

With most Victorians spending more time at home it’s the perfect opportunity to review security.

The How Safe is My Place campaign, a Neighbourhood Watch initiative supported by RACV, helps Victorians identify the things they can do to reduce the risk of a burglar breaking into their homes.

It includes an online tool which asks a series of questions about security and provides tips on how to prevent crime, giving Victorians a report on just how safe their home is.

General Manager of RACV Home, Darren Turner said prevention was the best defence against crime around the home.

“A lot of crime can be easily avoided, and it can often be opportunistic but all we need to do is remove the opportunity. That’s what the How Safe Is My Place partnership with Neighbourhood Watch is all about, keeping people safe in the home,” Mr Turner said.

“Most of it is very simple stuff, like keeping doors locked even when we are at home and making sure that our home looks occupied. Crime prevention just takes us knowing the simple steps we can take, taking them and not becoming complacent,” he said.

CEO of Neighbourhood Watch, Bambi Gordon encouraged all Victorians, whether homeowners or renters, to take the online quiz to find out how secure their home is. “The How Safe Is My Place quiz is based on Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED), which is all about reducing crime through urban and environmental design and the management and use of built environments,” Ms Gordon said.

“Plain and simple, it is just common sense. It’s things like not having high front fences that criminals can hide behind and blocks your neighbours from seeing if there is something suspicious going on.

“And it is not just about installing security equipment. Crime prevention can be as simple as putting a piece of dowel in the track of your sliding door,” she said.

To use the How Safe Is My Place tool and find out more about home safety, visit howsafeismyplace.com.au

 

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